Heinrich’s amendment to protect public lands blocked by Senate Republicans

New Mexico senator says GOP budget plan prioritizes billionaires over families, threatens health care and public lands

Organ Mountain News report

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich on Friday voted against a Republican-backed federal budget resolution, criticizing it as a tax giveaway to billionaires that threatens the financial security of working families in New Mexico.

Heinrich attempted to amend the legislation to address rising costs, protect public lands, and preserve essential health and social services. But Republicans in the Senate blocked every amendment, including one he co-led with Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado to prevent the sale of federal public lands.

“Republicans’ budget resolution is a massive tax handout for Donald Trump, Elon Musk and their billionaire donors,” Heinrich said in a statement. “It has one aim: billionaires win, American families lose.”

Heinrich said his efforts focused on protecting New Mexicans from economic harm, including blocking proposed cuts to Medicaid, Social Security and disaster relief while pushing to roll back Trump-era tariffs that he said are driving up prices on groceries, medicine and other necessities.

He also highlighted efforts to:

• Reverse cuts to the Social Security Administration
• Extend health care premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act
• Prevent Medicaid cuts that could lead to rural hospital closures
• Lower prescription drug costs through Medicare
• Protect legally binding collective bargaining agreements for federal workers
• Ensure disaster survivors continue to receive long-term aid from FEMA

Heinrich said Senate Republicans rejected each of those efforts.

“When Republicans had the opportunity to go on the record and show the American people whose side they’re on, they put their billionaire donors on a pedestal and threw working people under the bus,” he said. “Rather than putting New Mexico families first, Donald Trump, Elon Musk and their Republican enablers in Congress are tanking our economy, pushing us into a recession.”

Heinrich filed dozens of amendments, including measures to reduce wait times at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Security Administration, support wildfire mitigation, increase housing affordability, and boost American manufacturing.

A full list of Heinrich’s amendments and a video message from the senator are available here.