Rep. Gabe Vasquez Hosts Telephone Town Hall on Affordability Crisis and What He’s Doing to Lower Costs for Hardworking New Mexicans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On March 24, 2026, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) hosted a live telephone town hall to speak directly with his constituents about the affordability crisis and what he is doing to bring down their costs. On Tuesday night, over 10,000 residents joined the town hall from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. MT to share their concerns and hear about Rep. Vasquez’s Affordability Agenda — his concrete plan to bring down the cost of health care, housing, groceries, and utility bills. 

“Tonight is about one thing: the cost of living and what we can actually do, right now, to make life more affordable for you and your family. Because I hear it everywhere I go across our district — from Albuquerque to Las Cruces to Alamogordo — folks are working hard, doing everything right, and still feeling like they’re falling behind. That’s not right, and it’s not sustainable,” said Rep. Vasquez. “So tonight, I want to do two things: First, lay out what I’m doing right now to bring costs down. And second, hear directly from you — your questions, your concerns, and your ideas. Because your voices shape the work I do every single day in Congress.”

State Senator Michael Padilla, who represents New Mexico’s 14th District, joined the call as well to share state-level cost of living updates with constituents. 

During the town hall, Rep. Vasquez talked about what he’s done in Congress to lower costs and took live questions from participants. Some of the questions constituents asked included:

• What are you doing to ensure seniors living on fixed incomes can afford groceries as grocery prices continue to rise?
• What is being done to combat the rising cost of health care and the crushing burden of medical debt?
• As rents rise, what can be done to help renters and hold landlords accountable?
• What steps are being taken to ensure taxpayer dollars are not funding illegal immigrant healthcare in New Mexico?

Since introducing his Affordability Agenda to lower the high cost of living in New Mexico, the Congressman has: 

• Introduced the Tax Relief from Tariffs and High Costs Act to offer a fully refundable 10% tax credit to households making under $100,000 to offset rising prices — under this bill, a New Mexican making $70,000 could expect around $700 back in their pocket to offset higher prices caused by tariffs.
• Cosponsored the Capping Prescription Costs Act, which caps annual prescription drug costs at $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for families with private health insurance plans.
• Cosponsored two bills — the Bipartisan Families First Housing Act and the Stop Wall Street Landlords Act — to address New Mexico’s housing affordability crisis by cracking down on greedy, corporate landlords to ensure hardworking New Mexicans have a fair shot at homeownership.
• Has introduced legislation to roll back harmful cuts to food assistanceenacted under the Republican tax law, fighting to feed our veterans, seniors, children, and hardworking families.
• Introduced the Energy Bills Relief Act to bring down utility bills for hardworking New Mexicans by cutting red tape, speeding up permitting processes to get more energy projects online, expanding the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and more.
• Supported the Tipped Income Protection and Support(TIPS) Act to permanently end tax on tips for those making under $112,500.
• Introduced the Boost the Middle Class Act to increase eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit, allowing more working New Mexican families to receive higher tax refunds each year.
• Pushed for the passage of his Keep Mobile Homes Affordable Act, which would crack down on rent price gouging and utilities neglect by predatory investors who have purchased 2,500 or more manufactured housing units since 2015.

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