{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://stansbury.house.gov/media/press-releases/nm-delegation-announces-new-resources-hermits-peakcalf-canyon-fire-recovery", "N.M. Delegation Announces New Resources for Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Recovery", "2023-06-02", "2023", "2023-06", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Melanie A. Stansbury", "S001218", "stansbury.house.gov", "stansbury", "https://stansbury.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (N.M.) and Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez (N.M.-03), Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) and Gabe Vasquez (N.M.-02) are welcoming two new actions taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in helping New Mexicans recover from the Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire.\n\nThis week, following months of advocacy from the delegation, FEMA and the Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office announced a new partnership with USDA\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Under this partnership, claimants will have the option to request a NRCS conservation and restoration plan, tailored to recovering from the Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and subsequent flooding, to include cost estimates that can be utilized by the Claims Office to process claims quickly and efficiently. This service will be provided at no cost to the claimant.\n\nAdditionally, the Congressional delegation is announcing over $265 million from USDA\u2019s Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program to help with wildfire recovery efforts. This funding will fund 28 EWP projects in 16 states impacted by extreme weather events, including the Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in New Mexico.\n\n\u201cThese are critical and necessary steps in the fight to ensure those impacted by the Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire are made whole,\u201dsaid Heinrich.\u201cI\u2019m especially glad to see USDA and FEMA heed our call to work together for New Mexicans. I will leave no stone unturned in making sure that New Mexico families and communities make a full recovery, and that we restore the health of the forests and watershed that these communities rely on.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis new partnership with FEMA and USDA makes clear that recovery is an ongoing process,\u201dsaid Luj\u00e1n.\"This partnership is a big step in helping provide critical support to New Mexicans recovering from the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fires. By helping file claims quickly and efficiently, our communities are one step closer to rebuilding their homes and businesses.\"\n\n\u201cOur communities need every available resource to recover from the Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. The delegation successfully pushed USDA and FEMA to create this partnership to assist fire survivors,\u201dsaid Leger Fern\u00e1ndez. \u201cThe availability of custom conservation plans from NRCS will take one more burden off the shoulders of fire victims and help them restore their lands. At the same time, the additional funds from the Emergency Watershed Protection program will help rebuild our essential watersheds and acequias and protect our communities.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am proud that our delegation secured $3.95 billion in federal funds for New Mexicans affected by the devastating Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire\u2014it\u2019s time to get this funding out the door to our communities,\u201dsaid Stansbury. \u201cI am pleased to see that FEMA and USDA are partnering to cut red tape and disburse relief more efficiently to New Mexicans. This initiative, in addition to news of the $265 million investment in New Mexico\u2019s post-fire watershed restoration, will help us move forward with recovery efforts. We will not stop until New Mexicans receive the full measure of relief that they are owed by the federal government to rebuild, recover, and thrive.\u201d\n\n\u201cDuring a House Agriculture Forestry Subcommittee hearing earlier this month, I asked the U.S. Forest Service Chief why only thirteen of the 140 eligible households had received any promised relief after the USFS started one of the most devastating fires through a prescribed burn in New Mexico,\u201dsaid Vasquez. \u201cAfter asking why there was such a clear disconnect between the USDA and FEMA, I am proud to see that there is now a partnership to ensure relief is delivered quickly to those who need it most.\u201d\n\nEarlier this month, Heinrich, Luj\u00e1n, and Leger Fern\u00e1ndezsent a letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas and FEMA Administrator Criswell expressing concern over the prolonged delay in finalizing the regulations for the Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Claims Office.\n\nHeinrich, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Luj\u00e1n, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee,secured funding in the Omnibus Appropriations Agreement for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) to support critical U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) emergency disaster programs. Heinrich also garnered additional support from U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young, who included these programs in OMB\u2019s disaster supplemental request.\n\nIna bipartisan letter last year, Heinrich and Luj\u00e1n called on then Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy and Ranking Member Richard Shelby to prioritize supplemental funding for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program at levels that meet USDA estimates. The New Mexico delegation successfully increased funding for these important programs.\n\nFollowing the devastating Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire in April 2022, New Mexico\u2019s Congressional Democrats secured $3.95 billion to help New Mexicans recover and rebuild. The funding established the Hermit\u2019s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Claim\u2019s Office at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:08:25Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://stansbury.house.gov/media/press-releases/nm-delegation-announces-new-resources-hermits-peakcalf-canyon-fire-recovery"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.2095018066465855, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}