Work on mental health parity caps Domenici’s career

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The enacting today of a bill that mandates mental health parity in the insurance industry will be the final chapter in the legacy left by the retiring Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. Following the House’s approval of the bailout bill earlier today that included the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, Domenici and three other members of the Senate who pushed the parity legislation for years sent a joint news release expressing their joy at its approval. Sens. Domenici; Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.; Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.; and Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; made approving the legislation several years ago a priority. Domenici has a daughter who suffers from schizophrenia. In the release, Domenici said the approval of the bill, which was signed by the president following today’s House vote, ushers in “a new era of health care for those with mental illnesses.” “No longer will we allow mental health to be treated as a stepchild in the health care system. Continue Reading

New polls are good news for Obama, Udall, Teague

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Several new, independent polls have Democrats leading in New Mexico’s presidential, U.S. Senate and 2nd Congressional District races. In the presidential race, two new polls show Democrat Barack Obama maintaining a lead over Republican John McCain. A Survey USA poll released Wednesday had Obama leading McCain by eight percentage points, 52 percent to 44 percent. That’s similar to the results of other recent polls. The survey of 689 likely voters was conducted Monday and Tuesday and has a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points. Continue Reading

Congress OKs bailout; Pearce, Udall vote against it

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This article has been updated. Though the U.S. House reversed courses today and voted to approve the economic bailout bill, New Mexico’s two U.S. Senate candidates refused to switch sides and voted with the minority against it. The final vote was 263-171 in favor of passing the legislation, a huge shift from the 228-205 defeat of a prior version of the bill in the House on Monday. In the interim, hundreds of pages were added to the bill, including a number of tax breaks and Sen. Pete Domenici’s mental health parity legislation. Since it’s already been approved on a 74-25 vote by the Senate, the bill now heads to the president, who is expected to sign it. Continue Reading

Sign up now to participate in congressional forums

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New Mexico First is sponsoring congressional forums in each of the state’s three districts later this month, and is seeking people who are interested in participating in town-hall meetings to discuss issues they want the candidates to address and then question the candidates during the forums. The half-day, town-hall meetings will precede the live, televised forums at which those who participate in the forums will become the studio audiences and get the opportunity to question the candidates. To participate, people must be registered voters. To get more information and sign up, click here. Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Dinner will be provided to the participants between the meetings and candidate forums. The 2nd Congressional District forum will be held from 7-8 p.m. on Thursday at the KRWG-TV studio on the New Mexico State University campus in Las Cruces and broadcast live on all three public television stations in the state and several public radio stations. Continue Reading

McCain backers say Palin proved herself during debate

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Sitting in a restaurant in Las Cruces, Frank Gamboa became visibly upset when he watched Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden say during Thursday’s debate that he hasn’t heard of any differences between the policies of President Bush and those of Republican presidential candidate John McCain. “You haven’t been listening, you jerk,” Gamboa said aloud while he raised a fist in the air. Gamboa was among a handful of surrogates and others involved in McCain’s campaign who watched Thursday’s vice presidential debate at Uno Chicago Bar and Grill. The group was clearly pleased with Sarah Palin’s performance, and at many points some of them became upset with statements made by Biden. Gamboa, who was McCain’s roommate at the Naval Academy, said after the debate that he believed Palin was “clear and to the point” during the debate, while Biden’s responses to questions were meandering and angry. Continue Reading

Pearce plans to vote against bailout bill

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U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce doesn’t support the version of the economic bailout bill the House is scheduled to vote on later today. The Senate has already approved the reworked version of the measure the House rejected on Monday. Pearce voted against the previous version of the bill, and said in a news release sent late Thursday that he doesn’t see anything in the new version to change his vote.Pearce said there are some provisions in the new bill that are “praiseworthy,” but “the majority are unrelated to the financial crisis and add billions in wasteful pork projects and payoffs to special interests.” “Even though I understand influential groups have urged support for the bill, the American people have this one exactly right. Constituents calling my office have overwhelmingly opposed the bill,” Pearce said. “Unless I can find a reason that is not currently included in the present version of the bill, I will vote to protect average Americans by opposing this outrageous big-government intrusion into the market system.” Congressional leaders are struggling to change the votes of at least 12 members of the House who voted against the bailout on Monday. Continue Reading

