Born and raised in New Mexico, Yvette Herrell started her path towards the American Dream like many of us - hard work, determination, and grit. As a proven job creator and entrepreneur, Yvette has started several small businesses throughout New Mexico.
With this business experience and her love of New Mexico, she ran for the State House of Representatives, representing Alamogordo. In her time serving the 51st District in Santa Fe, Yvette led the fight for less government overreach for small businesses, responsible spending, and protecting private property rights. It is here she found her passion for serving the state she loves and learned what it takes to deliver real results for her constituents.
In 2020, Yvette was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for New Mexico’s Second Congressional District. Continuing her work as a champion for hardworking New Mexicans, protecting our freedoms, and always putting New Mexico first.
AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Agriculture is one of New Mexico’s oldest and most important industries. Farmers and ranchers across the state are vital to our economy and provide food for our country and the world. We must support the agriculture industry by reducing the burdensome rules and regulations that make it more difficult for farmers and ranchers to do their jobs. Further, we should make commonsense changes to our tax code so family farms and ranches can be passed on to future generations.
Rural communities are the heart of our nation and have too often been overlooked by Washington elites. New Mexicans deserve the same access to federal resources as any other state, which is why I will continue fighting to ensure commonsense investments are made in our communities.
ARMED SERVICES & FOREIGN AFFAIRS
The United States military is the most elite and powerful fighting force on the land, and in the sea, air, and space. To equip, train, and maintain our military, we must invest in it. Former President Donald Trump made historic investments in our Armed Forces and established the United States Space Force, the first-ever independent space force.
In a dangerous world, the military must be able to protect our country, our people, and our interests. It is also imperative our servicemembers have the best technology, training, and protection we can give them if we want to maintain a strong national defense and put America first. Unfortunately, President Biden has already put forward proposals that would weaken the military. Rest assured, I will continue to oppose reckless proposals that would put our military and national defense at risk.
BORDER & IMMIGRATION
Legal immigration has played an important part in our nation’s history. We have welcomed those who seek to be a part of this great American experiment as long as they respect our culture and laws. Ultimately, however, the purpose of our nation’s immigration system is to benefit the citizens of our country and I will only support immigration policies that benefit Americans as a whole.
However, a nation of law and order cannot allow individuals to bypass its borders or abuse the system to remain in the country. We need to secure our southern border, stand with Border Patrol, and protect the families and communities who call the border region home. President Biden’s executive orders will weaken protections at our southern border, inviting more illegal immigration and empowering the cartels by allowing the free flow of drugs across our border.
In addition to a physical border wall, we should utilize the most advanced technology to assist Border Patrol agents in their effort to keep our nation secure. We also need to invest in expanding the immigration judicial system to allow for more judges to handle the increased cases at the border. Congress must take action to fix our worker visa programs, so they put the interests of Americans first.
BUDGET, TAXES & SPENDING
For far too long Washington has borrowed against our children and grandchildren’s futures instead of showing the leadership needed to get federal spending under control. With more than $20 trillion in debt, we cannot afford to ignore the serious threat posed by the Washington establishment’s inability to curb their spending addiction. We must implement fiscally responsible policies, reduce wasteful government spending programs, eliminate earmarks, and balance the budget – and we must do these things now.
Under former President Donald Trump’s leadership, Congress acted to lower taxes for hardworking middle-class families. Instead of acting to make this tax relief permanent so Americans can keep more of what they earn, President Biden would rather raise taxes to help pay for his radical Leftist agenda. The last thing we need as we work to rebuild the prosperous economy built by the Trump administration is higher taxes and more reckless government spending. New Mexicans deserve better, which is why I will fight to lower taxes, cut spending, and get our country’s fiscal house back in order.
HEALTH & EDUCATION
The skyrocketing cost of health care has hurt New Mexican families. Obamacare only increased costs for Americans who were told if we liked our health coverage, we could keep it. We know now that was a lie. Congress can and should work to bring transparency to the health care system. Doing so will result in lower costs for patients – from what they pay for health insurance to what they pay at the pharmacy counter. We must also ensure that where you live does not automatically put you at a disadvantage when seeking care by bringing quality health care services to rural areas across our state.
New Mexico currently ranks last in public education. Instead of working with state leaders and the Congressional delegation to improve education in our state, President Joe Biden is pushing proposals that would gut New Mexico’s education system. In addition to ensuring every student has access to a quality education, we must also look at workforce training programs so students can also have the opportunity to learn trades and skills that will allow them to enter the workforce directly upon graduation. Additionally, for those who choose to attend college or university, colleges and universities should be providing degrees that are marketable to employers without charging exorbitant tuition and fees so that graduates are not beginning their careers saddled with debt.
