Latest news with #TeresaLegerFernández
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democratic women don't want the White House talking about raising birth rates
Democrats are slamming policy proposals the Trump administration is reportedly considering that aim to raise birth rates in the United States and encourage women to have children, arguing they should instead enact paid leave and expand the current child tax credit to better support mothers and families. The debates over family policy come as congressional Republicans hammer out a tax and spending cut bill that could significantly reduce funding for policies and programs focused on supporting women and families. On Tuesday, the House Democratic Women's Caucus sent a letter to Trump, shared first with The 19th, expressing their 'outrage' that the White House is weighing policy proposals to raise birth rates while implementing sweeping cuts to federal employees and programs that focus on researching fertility and maternal health. 'We write not only as lawmakers, but also as women and mothers who have lived these struggles,' said the letter, signed by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, the caucus' chair, and 38 other House Democratic women lawmakers. 'Many of us have raised children while working full-time, struggled to find and afford child care, navigated high-risk pregnancies, and fought for paid leave and affordable health care,' the letter said. 'If you are serious about supporting women and families, we urge you to rescind these proposals and invest in policies that actually meet the needs of women and working families.' The New York Times reported last week that White House aides have fielded proposals aimed at increasing birth rates and encouraging women to have children. They've included reserving a portion of government-sponsored academic scholarships like the Fulbright, which is already selective, for married people and parents; giving a $5,000 'baby bonus' to new mothers; and allocating more government funding for menstrual cycle education and classes. In their letter, the Democratic Women's Caucus members said 'the reported proposals are not only ineffective and out of step with reality, but they also fail to seriously address the challenges of motherhood.' Social conservatives and Trump have been engaged in a long-standing, if transactional, alliance to limit abortion and promote an ideal of a heterosexual nuclear family. In Trump's first campaign for the presidency, he promised to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would vote to end a federal right to abortion. After the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022, ending federal abortion rights and sending decisions about it to the states, social conservative activists have turned their focus to limiting the availability of medication abortion and increasing birth rates. Trump has called himself 'the fertilization president' and pledged to make in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment more affordable on the campaign trail, despite some anti-abortion groups' opposition to IVF. So-called pronatalists, who believe that falling birth rates pose an existential threat to American society, have gotten the ear of the White House. One of the most visible pronatalists is billionaire Elon Musk, the world's richest person and someone who has fathered over a dozen children and is also a prominent Trump ally. Trump has told reporters that he thought the baby bonus, which would have to be funded by an act of Congress, was 'a good idea.' But Democrats and family policy advocates have panned the proposal as insufficient to support families given the high costs of raising a child. Republicans also generally oppose increasing spending on social programs. The United States remains one of the only wealthy nations without universal paid leave, and many parents struggle to afford child care. Republicans' sprawling tax and spending cut agenda could bring cuts to programs including Medicaid, federal food assistance and Head Start, which provides early education services to low-income children. It's unclear whether the bill will permanently increase the current child tax credit, which was temporarily expanded during the pandemic and has bipartisan support. 'It is estimated parents spend over $20,000 in the first year of a baby's life,' the letter said. 'A $5,000 baby bonus could help families—but mothers deserve support to care for their families, not pressure to grow them.' Prominent pronatalist advocates Simone and Malcolm Collins have also pitched the White House on bestowing a 'National Medal of Motherhood' to women who have six or more children, The Times reported, drawing comparisons to similar medals given out to mothers of multiple children in Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia under Joseph Stalin. The Democratic Women's Caucus letter charged that the idea 'is taken directly out of the playbook of authoritarian regimes designed to control women and restrict how families live — it's appalling.' Instead, Democratic women said, the Trump administration should support establishing paid leave, making child care more affordable, investing in women's health research and expanding the child tax credit. 'We are committed to building a country where every woman and every family has the freedom —and the resources—to decide if, when, and how to grow their family,' the letter said. 'Women are not mere vessels for childbirth as contemplated in The Handmaid's Tale.' The post Democratic women don't want the White House talking about raising birth rates appeared first on The 19th. News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday. Subscribe to our free, daily newsletter.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Officials, residents plan next moves to protect Upper Pecos watershed
