{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/vasquez-voted-support-lgbtq-community-and-reproductive-rights", "Vasquez Voted to Support the LGBTQ+ Community and Reproductive Rights", "2023-09-29", "2023", "2023-09", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Gabe Vasquez", "V000136", "vasquez.house.gov", "vasquez", "https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 On Thursday, September 28, 2023, U.S.Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) voted against the Department of Defense Appropriations (DoD) Act and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act. As the government is on the brink of a shutdown, far-right Republicans prioritized attacking LGTBQ+ service members and their families and access to reproductive health care over national defense and national security.\n\n\u201cReproductive care is health care. At a time when states are limiting access to abortion services, we must ensure our service members can access reproductive care, regardless of where they are stationed,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cOur trans service members are equally deserving of quality care \u2013 amid constant attacks on the LGBTQ+ community\u2019s basic rights, these discriminatory amendments must be removed. Restricting any of our service members\u2019 access to essential health care is a disservice to them and their commitment to our country.\u201d\n\nThe DHS Appropriations Act cuts funding for humanitarian programs for family reunification, immigration detention oversight, and refugee processing and mandates that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must maintain no less than 41,500 detention beds. ] Congress has called for comprehensive immigration reform and border security, but these provisions exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and do nothing to address the problem.\n\nEarlier this week, Vasquez and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06) released a joint statement as Co-Chairs of the Bipartisan Southwest Caucus sharing how the government shutdown will impact the border, \u201cIf the government shuts down, the federal government is telling U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers they must do their job without pay. These men and women deserve more respect than that.\u201d Vasquez and Ciscomani added, \u201cNow, as our communities continue to face a fentanyl crisis, the last thing we need is agents and officers who are not properly supported. Not only will a shutdown further crush the morale of our customs agents, but it would also delay our ports of entry and stifle local economies, especially those that depend on our strong trade partnership with Mexico.\n\nThe current Continuing Resolution cuts would remove 800 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officers, leading to more than 300 pounds of fentanyl entering the country. Vasquez added, \u201cThe far-right Republicans would rather avoid bipartisan solutions and close the government than address pressing issues such as border security and the fentanyl crisis.\u201d\n\nVasquez has always prioritized New Mexico in every decision. Far-right Republicans continue to hold the government hostage for their out-of-touch and hurtful priorities. However, through the chaos, Vasquez has remained focused on delivering for his constituents, including recent bills such as the VET MEDS Act to expand access to health care for rural veterans and the Parity for Tribal Educators Act to address teacher shortages at tribal schools.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:37:48Z"]], "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-voted-support-lgbtq-community-and-reproductive-rights"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.318817026913166, "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"}