Martin Heinrich: “Our economy, our hospitals, your mother's nursing home, your son's school lunch, your niece's afterschool program, our…”

“Our economy, our hospitals, your mother's nursing home, your son's school lunch, your niece's afterschool program, our police, fire departments, our newborns, our elders, our veterans, pretty much everyone in my home State of New Mexico--President Trump threw them all into chaos with an unconstitutional and patently illegal power grab. In an overnight maneuver that would make a dictator envious, President Trump unlawfully and unilaterally froze all Federal grant funding. He shut down the housing portal that nonprofits and Tribes in my home State use to access mortgage financing. He literally shut down the Medicaid reimbursement portals across the country. Although after a day of raising hell over it, I think that Medicaid--at least the Medicaid portal in my State--may well be up and running again, at least for now. And for context, almost a quarter of my State's budget actually moves through that portal--about $8 billion in Medicaid funding every single year in one small State alone. He threw every town and county, Tribe, nonprofit, healthcare provider, school, and preschool into total disarray. And from our State's Roundhouse to the classroom, to the emergency room, today was chaos. People want answers. My phone has literally been ringing off the hook from people around the State who want answers, who want certainty.…”