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Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury used a town hall in Sandoval County to outline election threats she says are unfolding nationwide — including aggressive redistricting in Texas and other states — and to explain how local officials and residents can respond.

Redistricting and gerrymandering
Stansbury described a nationwide, state-by-state effort she said Republican officials are pursuing to redraw maps in their favor. She cited Texas as a test case where state lawmakers produced highly gerrymandered maps and described Democrats leaving the state to block a vote. \"They're trying to cheat,\" she said, adding that the response must include litigation and local organizing.

\"The most important election official for you is the Sandoval County Clerk,\" Stansbury told attendees, stressing that county clerks and secretaries of state administer ballots and that local officials matter for election security. She argued New Mexico has strong protections, pointing to the state's 2023 voting law and the Native American Voting Rights Act and said New Mexico was recently recognized for electoral security.

Federalization of the District of Columbia
When asked about the administration's statements on federalizing law enforcement in Washington, D.C., Stansbury said the proposal is not new to some Republicans but that attempts to withhold federal funding are \"extortion\" of locally elected leaders. She said Mayor Muriel Bowser has resisted and that increasing federal presence without criminal jurisdiction would be legally and politically fraught.

What residents can do
Stansbury urged residents to call members of Congress, get involved in state redistricting fights, and support civic organizations working on litigation and voter protection. She said the House Democratic caucus and national groups are coordinating a multifaceted strategy and encouraged local activism and calls to elected officials.

Ending
Stansbury emphasized sustained civic engagement: \"Silence is deadly,\" she said, urging constituents to call, show up at town halls and communicate with family and friends in other states to counter planned redistricting and other election threats.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Sandoval County - SC Townhall County Chambers","oneSentenceSummary","Rep. Melanie Stansbury told Sandoval County residents that gerrymandering and other election threats are active in several states, described New Mexico's voter protections as strong, and criticized proposals to federalize D.C. law enforcement while urging civic engagement.","taxTitle","Sandoval County, New Mexico","taxId",2697,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6584783,"Stansbury warns public-lands selloff effort could return; delegation and tribes mobilizing over Buffalo tract",1821,2880000,4701000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5558886-f616fe40a801e1903b095b768b2844a8&start=2880&end=4701","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5558886-f616fe40a801e1903b095b768b2844a8/thumbnail_2880000.jpg","/articles/6584783/Sandoval-County/New-Mexico/Stansbury-warns-public-lands-selloff-effort-could-return-delegation-and-tribes-mobilizing-over-Buffalo-tract","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6584783-f2b138707d9f028d09847e895cb1b5b9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770489811&Signature=JYRbcSPjaRx-Ze8IEEvgbKvwXm~AQYP2DlzVO8H-rs5sPhEGvmT3RGOYtMBmpKdnAtnjnFneiJWdk-8h0rNLcqStjzPu7o7iuhPyMDOBifo66aDjYEihZPBlPUrjsPH0x2mi-U6N5P9QMs2xyhW3nonxurWlgZrWJmXIzW7XbvLiXwYs4gjA92lkDAzXvIHnkEEnHxi5ANncICHnoVGk5f0r7zTlaMiNTwxcunCh6G4xgRxK6vzzgzS96GzrqiytcHSTTI8K~yeZ5l5LZuTHbwTonasWqewd2xBDXw4TRBUqByAdyONEFoMXGdXk9jBLrvMuSCAIGvOYwOawXNHnLA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Rio Rancho, Sandoval County
Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury said a proposal to sell federal public lands was included in the federal package she criticized and that she and other New Mexico elected officials helped defeat that provision; she warned the threat to public lands will return and described ongoing coordination with tribal governments to push back.

\"They wanted to sell off 3,000,000 acres of public lands,\" Stansbury said, describing the provision as an attempt to privatize large tracts of federal lands. \"Most of the lands that they were seeking to privatize ... had big mining companies that were after those lands. This was not about housing.\"

Stansbury said the provision provoked broad opposition and that the delegation prevailed this time: \"Part of why we were able to kill that provision is because it was so universally distasteful to take away our public lands.\" She added that the White House and Department of the Interior may return with administrative measures and that tribes are evaluating legal options.

Buffalo tract and Chaco Canyon
During questions, attendees raised the \"Buffalo tract,\" a parcel of public land near Chaco Canyon that some residents and tribes regard as sacred and ecologically sensitive. Stansbury said the administration's Department of the Interior has shown an approach that makes administrative reversal possible and that New Mexico's congressional delegation and tribal governments are \"fighting back and trying to help educate the secretary about why this is a bad idea.\"

What leaders said and next steps
Stansbury said members of the delegation (Senators and other representatives) and tribal governments are strategizing about litigation and administrative channels to stop any unilateral transfer or sale. She urged continued constituent engagement: \"Stay in the fight,\" she told attendees, and encouraged people to call congressional and state offices.