Pundits figure out that 2nd District race is hot

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National pundits have begun to realize what many living in southern New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District have known for months: The race to replace Steve Pearce in Congress is hot. Cook Political Report today changed its ranking of the race from “lean Republican” to “toss up.” The report mentions a recently released internal poll from Democratic candidate Harry Teague that has him leading Republican Ed Tinsley by 5 percentage points. Though the poll is a month old and was conducted before Tinsley started advertising on television, it’s the only polling on the race that has been released publicly. “While this district’s conservatism should provide Tinsley a boost, insiders say he has run a less than perfect campaign. At an August forum, Tinsley went off message when he said that Teague wanted to ‘cut (troops) throats’ by cutting off funding for the war,” Cook Political Report stated in a posting about today’s rankings change. Continue Reading

Pearce, Udall, Wilson staying mum on bailout vote

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At least three members of the House who voted against the bailout bill on Monday confirmed today that they have switched sides and will support a reworked bill the House will vote on tomorrow, but that still leaves supporters several votes short of passage. Meanwhile, New Mexico’s three U.S. representatives — Steve Pearce, Tom Udall and Heather Wilson — have still not announced whether they plan to vote for or against the new bill. While Wilson voted for Monday’s bill, Pearce and Udall voted with the majority against it. Spokesmen for both men said this afternoon that they still have no update on whether their bosses have decided how they’ll vote on Friday. Wilson’s spokesman has not responded to a request for comment. Continue Reading

Actors to push Obama, voter registration at NMSU

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Actress Eva Longoria and actor Adam Rodriguez will stop at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces on Sunday to promote the candidacy of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and urge college students to register to vote ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. Longoria, of “Desperate Housewives” fame, and Rodriguez, who stars in “CSI: Miami,” will appear at a rally on the outdoor stage located east of Corbett Center at 11:15 a.m., according to a news release. Click here to view the event’s invitation. According to the news release, “Longoria and Rodriguez will speak to college students at NMSU about why voting in this election is an important privilege. This year, more than ever, New Mexicans have responded to the call to action, to change the state and change the country. Continue Reading

Miller will be allowed to participate in debate

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KOAT-TV and the Albuquerque Journal have apparently decided to let independent 3rd Congressional District candidate Carol Miller participate in their televised Oct. 19 debate. Miller wrote in an e-mail to supporters today that, after the news organizations came under fire for announcing that they would exclude her from the debate with Democrat Ben Ray Luján and Republican Dan East, they changed their minds and decided to let her participate. “I want to thank you for taking the time to stand up for democracy. Your voice was heard!” Miller wrote to her supporters. Continue Reading

Guns become the focus of the 2nd District race

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This article has been updated. Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley turned the focus of the race to guns last week when he unveiled an ad accusing Democratic opponent Harry Teague of not being supportive of the Second Amendment — and using an eight-year-old quote from Teague to back up the attack. Here’s the 30-second spot, which is airing around the district: “Southern New Mexico values the Second Amendment, unlike Harry Teague. He says he’s not a gun fan, and it’d be fine with him to turn his guns in to the government,” Tinsley says in the ad. “But that’s no surprise, because Harry Teague has liberal views.” The ad cites a Teague quote included in a Feb. Continue Reading

Mental health parity to be included in bailout bill

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When the U.S. Senate votes this evening on a $700 billion bailout plan aimed at boosting the struggling economy, it will also consider mental health parity legislation that Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and others have pushed for years. Domenici’s office announced today that the mental health parity legislation had been added to the bailout bill that will be voted on tonight. It “was a decision made by the leadership, in consultation with other senators,” Domenici spokesman Chris Gallegos said, adding that, “Domenici supports the Senate package to be voted on today.” Gallegos said the adding of the mental health legislation doesn’t mean a lot of extras are being slipped into the financial bailout bill. He said the legislation that will be voted on tonight includes the economic bailout proposal, a range of tax relief proposals and the mental health parity legislation. Domenici introduced the first bill to require insurance companies to provide parity between mental health and other medical benefits in 1996. Continue Reading

Senate to vote on bailout; pressure remains on House

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The offices of U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce and Tom Udall continued to be inundated on Tuesday with phone calls and e-mails from people wanting to weigh in on the proposed $700 billion bailout, with most speaking against the bill the House rejected on Monday. But it appears that the Senate, not the House, will make the next attempt to pass a bailout package to try to provide aid to the struggling economy. In a surprise move, Senate leaders announced late Tuesday that they’ll vote today on a bailout plan that also includes a number of tax breaks the House rejected last week. Before that move was announced Tuesday, leaders in both parties were trying to make minor changes to the bailout proposal in an attempt to win about a dozen additional votes in the House to ensure passage. Continue Reading