in Otero County

Three major laws, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the American Rescue Plan, passed during President Biden’s first two years in office, make game-changing investments in our community, tackle the pressing challenges that New Mexicans face, and build economic prosperity for all. 

Watch this space for more local news about the
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

AIRPORTS

New Mexico’s 46 airports are key economic drivers for our state,”
~ Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)

Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport
‘21-’22 funding for upgrades = $304,000

BROADBAND

Mescalero Apache Reservation Broadband Project, $44 million

• Planning, design, operation and maintenance will be provided by Mescalero Apache Telecom, Inc., which is owned and operated by the Mescalero Apache Tribe.  
• Will provide reliable, affordable Internet access to 835 unserved Native American households, 336 businesses, and 29 community institutions such as the Boys and Girls Club, Early Childhood Education, and Head Start programs, the Library, and the Mescalero Elderly Center
• Will improve emergency response times
• Will increase access to healthcare, economic development opportunities, telework, and distance education
• Will support a new system to monitor and manage 12 water systems, located on the Reservation to provide clean and safe drinking water
• Will increase participation in Tribal ceremonial events and Tribal rituals
• Will connect Tribal police, Conservation Law Enforcement, and Fire & Rescue

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A state program, Connect New Mexico, will pair state and federal funds from the Infrastructure Bill to bring broadband to Alamogordo via Tularosa Communications.

Otero County, along with Chaves, Eddy and Lincoln counties will receive funding to provide high-speed Internet to people, businesses and farms, through a regional telecommunications company, the Penasco Valley Telephone Cooperative.

You may be eligible to receive a monthly discount on an internet service plan. Sign up here: Affordable Connectivity Program.

“It’s a game changer for New Mexico. It’s a game changer for agriculture, it’s a game changer for anybody in rural areas, because they can live the way that urban America has.”
~ John Diamond, Beaverhead Ranch Group

ROADS & BRIDGES

Road projects in Otero County funded through the Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration include:

• Dynamic Message Signs Through Mescalero
• US 54 from Milepost 113 to Milepost 119 Tularosa to Vaughn Debt Service
• US 380 MP 217 to 227
• US 54, Corona to Duran
• Tularosa North 6 Miles

RESILIENCE: DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS

Funding for the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF) in Alamogordo.  The only major research facility in the U.S. dedicated to desalination of brackish and damaged water, the BGNDRF’s discovery of PFAS-contaminated water in a pond and in wells hindered its ability to safely treat water. PFAS stands for per- and poly-flourinated alkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals.”   

With the new funding, the BGNDRF will construct a new advanced water-treatment facility for PFAS-contaminated water which will mean the BGNDRF can again operate fully. BGNDRF not only studies brackish water, it creates pilot projects for treating water produced by oil and gas production and develops water delivery systems for rural and Tribal communities. This new funding will advance water purification, including techniques for re-using water, expand water storage capacities, and complete rural water projects. See more here.

It really is our infrastructure moment for a generation. 
– Sen. Martin Heinrich

You can save $$ by electrifying at home thanks to the
​Inflation Reduction Act 
​Learn more here!  

MEDICARE RECIPIENTS BENEFIT

• Caps on out-of-pocket annual prescription costs,
• Expanded eligibility for premium subsidies,
• For the first time Medicare will be able to begin negotiating pricing for some drugs.
• A $35 monthly cap for insulin!