Ending
Stansbury said the public-lands selloff language was politically unpopular across constituencies and that she expects opponents will again press for land transfers; she urged local activism and legal readiness as the principal tools to defend public lands.","At a Sandoval County town hall U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury said a recent federal package contained a provision to sell federal public lands that was defeated but that the effort will recur; she and the New Mexico delegation and tribes are preparing to oppose administrative moves that could affect lands such as the Buffalo tract in Chaco Canyon.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6584786,"Stansbury tells Sandoval County 'big ugly bill' will hit Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP and education; New Mexico preparing temporary backstops",1921,493000,2414000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5558886-f616fe40a801e1903b095b768b2844a8&start=493&end=2414","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5558886-f616fe40a801e1903b095b768b2844a8/thumbnail_493000.jpg","/articles/6584786/Sandoval-County/New-Mexico/Stansbury-tells-Sandoval-County-big-ugly-bill-will-hit-Medicaid-Medicare-SNAP-and-education-New-Mexico-preparing-temporary-backstops","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6584786-0b7ae4f7544e311ac756ac21ce8b63d8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770489811&Signature=S7vNXKGwKR9z9jbxgHO3VYB0BLnOZX2p10LJ2JJJ-H38HkHuBsNmM3-RQvaDM121ywerQ7E8dPJR9sIesIRa5GSbPjelroYhF17Ccb~NRm3HFRMGnb7w70QUyCGNQUJ~ayqtEkEMBN~vv6g8abktxTSAw7-B92eXmjxRR9y2MR22r2L4w-0zWN3xLFxP6YRRzsKOX74Ec89fR0IGRUp9fEoy4gZR0XhLFUGBU722oR7IonoCeAS-f0yxJguv6-WmNGMmUgZQ8lJqg3dvkZkH9Yyf9BJspy4kV4QdFcLt50pzj0CoOpBePx6z4W0tQxqD~DzpomH8MVuka-~qaOBVLg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sandoval County
Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury told residents at a Sandoval County town hall that a federal package she called the \"big ugly bill\" will significantly affect health care, food assistance, education and energy investments and that New Mexico leaders are preparing temporary measures to limit the harm.

Stansbury (U.S. Representative for New Mexico's 1st Congressional District) said the law \"spends $4,000,000,000,000 in American taxpayer dollars\" and imposes new monthly paperwork requirements on Medicaid recipients that, she said, will cause many people to lose coverage. \"Every month as a Medicaid recipient, you're gonna have to reprove you qualify,\" she said, adding that the change will increase administrative churn and the risk that eligible people will be cut off.

The congresswoman said the package also removes or reduces federal insurance subsidies and that private insurance premiums could rise as a result: \"your health care premium is gonna go from about 400 a month to 800 a month again,\" she said, attributing that estimate to recent conversations with insurers. Stansbury warned that Medicare reimbursements and program coverage also face cuts tied to the law's deficit spending.

Why it matters: Stansbury framed the package as an immediate, widescale threat to access and affordability for New Mexicans who rely on Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP. She told the crowd that state leaders are assessing which hospitals, clinics and providers will be most affected and that the governor and state legislature have pledged to \"plug as many holes as possible\" in the short term.

Details from the town hall
- Medicaid and paperwork: Stansbury said the law will require monthly re-verification of eligibility, increasing the likelihood that recipients will lose benefits for reasons such as missed paperwork or temporary internet or transportation failures. She estimated \"between 10 and 15,000,000 Americans are gonna drop off of Medicaid because of these requirements.\" She described that estimate as a projection derived from reading the law and early state analyses.

- Medicare: Stansbury said automatic cuts could be triggered by deficit spending in the package, which she said would reduce Medicare reimbursements and coverage in ways that could affect clinics and hospitals.

- Health insurance subsidies: Stansbury said the federal subsidy for marketplace premiums was not reauthorized in the package and warned of large premium increases that could force people to drop coverage and strain local providers.

- SNAP and student aid: She said the law shifts costs and paperwork to states for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and makes changes to Pell grants and student loans that will reduce federal support for college, putting pressure on state scholarship programs including New Mexico's lottery-funded scholarship.

- Energy and utilities: Stansbury said the law rescinds federal clean-energy subsidies used by utilities for grid investments and warned that utilities such as PNM could face higher costs and potential reliability problems if federal support disappears.

State response and resources
Stansbury said New Mexico has a temporary budgetary advantage from recent oil-and-gas revenue and that the governor and state legislature are \"crunching the numbers\" to identify who and what institutions to support. She said state leaders expect they can \"fleet float the state for a year or two\" to keep critical services running while longer-term solutions are pursued.

Constituent services and legal remedies
Stansbury urged anyone whose federal funding, grant, employment or benefits were affected to contact her office for casework: \"If you've been affected ... please contact my office,\" she said, noting that courts have issued orders restoring some improperly withheld funding in other cases and that congressional offices can press for compliance.

Quotes and attribution
All direct quotations in this article are from Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury during her town hall in Sandoval County. Josh Jones, Sandoval County Commissioner (District 5), introduced Stansbury at the start of the event.

Ending
Stansbury closed the policy portion of the town hall by urging civic engagement and telling attendees that, even if state plug measures are temporary, residents should contact elected officials and the congressional office for help and to press for longer-term federal fixes.","Rep. Melanie Stansbury held a town hall in Sandoval County warning a recently passed federal package she called the \"big ugly bill\" would tighten Medicaid paperwork, reduce federal subsidies, and trigger cuts to Medicare, SNAP and education; she said New Mexico officials are preparing short-term state measures to blunt the effects.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

At Sandoval town hall Stansbury urges action on gerrymandering, voter protections and warns against federalizing D.C.

Stansbury warns public-lands selloff effort could return; delegation and tribes mobilizing over Buffalo tract

Stansbury tells Sandoval County 'big ugly bill' will hit Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP and education; New Mexico preparing temporary backstops