Manuel Lujan: “I want to express thanks for the leadership of my colleagues from Texas and Massachusetts and for the work they have…”

“I want to express thanks for the leadership of my colleagues from Texas and Massachusetts and for the work they have done in this space, bringing more and more attention to something that doesn't impact our daily lives until we need it most, when there is often an emergency, as there was in New Mexico about 2 years ago, when the world's attention was on our beautiful State and we suffered the worst fires in our State's history. Now, these were forest fires that received so much attention in our State because they were started by the Federal Government. How, you might ask. These were prescribed burns that went out of control. Now, when cell phones were not working, when other methods of media were not able to connect because powerlines were going down, it was one local radio station, KNMX, an AM station in Las Vegas, NM, that was streaming more and more news to volunteers coming in on their time off, radio personalities ensuring that people would know what was happening because they were being told to evacuate from their homes, folks driving home from work in rural areas. As Senator Cruz points out, when there is no news connectivity, no other information coming in, we depend on AM radio. I just don't understand why there is opposition to this. I was hoping Senator Cruz and Senator Markey and I could come to the floor today to celebrate the passing of this important legislation, not to sit and listen to that objection.…”