Rep. Gabe Vasquez Delivers Major Bipartisan Victory for Rural New Mexico with Reauthorization of Secure Rural Schools Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On December 9, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) delivered a major bipartisan victory for rural New Mexico with the passage of the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act of 2025. Now enacted, the law restores $9 million in annual federal support for rural New Mexico counties to fund essential infrastructure like roads and schools, and it requires missed payments from 2024 and 2025 to be issued to counties within 45 days.

“This past August, I met with a bipartisan group of county officials, educators, and tribal leaders back home to discuss SRS and the need for reauthorization. Their message never wavered: rural communities needed Congress to act. They needed certainty. They needed this lifeline restored,” said Vasquez while leading the House Agriculture Committee’s floor debate on the reauthorization of the funds. 

“Today, after months of fighting for reauthorization, we are delivering. We are sending a clear message to rural towns across New Mexico and across the country that they are not invisible, not expendable, and not expected to bear the weight of this lapse alone.” You can view Rep. Vasquez’s full remarks from today here.

The Congressman has championed Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding reauthorization for months, working to raise D.C. politicians’ awareness of the urgent need for Congress to reauthorize these funds and the dire impact the funding lapse has had on rural communities in New Mexico and nationwide. In 2024, the federal funds — paid to rural counties whose tax bases are limited by extensive federal land — expired, forcing rural communities in New Mexico to make drastic cuts to their school and road maintenance budgets. 

Back in August, Rep. Vasquez met with school and county officials from Catron, Sierra, Cibola, and Grant counties, as well as officials from the U.S. Forest Service, who raised grave concerns about the lapse in SRS funding and what it meant for their rural communities. The officials noted that the drop in funding was forcing them to make impossible budgetary decisions, like laying off reading specialists, cutting back to a four-day school week, or reducing critical road maintenance (leaving residents stranded in times of medical emergencies or natural disasters). He also met with the Fence Lake Volunteer Fire Department in Cibola County, where first responders underscored that the lapse in SRS funds was degrading road conditions, making it hard for EMS to reach folks in need.

Fortunately, Rep. Vasquez’s successful advocacy for the reauthorization of SRS funding means these cuts will no longer be necessary, and officials in Catron, Sierra, Cibola, and Grant will no longer be forced to decimate their budgets for schools, road maintenance, and other municipal services — protecting investment in rural New Mexico and its future.

“The reauthorization of SRS funding provides stability for rural counties like Sierra County,” said Amber Vaughn, Sierra County Manager. “We rely on these dollars to maintain our road network and support day-to-day road operations, which are essential for public safety and access across our large, mostly federal-land county. Renewing this funding gives us the certainty we need to keep our infrastructure reliable for the people who live, work, and travel here.”

“The reauthorization of Secure Rural Schools is more than a budget decision; it is an acknowledgment of rural communities like ours,” said Kayli Ortiz, Principal of Reserve Schools. “It brings stability to the services our schools rely on and affirms that our students and families matter. This support strengthens the opportunities we can offer, and for each individual student who benefits, it means they are seen and can continue to receive the support they need, too. We are grateful for this renewed investment in our children and the communities they, and we, call home.”

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