Congresswoman Stansbury Calls for Federal Support for New Mexico’s Drought Response Efforts
During Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee hearing, Rep. Stansbury noted “New Mexico’s top exports are our green chile and our water experts.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) highlighted the vital need for Congress to pass funding for local drought response efforts in New Mexico and the West during today’s Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee hearing. The hearing, Colorado River Drought Conditions and Response Measures, also featured testimony from three New Mexican water experts.
Daryl Vigil,Jicarilla Apache Nation Water Administrator and Co-Facilitator of the Water and Tribes Initiative in the Colorado River Basin; New Mexico State Engineer, John D’Antonio; and Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, Tanya Trujillo, were members of the panel of experts.
“I am especially proud to see so many New Mexicans here today,” Rep. Stansbury said during her opening statement. “As I often say, New Mexico’s top exports are our green chile and our water experts—of which we have many here today.
“Climate change is here. And it is threatening the ability of our communities to bring water to our fields, to meet the needs of our Tribes and Pueblos, our acequias, our farmers and ranchers, and our rivers—which depend on these life-giving waters,” Rep. Stansbury continued. “While the Colorado River is being strained by these changes, we have also seen historic partnerships in the basin led by many of the panelists here today that are helping to bring transformational change. Our job as lawmakers is to make sure that we are putting into place all of the changes that are necessary to empower our communities, by passing transformational water policies, investing in resilient infrastructure as we are doing in the Build Back Better Act, and protecting those rivers.”
Representative Stansbury recently worked to secure $200 million in funding for the Rio Grande Pueblos Irrigation Infrastructure Improvement Project in the Build Back Better Act. The funding would support Tribal water projects and drought response.