{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/press-releases/new-mexico-delegation-requests-disaster-declaration-to-help-pueblo-of-acoma-recover-from-october-storms", "New Mexico Delegation Requests Disaster Declaration To Help Pueblo Of Acoma Recover From October Storms", "2017-12-05", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Martin Heinrich", "H001046", "www.heinrich.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "New Mexico Delegation Requests Disaster Declaration To Help Pueblo Of Acoma Recover From October Storms\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, December 5, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Reps. Steve Pearce, Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n and Michelle Lujan Grisham sent a letter to President Trump urging him to respond quickly to a request for disaster assistance for the Pueblo of Acoma.\r\nThe Pueblo of Acoma is asking the federal government for help with hazard mitigation and to repair public infrastructure damaged by severe weather and flooding that occurred between Oct. 4 and Oct. 6, 2017. The storm caused extreme damage to tribal infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and sewer lines. The piled-up debris and wreckage created treacherous driving conditions along 10 miles of roads and bridges, isolating parts of the Pueblo lands from the rest of the territory.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThese conditions directly impacted the everyday lives of the Pueblo\u2019s community members, including individuals who were looking to gather firewood to heat their homes, and cattle farmers who were trying to ensure grazing areas were sufficient for their cattle needs,\u201d\u00a0the lawmakers wrote. \u201cNative communities deserve full and complete protection of their resources, land, and livelihoods. Recovering from this incident will require a full and coordinated approach. We appreciate your past responsiveness to the State of New Mexico when our communities have sought federal disaster assistance, and thank you for your attention to this important issue.\u201d\r\nAccording to Pueblo of Acoma Governor Kurt Riley\u2019s letter requesting the disaster declaration, damages resulting from the storms have currently been assessed at $2 million, seven times above the eligible damage required for public assistance consideration through major disaster declaration.\r\nThe full letter is available\u00a0here\u00a0and below.\r\nDecember 5, 2017\u00a0\r\nThe Honorable Donald Trump\u00a0President of the United States\u00a0The White House\u00a01600 Pennsylvania AvenueWashington, D.C. 20500\r\nDear President Trump:\r\n\u00a0\r\nWe respectfully request that you take prompt action on Pueblo of Acoma Governor Kurt Riley\u2019s request for a major disaster declaration for severe weather and flooding that occurred in the Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico, between October 4th through 6th, 2017.\r\n\r\nThis severe storm caused extreme damage to tribal infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and sewer lines. Furthermore, the piled-up debris and wreckage created treacherous driving conditions along 10 miles of roads and bridges, isolating parts of the Pueblo lands from the rest of the territory. These conditions directly impacted the everyday lives of the Pueblo\u2019s community members, including individuals who were looking to gather firewood to heat their homes, and cattle farmers who were trying to ensure grazing areas were sufficient for their cattle needs.\r\n\r\nNative communities deserve full and complete protection of their resources, land, and livelihoods. Recovering from this incident will require a full and coordinated approach. We appreciate your past responsiveness to the State of New Mexico when our communities have sought federal disaster assistance, and thank you for your attention to this important issue.\r\n\r\n\r\nU.S. Senator Tom UdallU.S. Senator Martin HeinrichU.S. Representative Steve PearceU.S. Representative Ben Ray Luj\u00e1nU.S. Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.heinrich.senate.gov/press-releases/new-mexico-delegation-requests-disaster-declaration-to-help-pueblo-of-acoma-recover-from-october-storms"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6074040904641151, "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"}