Congressman on Your Corner Speaks to the Voting Public

Congressman Martin Heinrich was at the entrance to the Hispanic Community here in Albuquerque to reach out and connect with the voting public of the South Valley. Barelas Coffee House besides being a great place to get real New Mexican food is also a community central for the Hispanic community because it is not far for the Hispanic Cultural Center.

I was able to sit down with the Congressman for a few minutes and asked some pointed questions. He wanted to let the voters know that with a little help from the U.S. Senate that the credit card companies could expect more consumer friendly laws that would prevent them from raising interest rates without first notifying the public in advance. Both Congressman Heinrich and Congressman Luján supported this bill which has already passed the house and is now headed to the U.S Senate.

Congressman Heinrich said that as far as the new flu outbreak is concerned we have the drugs to treat it and he does see the need to find some appropriations for the CDC so that they can do their job in the future to keep Americans safe and provide the support that the states need when something like this arises. Mexico does not have the healthcare system that the United States has and because of that more people died from the current outbreak of the flu. Congressman Heinrich did say that he hopes that the current flu outbreak does drive home the significant need to some of his colleagues of just how important having a regular doctor and healthcare is to a country’s health and welfare. Because the United State has better health care then some of the more out of the way places in Mexico the end result has been limited severity here in our country.

Congressman Heinrich also said that with the move of Senator Specter to the Democratic Party that he hopes he will be willing to move the Free Choice bill, that would help labor organizers, for a vote even if he felt the need to vote against it in the end. Labor Unions want this bill so that they can add more members and increase the standard of living for low income workers in this country. Workers rights cannot be supported as long as people are in fear of losing their jobs if they do speak out about unfair labor treatment.

Congressman Heinrich was not at the State Central Committee meeting earlier last month due to family duties which due come up when you spend most of your time working for the voting public and little time at home with your family. He did manage to spend time helping home owners later that day in his district. Unless we find the need to only vote for single people with absolutely no family ties then the voting public will have to understand when our representatives need to spend at least a few minutes with their families during the weekends. Both Congressman Heinrich and Congressman Luján have spent far more time with voters then Congresswoman Heather Wilson every did in her long career in the House. We are very lucky to have Congressmen who care about the people they represent.

Note to Congressman Harry Teague: The response to voters that live outside your district is not what we would call voter friendly. When I tried to email you all I got was that he could not return my email because of my zip code. Last time I checked we are all in the same party and the same state. Please take a page from Congressman Heinrich's, Congressman Luján's and Senator Udall's play books all votes count in this state no matter where they live. If a voter takes the time to email you then return the favor please.