Gov. Martinez on the labs and federal spending in New Mexico

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, in her state of the state speech today, highlighted the importance of New Mexico’s federally funded laboratories (Sandia and Los Alamos) to the state’s economy. But her comments suggest the nervousness among the state’s leadership regarding the long term trajectory of federal spending. From the prepared text of her remarks:

I am committed to working with our delegation to protect our labs and military bases and fighting to avoid further cuts. Our labs and bases are not only important to New Mexico, but they are critical to the security of America.

However, with a federal government that is so far in debt, so dysfunctional, we’d be foolish to leave our state’s economy at the mercy of the next fiscal cliff in Washington. The opportunity to forge a new path and shape our own destiny is before us. It’s an opportunity defined not by decisions made in Washington, but by the hard work and ingenuity of New Mexicans. That means diversifying our economy and growing the private sector.