How Trump’s Spending Bill Could Reshape NM

This week on New Mexico in Focus, we discuss President Trump’s massive tax and spending bill and dig into a few key changes coming to our state.  

Tina Cordova, the president and co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders, has advocated for decades for those who were exposed to radiation during and after the Trinity Test —  the first-ever detonation of a nuclear bomb. Host Nash Jones speaks with Cordova about her life’s work: pushing for reparations for New Mexico victims, and what the newly revived Radiation Exposure Compensation Act includes.

In collaboration with nonprofit news organization Capital and Main, oil and gas reporter Jerry Redfern stopped by our studio to interview Kyle Tisdel, senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center. The two examine Trump’s tax and spending bill — and how it fits with Trump’s executive orders to roll back federal regulations on the oil and gas industry.

State Sen. Jim Townsend, a Republican from Artesia, sits down for a conversation with Senior Producer Lou DiVizio. Although he praises the bill, Townsend tells Lou that he wants state leaders to help fill funding gaps left in the wake of Trump’s cuts.

In collaboration with New Mexico In Depth, Indigenous Affairs Reporter Bella Davis visits a local farm to learn about the meaning and importance of Indigenous food sovereignty in New Mexico and beyond. 

Host: Nash Jones

Segments:

Downwinders Added to RECA
Correspondent: Nash Jones
Guest: Tina Cordova, Co-founder, Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium

President Trump’s Push to Deregulate the Oil and Gas Industry
Correspondent: Jerry Redfern
Guest: Kyle Tisdel, Attorney and Climate and Energy Program Director, Western Environmental Law Center

Republican NM Senator Praises Trump’s Tax and Spending Bill
Correspondent: Lou DiVizio
Guest: NM Sen. Jim Townsend, R-Artesia

How Indigenous Food Sovereignty Actually Works?
Host/Producer: Bella Davis (Yurok)
Director/Producer: Benjamin C Yazza (Diné)
Camera: Joey Dunn (Diné) and RJ Torres
Guests:
Kara Bobroff (Navajo/Lakota), Co-Founder & Executive Director
Maximo Lopez, Farm Director
Kevin Mahkee (Zuni Pueblo)
Mali Nichols
Alan Brauer, Co-Founder & Senior Director
Maya Kwon (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate), Native American Community Academy Liaison
Orenda Martine (Navajo & Laguna/Zuni/Santo Domingo Pueblos), Native American Community Academy Alum