Meet 5 New Mexicans invited to the State of the Union

A former uranium mine worker, an elementary school teacher and an OB-GYN will accompany New Mexico’s Democratic congressional representatives to the State of the Union speech on Thursday.

President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address is an opportunity for New Mexico’s senators and representatives to spotlight issues they care about through the guests they bring.

Downwinders and uranium mine workers

District 3 Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández will take Phil Harrison, a longtime advocate for expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and a former uranium mine worker.

RECA compensates people exposed to radiation while working in uranium mines and people living downwind from nuclear weapon tests who develop specific cancers and diseases.

Harrison is one of many Navajos who worked in uranium mines. In high school, he worked part-time in uranium mines with his father, who died from lung cancer in his 40s.

Last year, Leger Fernández and Sen. Ben Ray Luján led efforts to expand RECA to include more uranium mine workers and people living downwind from nuclear testing in New Mexico. That proposed expansion was pulled from the National Defense Authorization Act in December, but the Senate is expected to vote on a proposal to extend and expand RECA this week.

“The movie ‘Oppenheimer’ is expected to win multiple academy Oscars this weekend, but the story that remains untold and the injustice that remains unresolved is the explosion’s impact on people like Phil,” Leger Fernández said. “We’re going to tell some of that story at the State of the Union.”

Luján will also spotlight the RECA vote with his guest Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium.

“Last year, Tina Cordova was with me when President Biden voiced his strong support for passing RECA into law and providing justice for New Mexicans. Generations of New Mexicans, including Tina and her family, have been impacted by the lasting impacts of the Trinity Test. It’s far past time to do right by these families who sacrificed for our national security,” Luján said.

Cordova was born and raised in Tularosa and has long advocated for New Mexico’s downwinders to be acknowledged.

Highlighting educators

District 2 Rep. Gabe Vasquez is bringing Treva Riley, a teacher who has worked at Laguna Elementary School for 10 years.

Vasquez is sponsoring the Parity for Tribal Educators Act, which would give teachers and staff at tribally controlled schools the same federal retirement benefits as teachers at Bureau of Indian Education schools. New Mexico has 10 tribally controlled schools.

“Teachers like Treva from Laguna Pueblo are the heart of Tribal communities, fostering resilience, empowerment and wellness,” Vasquez said. “When we gather for the State of the Union, it is crucial to remember our duty to ensure fairness in education everywhere.”

Sen. Martin Heinrich also will bring an elementary school worker, Tatiana Del Toro-Frank, community school coordinator at MacArthur Elementary School in Las Cruces. Del Toro-Frank hails from Las Cruces and has been an educator for over a decade. Heinrich wanted to recognize her work to support student health, education and well-being.

“New Mexico’s kids deserve a future as bright as they are and champions committed to delivering exactly that,” Heinrich said. “Tatiana Del Toro-Frank is one of those champions. Her complete dedication to the families of her community deserves to be celebrated.”

A focus on reproductive health

District 1 Rep. Melanie Stansbury is bringing Dr. Destinie Marquez, a Roswell native and OB-GYN. Marquez focuses on antepartum and postpartum maternal health and advocates for better health care. Stansbury said she is honored to have Marquez as her guest because of her dedication to ensuring access to comprehensive reproductive health care.

“As women, our freedoms are under threat,” Stansbury said. “From access to contraception, abortion, and reproductive health care services, these restrictions have impacted our ability to make autonomous decisions about our bodies. We must prioritize the protection of women’s reproductive rights.”