Considering these and other attacks on our core democratic institutions, it is more important than ever that we act at the Federal level to protect voting rights.

We are seeing suppression of Native votes across the country.

I think it is crucial that we take these examples and really incorporate them into the voting rights laws...

I am proud to be from a State that understands that voting rights are the foundation of our democracy and must be protected.

That is 605 family members, brothers, sisters, parents, children, co-workers and neighbors. And every single one of those lives lost was a preventable tragedy.

New Mexico is ground zero for the opioid epidemic. We have one of the highest rates of drug overdose in the United States.

I think that it is a new day in Washington, and your appointment to this role, your amazing expertise and service, and your willingness to step up and play this role is so crucial, especially at this historical moment.

New Mexico is home to 23 Indigenous communities, tribes, and pueblos, and our tribes and pueblos have been here since time immemorial.

The crucial work of decolonizing, repatriating, co-managing, and ensuring that we are creating collaborative ways to do all of this work is really particularly crucial, I think, right now.

Ensuring that our tribes have not only a seat at the table, but that their knowledge, practices, and priorities are really at the center of that work is so critically important.

We have to take existing data sets that already exist, translate those into meaningful tools that our communities can actually use.