From left, Pueblo of Jemez 2nd Lt. Gov. Matthew Gachupin Jr., New Mexico Rep. Anita Gonzales (D-Las Vegas) and U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) said they would keep fighting to ban further mining in the Upper Pecos watershed. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM) A highway closure Monday morning postponed a scheduled trip to the Pecos for members of New Mexico's federal delegation, state and tribal officials, who instead gathered at Harry's Roadhouse to discuss next moves in protecting the fragile Upper Pecos watershed from mining and logging. Last week, all five members of the all-Democratic federal delegation reintroduced a bill to ban new mining activity in the Upper Pecos watershed, citing Source NM reporting that the new federal administration has reversed its plans to pursue such a ban. In recent weeks, the Trump administration issued executive orders to increase logging and mining projects across the country. Martin Heinrich and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, both of whom had announced plans to be in the Pecos area Monday, condemned the reversal in interviews with media Monday and noted that local and tribal governments, farming, ranching, acequias, conservation, hunting and fishing groups have called for added federal protections. 'When you have a process like this temporary mineral withdrawal just upended because somebody made a decision in Washington without speaking to anyone on the ground, I think that that should make us concerned for more decisions coming down the line,' Heinrich said. Pueblo of Jemez 2nd Lt. Gov. Matthew Gachupin Jr., joined the delegation on Monday, as his pueblo has cultural ties to the area. 'The Pecos Watershed Protection Act is a tool we need now, it's the weapon we need to fight this battle,' he said Monday. 'We are in full support of this legislation and pray it will be successful.' That being said, the Republican Party holds majorities in both chambers of Congress and will slow the bill's progress, Leger Fernández said. 'We can't tell you exactly when it will get heard,' she said. 'What we are telling you is that if there is an opportunity to move it, to bring attention to the legislation, we will.' Ralph Vigil, an organizer in Pecos for the nonprofit New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, as well as a member of the Stop Terrero Mine Coalition, said the group will continue to host meetings and river cleanups to keep the issue at the front of people's minds. 'We have to keep getting people more involved in the community so we can really make a stand, if things go backwards,' Vigil said. Much of the community opposition dates to the 1991 Terrero mining spill, when floodwaters breached a defunct mine and sent tailing sludge downriver, killing thousands of fish and buried Willow Creek. Cleanup remains ongoing and has cost tens of millions of dollars, including state environment officials' request for $5.7 million from the Legislature this year. Heinrich praised state efforts including a ban from the New Mexico State Land Commissioner and designating the Upper Pecos watershed a New Mexico 'outstanding natural resource water,' which requires the state's strictest water quality protections and offers some guardrails for the 200-some mining claims already existing in the region. 'When those designations went in place at the state level, they made it so that those mining claims — even if they are developed — do not have a right to put pollution in any of those tributaries,' Heinrich said. 'So it really hems in how much damage could be done.' Claresse Romero, the president of the San Miguel del Bado Land Grant, said the community will fight back harder, and will seek lawyers to fight new claims by Australian company New World Cobalt to do some exploratory drilling in the old Terrero mine and nearby deposits. 'I feel that our very lives are at stake,' Romero said in a phone call with Source NM. 'Our health, the health of our community, the health of our ecosystem, the health of the farming communities, the health of our culture; because it ultimately is all under attack by these corporate means.' Rep. Anita Gonzales (D-Las Vegas) who attended the impromptu gathering at Harry's Roadhouse, told Source NM the state will work quickly to adopt a state program to take over regulating pollution in New Mexico's surface waters — including from future mining — which was made possible by a law governor signed last week. In the meantime, Gonzales said the local groups will lobby for the legislation to pass through Congress. 'We've done a good job of getting the support in place from the tribal governments, acequias, land grant governments, city, county and state. The next step is this federal protection,' Gonzales said. 'We just have to hold the line long enough to where we're able to pick up the momentum again, federally.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State agencies request advance funding for pending Tribal water settlements
Rio Chama captured in an undated photo. The state of New Mexico is seeking funds from local lawmakers in anticipation of the passage of tribal water rights settlements for the rios San José, Jemez, Chama and the Zuni River needing U.S. Congressional approval. (Photo courtesy BLM) Five New Mexico Tribal and Pueblo water rights settlements still need federal approval, but state agencies have put forward funding requests to be ready if Congress approves them later this year as anticipated. New Mexico entered into five settlement agreements in 2022 with the Pueblos of Acoma, Laguna, Jemez and Zia, the Navajo Nation, Zuni Tribe and Ohkay Owingeh The New Mexico delegation subsequently introduced legislation to approve the deals, including approximately $3 billion to establish funds and build infrastructure. The settlements, which have required years and sometimes decades of costly negotiations, would settle tribal rights for the rios San José, Jemez, Chama and the Zuni River. Two other bills would correct technical errors in established Tribal water settlements and add an extension of both time and money to complete the long-delayed Navajo-Gallup water project. Federal funding granted the project a short reprieve, but it faces an upcoming deadline only Congress can delay. A 1908 U.S. Supreme Court case established what's known as Winters Doctrine, which requires Congress to recognize water rights for reservations. The Winters Doctrine also recognizes tribal rights as typically senior to other users. New Mexico water law uses the age of rights to determine use in times of shortage. However, the courts have only formally determined the order of water rights in 20% of New Mexico's rivers, a decades-long process. In the interim, lawsuits sparked between Pueblos, acequias and other users. (The Ohkay Owingeh lawsuit over Rio Chama water use is more than 60 years old). The 2022 settlements benefit both Pueblo and non-Pueblo water users by fully resolving the water rights claims, U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) told Source NM last year. 