LAW ENFORCEMENT & 2ND AMENDMENT
Congress must support those who uphold the rule of law in our society day in and day out. America’s law enforcement officers at the federal, state, and local level serve and protect us, and we must continue to support them.
We also must protect every-law abiding American’s right to self-protection and self-preservation. “Shall not be infringed,’ as written in the Second Amendment is not a suggestion but the guarantee of a God-given right. Additionally, hunting and shooting sports are New Mexico traditions that should be protected and passed along to the next generation. We must teach our children about the importance of the Second Amendment.
LIFE & THE CONSTITUTION
I have always been, and always will be, a strong defender of the right to life from conception to natural death. Additionally, I am a firm believer that federal taxpayer money should not be allocated to organizations like Planned Parenthood and I am a supporter of the Mexico City policy, which prohibits federal funding for non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) that provide abortions or advocate for abortions domestically or internationally.
H.Res.738 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the First Amendment rights of parents at school board meetings shall not be infringed.
H.R. 619 - This bill establishes requirements for the degree of care a health care practitioner must provide in the case of a child born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion.
H.R. 1011 - This bill declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being.
H.R. 606 - This bill denies a tax exclusion for the interest paid on state and local bonds that are used to provide a facility owned or used (for any purpose) by an abortion provider for more than 30 days during a year in which interest is paid on the bonds.
RESOURCES, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
A lifelong New Mexican, I know the importance of protecting the dozens of gorgeous National and State Parks across our state. These parks are not only treasured lands; they contribute to our local economies, and we should preserve them for future generations. However, we must ensure efforts to conserve and preserve these natural lands do not unfairly punish law abiding citizens or restrict access for hikers, hunters, fishermen or other recreationalists.
I also believe we can safely extract natural resources from public lands, especially in New Mexico. In our state over 100,000 people are employed by the oil and gas industry and nearly 40% of our state budget comes from oil and gas royalty payments. In addition, New Mexico is the third largest oil-producing state and one of the top 10 natural gas producing states, its vital that we protect these industries.
Unfortunately, President Joe Biden, caving to pressure from radical Left, has acted to effectively end the leases that pave the way for extraction on public lands, a decision that would devastate New Mexico’s economy. As a member of the Natural Resources Committee, I will continue to fight to protect the New Mexicans whose jobs and livelihoods rely on these leases.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS & CONSUMER PROTECTION
Internet access is an important part of life in the 21st century. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only highlighted the necessity of broadband access but also the need to improve our infrastructure to reach underserved and unserved areas. While the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) most recent broadband deployment report shows that rural Americans are more connected than ever, there is more work to be done. We need to continue to incentivize private sector innovation and progress in building out infrastructure into New Mexico’s rural areas, and support programs such as the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund which recently awarded $9.2 billion to broadband companies to bring service to millions of Americans in rural areas over the next 10 years.
Freedom of speech is a fundamental right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. I am troubled by big tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter that have been engaging in unfair and arbitrary censorship of conservative voices. We live in an age where information is accessed easily at our fingertips through the internet, and it is imperative these companies facilitate and foster civil discourse and the free transmission of thoughts on digital platforms. I have cosponsored House Resolution 142, which condemns big tech’s actions on this matter. They must be held accountable for their policies.
Additionally, there have been increasing calls for the reform or repeal of Section 230, a provision of law passed as part of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, that gives companies certain liability protections. It is clear these protections should be reviewed and revised to ensure that companies are not abusing their protections and acting as an editorial entity by arbitrarily censoring or moderating speech.
TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
Transportation and infrastructure are critical components of our economy and we must ensure they are maintained adequately. In New Mexico, we need to collaborate with state leaders to invest heavily into expanding the Permian Basin’s road network. While it is important that we invest in maintaining our existing infrastructure and make smart investments to expand it, I will always reject massive spending proposals disguised as infrastructure bills that will only result in more government overreach and frivolous regulations.
VETERANS
Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to the men and women who served our nation. Those who put their lives on the line for our country deserve the best support and care. I am troubled to see reports again and again that veterans are not receiving the care and benefits they have earned from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This is unacceptable. Our nation needs to live up to the promise we have made to our servicemembers and their families, and I will fight to make sure the reforms signed into law by former President Donald Trump – VA accountability, the MISSION Act and the Forever GI Bill – are fully and properly implemented.