RURAL RESIDENTS BENEFIT

• An improved rural electrical grid, to make sure it remains strong and resilient for decades and to avoid the kind of blackouts we’ve seen in Texas.
• Climate-smart agricultural funding that supports farmers while reducing pollution and emissions.
• Support for rural electrical co-ops and renewable energy projects, USDA conservation programs, and debt relief for distressed farmers.
• New Mexico tribes will receive expanded broadband, guaranteed loans, money to mitigate drought, and funding for projects such as fish hatcheries

BUSINESSES BENEFIT

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• Tax credits for 159,000 small businesses in New Mexico to improve energy efficiency, install solar power and buy clean trucks and vans for commercial fleets
• Businesses can “stack” credits. For instance, on top of a 30% tax credit, a developer can earn more credits by paying the prevailing wage for labor, using apprenticeship labor, or using U.S.-made steel and aluminum.
• For every federal dollar ($2.3 billion available for NM), the public and private sector will spend $2-$3, making it a $10 billion deal.
• Between now and 2030, $15 billion will be invested in new and existing businesses that will generate and store clean power in New Mexico.
• 8,000 small businesses and self-employed adults in New Mexico now qualify for lower premiums through the Affordable Care Act.

 

ALL OF US BENEFIT

• Wildfire prevention and protection of water sources.
• A rebate program to help make our homes safer and greener with insulation and windows, solar panels, heat pumps, and by replacing old fossil-fuel appliances.
• Restoring fairness to our tax code: attending to the backlog of paperwork that’s allowed the ultra-rich to avoid paying what they owe. Plus a 15% corporate minimum tax rate that will allow us to plan for our country’s future and build an economy that works for all Americans

The Inflation Reduction Act will provide a historic investment in a clean energy economy.
​–Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) 

You lived through the fastest recovery in three decades!
All because of the 
​​American Rescue Plan

THE ECONOMY RESCUED

The U.S. had the fastest recovery of any nation in the world.

• New Mexico’s unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in December 2022 from 8.2% in January 2021
• New Mexico added 70,000 jobs due to the American Rescue Plan
• New Mexicans applied for 51,000 new Small Business Applications, the highest 2-year total on record.
• Hispanic unemployment saw its fastest 1-year drop and reached its lowest annual rate ever in 2022 nationwide.
• Restaurants rescued. 602 New Mexico restaurants received vital relief through the American Rescue Plan’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund

FAMILIES & YOUNG PEOPLE RESCUED

• 24 child care programs in Otero County received money to help keep their doors open
• Working families got tax relief: 252,000 families with 420,000 children In New Mexico benefited from the ARP’s Child Tax Credit.
• 56,000 New Mexico students received 145,000 Internet-connected devices (including hotspots) to close the homework gap
• Emergency Rental Assistance was provided to thousands of hard-pressed renters in New Mexico
  • 73,000 payments to help families meet their ongoing rent and utility costs
  • 60,000 payments to help families address past due rent and utility bills
• 93,000 New Mexico college students received direct financial relief through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Program in 2021 to help them stay enrolled and cover their bills in 2021.

PEOPLE RESCUED

• An expanded Earned Income Tax Credit provided up to $1,500 of tax relief to an estimated 134,000 New Mexico workers without dependent children
• 41,000 more New Mexico homes and businesses will receive affordable, high-speed internet through the American Rescue Plan's Capital Project Fund
• Over 230 million Americans are fully vaccinated, up from 3.5 million when President Biden took office.
• 46,000 New Mexicans saved hundreds of dollars on their health premiums from the American Rescue Plan. With the Inflation Reduction Act's extension of these savings, 41,000 New Mexicans signed up for quality, affordable care in the 2023 ACA open enrollment period.

COUNTIES, CITIES AND TRIBES RESCUED

Direct pandemic recovery funds were provided to the county, cities, municipalities, and tribes to avoid cuts and to invest in public safety, housing and the workforce:

• Otero County, $13 million
• Alamogordo, $8 million
• Cloudcroft, $177,000
• Tularosa, $744,000
• Mescalero Apache Tribe, $15,000

SCHOOL DISTRICTS RESCUED

Alamogordo Public Schools, Tularosa Municipal Schools, Cloudcroft Municipal Schools and other school systems in Otero County received recovery funds for academic recovery, student mental health and to reopen schools safely.

More jobs have been created in one year than in our nation’s history.
​– Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-NM

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