By Rodd Cayton
New Mexico elected officials are reaching out to their counterparts in Republican-led states to convey the importance of Medicaid to local governments.
That’s what Albuquerque’s federal lobbyist, John O’Donnell told the Intergovernmental Legislative Relations Committee this week. He said officials from the state are discussing the possible impact Washington, D.C. could have on the program, which provides health coverage to low-income and other Americans.
O’Donnell said officials including city councilors Nichole Rogers and Renee Grout spoke with their colleagues at last month’s National League of Cities meeting in Washington, and similar organizations, such as the National Association of Counties (NACo).
“Just today, I was in touch with the New Mexico Association of Counties about this issue, to make sure that they’re … involved with NaCo in terms of what they’re trying to do to make sure that all members of Congress understand how important Medicaid spending and tax exempt financing are to local governments,” O’Donnell said.
Critics of the Republican federal budget plan fear the party’s quest for spending cuts will lead to dramatic reductions in vital federal programs.
O’Donnell said it could be summer before city leaders know what their federal aid situation will look like. O’Donnell said Congress is going through the budget reconciliation process, which means it’s considering budget changes and finding ways to pay for new spending or take money from elsewhere in the budget to fund new priorities.
He said the House of Representatives has completed its reconciliation bill, and the Senate is expecting to work into the weekend on its version.
“I’ve not gone through it for the details, but what I’ve heard is the Senate version is not quite as draconian as the House version,” O’Donnell said.
He said the two houses of Congress will need to negotiate on the legislation and then pass a conference bill for final approval.
“They’re … going to be writing a tax bill at the same time,” O’Donnell said, adding that he initially thought the process could be done sometime in June, but conversations with committee officials caused him to move his estimate back.
O’Donnell said members of the state’s congressional delegation are taking earmark requests for projects that will potentially be included in the federal budget for the 2026 fiscal year. U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján has set a deadline of April 15 for requests through his office.
O’Donnell said U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich doesn’t set such a deadline.
“Senator Heinrich has this two-step process where you submit your request, and his staff, both locally and in Washington, vet those projects,” O’Donnell told committee members. “If there’s an interest in follow-up, they get back to you about more information for projects that they think they have the best opportunity to get funded.”
In the House, O’Donnell said, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez established April 4 as a deadline and has already collected some earmark requests. He said neither U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury nor U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández established a deadline, but that he expected them to do so shortly.
O’Donnell said each House member can submit up to 15 projects for funding consideration. However, he said, Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, is limiting the amount of earmark money to be one-half of 1% of the discretionary funding that’s approved every year.
“That is half of what the Democrats were doing when they were in charge of the House,” O’Donnell said.
He said earmarks for Albuquerque will come from committees that include Energy and Water Development, Homeland Security and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.
O’Donnell also told the committee that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy earlier Wednesday assured a U.S. Senate committee the department is working diligently to get grant agreements finished and the money out to local governments.
The Trump administration earlier this year announced freezes on federal funding review of certain federal grants, prompting concern from state and local elected officials. Some cuts have been blocked by judges after lawsuits, while others moved forward.