'The senior priority water rights are going to prevail. And that's what litigation will lead to,' she said. 'The settlements lead to agreements by the tribe to give up certain acreage that they're entitled to and work out arrangements with regards to how they exercise their senior water rights to benefit everybody in the region.' Details on the U.S. House proposals to resolve tribal water rights settlements in NM Members of the New Mexico delegation urged House leaders to include the settlements in end-of-year congressional packages, but Congress ultimately excluded the bills. Members of the delegation reintroduced the bills early this year. In March, the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee gave its unanimous approval to the slate of bills, which await a hearing on the Senate Floor, said one of the co-sponsors, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), in a written statement Thursday. 'These bills are vital to ensure we meet our trust responsibility to our Tribal communities by honoring their water rights and ensuring they have the resources to use the water they own,' said Heinrich. 'I'm pleased the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs unanimously advanced these bills to the Senate floor. I encourage my colleagues on the House Natural Resources to do the same. These bills are urgently needed to help communities manage their precious and limited water resources.' If Congress approves the settlements, New Mexico has to provide approximately $190 million for the state portion of the funds, within a decade. In 2024, the New Mexico Legislature allocated $20 million for the state match. This year, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer requested $35 million for the settlement funds, according to Nat Chakeres, the office's general legal counsel. 'We have a 10-year period to come up with that $190 million, but we want to get ahead of the game while we have budget surpluses right now,' Chakeres told Source NM. In addition, the state is requesting $500,000 more in annual funding to create staff water master positions to prepare for the settlement's adoption by the federal government. Water masters ensure fulfillment of the terms of the agreement, prepare annual reports on the status of the settlement activities, investigate claims and oversee any enforcement of water diversions. 'We want to be ready to run on day one, once the settlements get finalized,' Chakeres said. Chakeres said budget discussions between state lawmakers are continuing and that he doesn't know the exact amount that lawmakers will approve in the budget but said he's optimistic. 'We're confident we'll get a strong appropriation,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Jordan News
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan News
Why Did Congresswomen Wear Pink During Trump's Speech? - Jordan News
During President Trump's speech to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday, several Democratic congresswomen wore pink in a notable act of protest against his policies, which they argue negatively impact women and families. اضافة اعلان A Loud and Clear Protest Message Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, who leads the Democratic women's caucus, explained in statements to Time magazine that the color pink was a way to "protest Trump's policies," emphasizing that it symbolizes "strength and resistance." She added, "It's time to mobilize opposition to the president loudly and clearly." Before the speech, the women's caucus, which includes 96 members, held a press conference at the Capitol, where Fernández stressed that "Trump's policies are costing women in terms of money, health, lives, and safety." She emphasized that the Republican agenda harms women at every stage of their lives. A Tradition of Protest Through Color This was not the first time that Democratic congresswomen used color as a form of protest. In Trump's first address to Congress in 2017, they wore white in support of women's rights. They repeated this in the president's State of the Union address last year, underscoring the importance of these rights. In a recent statement for 2024, the group emphasized the need to empower women to access healthcare, including contraception and fertility treatments, stressing that "women, not politicians, should control their family decisions." A Multi-Dimensional Political Message This move reflects the ongoing tension between the Democrats and the Trump administration, as the women's caucus aims to send a clear message about the impact of Republican policies on women's rights. It represents a continued political and social battle playing out in the halls of Congress.
CBS News
05-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Here's why congresswomen are wearing pink for Trump's speech tonight
Washington — Many Democratic women in Congress wore bright pink for President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday in a display of defiance against the president. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, who leads the Democratic Women's Caucus, told Time magazine that the color signifies "our protest of Trump's policies which are negatively impacting women and families." "Pink is a color of power and protest," she told the magazine. "It's time to rev up the opposition and come at Trump loud and clear." The 96-member group spoke about their opposition to the president outside the U.S. Capitol prior to the address on Tuesday, where Leger Fernández asserted, "Women cannot afford Trump." "He costs us too much in terms of money, health, lives and safety," she said. "From cradle to old age, this man and the Republican agenda is devastating for America's women. We want the world to know we stand in protest, we stand in power. We stand in pink and we stand in opposition." During Mr. Trump's first address to a joint session of Congress in 2017, Democratic congresswomen wore white to highlight women's rights. Last year, when then-President Joe Biden delivered a State of the Union address, caucus members also wore white to bring attention to reproductive rights. "Our message is clear: women must be able to access the health care they need to control their own lives and futures. That means women, not politicians, should be in charge of whether, when, and how to start or grow their families. That includes access to birth control, access to abortion, and access to IVF," the group said in a statement in 2024.
