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More than $200 million in federal dollars will come to New Mexico projects
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More than $206 million will come to New Mexico through congressionally directed spending in the 2026 fiscal year for high-dollar items like an Air Force dormitory and for smaller projects like buying a wildland fire engine in Questa.
Along with a stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government open through January, three year long appropriations bills were included in the November deal to end the government shutdown. Those yearlong appropriations bills will pay for military construction and Veterans Affairs; provide annual appropriations for agriculture, rural development, nutrition assistance programs and the Food and Drug Administration; and fund Congress and agencies that support its function, like the Capitol Police and Library of Congress.
Within those annual appropriations bills was congressionally directed spending, commonly called earmarks, money members of Congress secure to bring federal dollars to specific, local projects.
By far, the largest allocations secured for New Mexico were for two of the state’s Air Force bases. New Mexico’s senators got more than $80 million to build new facilities and infrastructure at Cannon Air Force Base, including a new dormitory. More than $100 million will go to buildings and infrastructure at Kirtland Air Force Base, the most expensive item being $83 million for a Space Rapid Capabilities Office headquarters.
Three of the allocations are for health care facilities: Sandoval County will get $1 million to build a health care facility, another $1 million is going to Valencia County to help it build a hospital and the Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City will get $193,000 to upgrade hospital utility systems.
Two cities, Estancia and Mesilla, will get funds to renovate their town halls.
There’s also just over $3 million for fire trucks and firefighting communication equipment in San Juan County, Rio Arriba County, Questa and Truchas.
Although they secured the money for New Mexico projects, every member of the state’s all-Democrat congressional delegation, Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, and Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández, Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez, voted against the funding package. All five opposed passing the stopgap bill because it did not address expiring health insurance subsidies.
Since it was reformed in 2021, congressionally directed spending can only go toward government organizations or nonprofits. It is not available to organizations where the requesting member of Congress or someone in their immediate family has a financial interest in the organization.
