Third Congressional District race

Name: Teresa Leger Fernandez

Party affiliation: Democrat

Office sought: U.S. Congress, New Mexico’s Third District

Current occupation: Congresswoman, New Mexico’s Third District

City of residence: Santa Fe

Age: 65

IMMIGRATION

1. What, specifically, would you encourage the House to do about the following immigration issues:

a. The process by which immigrants may seek asylum in the U.S.

b. The backlog of millions of people waiting for their cases to be heard in federal immigration courts.

c. Length of stay for documented noncitizens currently in the U.S. legally.

d. Deportation of undocumented noncitizens in the U.S. illegally. e. Prevention of illegal crossings into the U.S.

We must fix our broken immigration system. I support a balanced approach that will make our country safer, reduce the immigration court backlog, make our border more orderly and secure, and keep families together. We must create a pathway to citizenship for those who have been here a long time, work hard, and play by the rules – including our Dreamers who came to this country as children. In speaking to agricultural and construction industries, we know we must also pass the bipartisan Farmworker Modernization Act and ensure that we have legal pathways for other needed workers. We must send more resources to the border, especially investments in technology and staff to make sure that drugs and criminals do not come into the U.S. I will continue to work on a bipartisan basis to find common sense solutions that fix our system and uphold our nation’s values.

EDUCATION

2. With New Mexico ranking so consistently at the bottom of all national rankings regarding K-12 education, what would you encourage the House do to address the issue in some way?

We invest in what we believe in, and I believe in our students and their future. My parents were educators and I saw firsthand how good education and caring teachers can change the lives of students. I started my academic career at the local Head Start and fell in love with learning. The American Rescue Plan invested $112 billion in our nation’s grade schools. As a member of the House Education Committee, I’ve worked to expand apprenticeships and vocational school opportunities for New Mexicans wanting to go right into the workforce. I have advocated to preserve and expand funding in our schools that serve lower income students, known as Title, I schools. In New Mexico, 86% of New Mexico schools are eligible for Title 1 funding. Republicans have proposed to cut or eliminate Title 1 funding and Head Start which would devastate New Mexico’s education system. Lastly, I supported Constitutional Amendment I to provide access to early childhood education for all New Mexico’s children.

INNOVATION

3. New Mexico has a history of being part of historic innovation in many fields, including science, military, and the arts. What would you encourage the House to do in helping our state build on and expand innovation in multiple areas?

We must continue to leverage federal investments, federal programs, and federal institutions to spur private innovation and investment that will grow our economy and create good-paying jobs. I led efforts to promote technology transfer from our national labs to spin off groundbreaking technologies and grow private business. I introduced legislation to protect our arts economy during the pandemic. I’m hoping my Creative Economy Investment Act will generate additional funds for New Mexico’s creative arts and apprenticeships. The CHIPS and Science Act helped spur Intel to invest $3.5 billion into its facilities in New Mexico. This is only part of the approximate $8.3 billion in private investment in manufacturing and other industries flowing from bills I helped pass my first session in Congress. I’ve pushed back against Republican efforts to undo that legislation this session because I know New Mexico must create an Enchanted Innovation Economy. To build any economy, you also need basic infrastructure so that our businesses have water and roads and internet. Together, the bills I helped pass like the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act have invested billions of dollars into New Mexico roads, transit systems, manufacturing, renewable energy, clean water systems, health care, and so much more. I will continue to secure investments that grow our economy, diversify our tax base, and put hard-working New Mexicans to work in good jobs.

PARTY LINES

4. Name an issue where you have – or would consider doing so – voted against the majority of your party because it was the better decision for the people in your district.

The needs of our New Mexico communities always come first in D.C. and in New Mexico. I represent the second-largest rural Democratic district in the country and our rural communities share many similarities with Republican districts. After talking with farmers and ranchers, I partnered with a Republican colleague to introduce the Support the West Act to make sure USDA conservation programs work for the arid west. I’m a co-sponsor of another Republican colleague’s bill which would cut red tape for local slaughterhouses and allow small ranchers to sell their meats at farmers’ markets and to local hotels, restaurants, and grocery stores. I constantly educate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle about the unique issues and challenges in our rural communities. I’ve led legislation that increases communication between the federal government and land grants, which are so unique to New Mexico. I have held the federal government accountable for PFAS contamination in New Mexico working with dairy farmers and pushed the Hermit’s Peak Office to compensate survivors more quickly. I continue to work on a bipartisan basis on an array of issues and will never hesitate to advocate for our beloved communities, regardless of party politics.

ENERGY ISSUES

5. Knowing New Mexico as a state receives as much as 50 percent of its budget from revenues from oil and gas exploration, what would you encourage your colleagues in the House to do to protect the industry in the state?

a. What would you do to make the industry safer?

New Mexico is blessed with an abundance of natural resources that include oil and gas that help fund our schools but also wind and solar that can help power our state. I know many hardworking New Mexicans work in the oil and gas industry and am committed to not only supporting the workers in these communities but also growing and diversifying their economies to avoid the boom-and-bust cycle we have seen in the past.

b.What would you do to simultaneously encourage other energy industries?

For example, I secured $4.7 billion dollars to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells – which will prevent methane from seeping into the atmosphere and create good jobs in oil and gas communities. We also have to invest in the federal agencies that regulate and oversee worker safety in the energy industry. These investments will create good paying jobs for skilled New Mexican workers, grow our economy, and make sure that the New Mexico energy industry is keeping workers safe.