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| March Madness |
April 04, 2001 |
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Dear Friends,
The last two weeks have been "March Madness" in Washington. We`ve had lots of visitors in town from New Mexico for their spring meetings. (The cherry blossoms were supposed to be out, but they`ve only started poking through this week. Too cold.) Folks usually drop by to make sure I know about issues important to them.
At the same time, we`ve gotten our junk e-mail bill through both the subcommittee and the full Commerce Committee while working in the background with my peers to get some things moving on teacher training and math and science education.
And we`ve had several hearings and working meetings very important to New Mexico, particularly on crafting a national energy policy and health care. Christine Todd Whitman came to the Hill for what turned out to be a lively hearing on water quality, and the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Powell, came to our committee for the first time to share his thoughts on the future for television, radio, telephone and the internet. We`ve had several Armed Services hearings as well on threast and foce posture and the implementation of TRICARE for life.
These hearings are a chance to learn. They are also a chance to advocate for New Mexico. (It sometimes amazes me how little people know about the West in general and New Mexico particularly.)
Meanwhile, on the floor of the house, we have debated and passed the Budget and debated and passed the marriage tax penalty relief and an expansion of the children`s tax credit from $500 to $1000 per child. Today, we passed death tax relief.
You can find my summary of what the budget and tax measures mean for New Mexicans in our news section.
While helping individual New Mexicans and community work is still the most personally satisfying part of this job, I have always felt at ease with the quiet hard work of public policy. Listening to people, promoting ideas, advocating, building consensus, persisting, finding the path forward if there is one, often quietly around the edges of March madness.
For the next two weeks I`ll be working in New Mexico. We`ve got a lot going on, so check the events schedule and come on by. I`d love to see you.
Wish you were here,
Heather |
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