Rep. Gabe Vasquez Statement on Vote to Protect Health Care for Working Class New Mexicans

WASHINGTON, D.C.- On November 12, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)released the following statement on his vote on the Senate funding package, a funding bill that reopened the federal government at the expense of New Mexicans' access to health care.

"New Mexicans can't afford to pay thousands more for healthcare, and that's the bottom line. I hear it loud and clear from my constituents every day - they're frustrated that despite working full-time jobs, they can't make ends meet. Washington doesn't understand the plight of working families. My vote today was to lower costs for New Mexicans and preserve their access to health care."

"The funding bill that passed today reopened the government, which is a very good thing, but it did nothing to address the rising cost of health care. As a result, hundreds of thousands of New Mexican families will have to make the tough decision to keep their healthcare or go without it altogether, putting their health and their livelihoods at risk. My job in Congress is to vote for bills that make life better, not worse, for as many New Mexicans as possible - unfortunately, the bill that passed will make things worse for New Mexicans, and there's no question about it."

"From the very beginning, I have fought for a bipartisan government funding bill that both reopened the government and protected working class New Mexicans' access to health care. It's clear we could have afforded to do both - as the administration shells out $170 million for private jets for DHS Secretary Noem and $40 billion for a bailout for Argentina - but Republican lawmakers chose not to. It didn't have to be this way. This isn't putting America first."

In an effort to make the funding bill work better for the American people, Rep. Vasquez supported five amendments to the bill, all of which failed due to opposition from Republican lawmakers. These included:

• Amendment to redirect $40 billion for Argentina bailout to pay for two-year extension of the ACA Enhanced Premium Tax Credits
• Amendment to clarify that SNAP contingency fund must be used for benefits during future shutdowns
• Amendment to repay New Mexico and other state governments for money used to cover SNAP benefits and reimbursements to food banks during shutdown
• Amendment striking a clause that allows Senators to sue the U.S. government for personal financial gain if their phone records were involved in January 6th investigations
• Amendment to provide a clean 3-year extension of the ACA enhanced premium tax credits

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