{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/vasquez-stands-service-members-pushes-more-affordable-housing-and-celebrates", "Vasquez Stands with Service Members, Pushes for More Affordable Housing, and Celebrates Public Lands Victory", "2025-08-01", "2025", "2025-08", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Gabe Vasquez", "V000136", "vasquez.house.gov", "vasquez", "https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Las Cruces, N.M. \u2013 On August 1, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) concluded a productive district work period week in the southern portion of his district. Several events of note during the work period included:\n\nRep. Vasquez Stands with Service Members\n\nOn Tuesday, July 29, Rep. Vasquez visited White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), one of the premier defense facilities in the nation, the birthplace of America\u2019s missile program, and a point of pride for those that call Southern New Mexico home. He met with WSMR\u2019s new Senior Commander, Col. Andrew R. Morgan, and the two discussed the Congressman\u2019s ongoing work to help WSMR secure federal funds to improve outdated housing and school infrastructure \u2014 enhancing quality of life for service members and their families.\n\n\u201cService members at White Sands train tirelessly, work hard, and selflessly serve their country while living in outdated housing that is decades past its prime\u2014that\u2019s just not right,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cThat\u2019s why in mid-July, I pushed Army Secretary Driscoll and Army Installation Management Command to dispense $7 million dollars to make much-needed improvements to service member housing at White Sands Missile Range, and I was promised those funds are on their way.\u201d\n\nRep. Vasquez also worked to ensure that his bipartisan TRICARE Travel Improvement Act was included in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will help military families serving in remote areas, including at WSMR, access health care by reducing the travel reimbursement threshold under TRICARE Prime from 100 miles to 50 miles for active-duty service members and their families. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Vasquez helped advance the bill out of Committee with strong bipartisan support and it now awaits consideration by the full House.\n\nRep. Vasquez and Col. Morgan also discussed the Congressman\u2019s efforts to secure $38.5 million for a power generating microgrid at WSMR under the FY 2026 NDAA, which Col. Morgan said was necessary as WSMR \u201clooks forward to the future.\u201d\n\nRep. Vasquez Pushes for More Affordable Housing\n\nOn Tuesday, July 29, Rep. Vasquez also met with Alamogordo officials, advocates, and residents to find real solutions to lower housing costs and keep homes within reach for working families.\n\n\u201cOne in 6 homes in New Mexico are mobile homes, making the scale of this affordability issue enormous,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cI refuse to sit by and let greedy, negligent landlords from out-of-state price gouge mobile home rental prices, driving our neighbors out of the homes and communities they have known all their lives.\u201d\n\nIn the coming weeks, Rep. Vasquez will introduce his Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act to ensure that outside investor groups do not purchase outsized numbers of mobile homes and pads to drastically increase the rent and price out current residents.\n\n[VIEW A RECORDING OF THE MEETING HERE]\n\nRep. Vasquez Celebrates Public Lands Victory\n\nOn Wednesday, July 30, Rep. Vasquez visited White Sands National Park \u2014 marking his first official public lands visit since he successfully led a bipartisan push to protect 3.3 million acres of public land across New Mexico and ten other states from being sold under the Republican tax plan.\n\nDuring the visit, he had the opportunity to talk with National Park Service staff about the ongoing funding and staffing shortages national parks are facing, the impact the park has on southern New Mexico\u2019s economy, and his commitment to continue advocating for our public lands in Congress.\n\n\u201cPlaces like White Sands National Park are a reminder of why New Mexico is called the Land of Enchantment and why it\u2019s vital to keep public lands in public hands,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cI\u2019m proud that my bipartisan Public Lands Caucus won a major victory in preventing Senator Lee\u2019s attempt to sell 3.3 million acres of our public land, and we will keep working to preserve these treasured lands for future generations.\u201d\n\nThe visit concluded with a special treat: a chance to see the oldest human footprint in the United States.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:57:50Z"]], "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://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/vasquez-stands-service-members-pushes-more-affordable-housing-and-celebrates"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.143692061305046, "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"}