Heather Wilson Wants to Protect the Rich at the Expense of New Mexico's Middle Class

From Martin Heinrich for Senate:

U.S. Senate candidate Republican Heather Wilson has a history of putting herself and special interests first. In Congress, she voted for the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires at the expense of New Mexico's middle class.

Martin Heinrich refuses to allow New Mexico to go down that dark road again.

“There are several reasons that we must end the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, but chief among them is the simple reason that we can't afford it,” said Heinrich. “We followed Heather Wilson and George W. Bush down that road already, and America's middle class paid the price while the wealthy consolidated their grip on power.”

Heather Wilson has always put herself and the special interests ahead of the people she was supposed to represent. While Congresswoman Wilson was voting against raising the minimum wage for New Mexico's workers, Heinrich was leading the fight on the Albuquerque City Council to raise it. Wilson took six pay raises during her time in Congress, while Heinrich rejected every congressional pay raise since he's been in office. Furthermore, Wilson has refused to reject the Republican plan that would end Medicare as we know it.

“The truth is, Washington needs to get its priorities straight,” said Heinrich. “Moving our country forward requires fresh ideas and hard work. This campaign is about standing with working families and fighting for what matters most to New Mexico's middle class.”

Wilson Voted Against Raising The Minimum Wage Six Times. In 2006 and 2007, Wilson voted six times against minimum wage increases or to kill Democratic attempts to even be allowed to offer a minimum wage increase. [CQ Floor Votes; HR 2206, Vote 333, 5/10/07; CQ House Action Reports, No. 110-3, 3/20/07; HR 1591, Vote 186, 3/23/07; Leadership Document, “Democrats are Fighting for a New Direction: A Pay Raise for Millions of Americans,” 7/19/06; HR2389, Vote 382, 7/19/06; HR2990, Vote#364, 7/12/06; HR4411, Vote 360, 7/11/06; HR5672, Vote 319, 6/27/06]

Albuquerque Tribune Editorial Called On Wilson To Support Minimum Wage Increase While Allowing Her Own Pay To Go Up. In July 2006, the editorial board of the Albuquerque Tribune criticized Wilsonfor allowing a congressional pay raise to take effect while not supporting a meaningful increase in the minimum wage. They wrote, “The minimum wage has been stagnant at a mere $5.15 per hour for nearly 10 years now. That’s just shy of $11,000 per year and well below the poverty line for a family of three. For more than half of that time, Republicans - including Wilson, Bush and Sen. Pete Domenici of Albuquerque - have controlled the federal government. During the same period in which the minimum wage has been stuck below the poverty level, Congress has managed to give its own members more than $30,000 in wage raises, to the current $165,200 per year. That salary is scheduled, based on cost-of-living arguments that apparently affect only federal legislators, to automatically rise to $168,500. Domenici and Wilson supported the raise. Wilson voted for it last week, while the state’s other congressional Republican representative, Steve Pearce of Hobbs, continued his admirable practice of voting against congressional pay raises for himself and his colleagues…So why have Domenici and Wilson - often quick to support tax cuts for the wealthy, including repeal of the estate tax - been essentially AWOL on an issue that has gained substantial support among local lawmakers, despite its controversial nature and opposition by businesses? [Albuquerque Tribune, Editorial, 7/4/06]

Heinrich Led the Fight To Raise The Minimum Wage On The Albuquerque City Council. On April 20, 2006, the Albuquerque City Council approved a phased-in minimum wage increase by a 6-3 vote. The ordinance (COUNCIL BILL NO. O-06-20), sponsored by then City Councilor Martin Heinrich, was enacted on April 27, 2006. [Albuquerque Official City Website,

Wilson Voted Six Times To Allow Congressional Pay Raises. In the House, Wilson voted six times to allow her own salary to increase. [CQ Floor Votes, 6/13/06; H RES 865, Vote #261, 6/13/06; CQ Floor Votes, 6/28/05; HR 342, Vote #327, 6/28/05; CQ Floor Votes, 9/14/04; H Res 770, Vote #451, 9/14/04; CQ Floor Votes, 9/04/03; H. Res. 351, Vote #463, 9/4/03; CQ Floor Votes, 7/18/02; H. Res. 488, Vote #322, 7/18/02; CQ Floor Votes, 7/25/01; H Res. 206, Vote #267, 7/25/01]

Heinrich Rejected Every Congressional Pay Raise Since He's Been In Office. Heinrich is a cosponsor of H.R.156, the Stop the Congressional Pay Raise Act and H.R.4255, the Stop the Automatic Pay Raise for Members of Congress in Fiscal Year 2011 Act.

Wilson Consistently Supported Bush-Era Tax Cuts That Overwhelmingly Benefited Millionaires. In 2001,Wilson supported President Bush’s first round of tax cuts. In 2003, Wilson supported another round of tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy. In 2004, Wilson supported President Bush’s budget that permanently locked in multitrillion-dollar tax breaks that mostly benefit the nation’s wealthiest. In 2005, Wilson backed a Republican bill that extended capital gains and dividend tax breaks for the rich. And in 2006 Wilson backed another Republican tax break package that the Washington Post dubbed a “windfall for the rich, and a hole in the federal budget.” [HR 1836, Vote 149, 5/26/01; HR 2, Vote 225, 5/23/03; Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 5/28/03;; H Con Res 393, Vote 92, 3/25/04; Vote 621, 12/8/05; Chicago Tribune, 12/9/05; HR4297, Vote 135, 5/10/06; Washington Post, 5/11/06]

2006 Study: 99% of New Mexicans Taxpayers Are Net Losers Under the Bush Tax Cuts. According to a study conducted by Citizens for Tax Justice, 99% of New Mexican taxpayers were net losers under the Bush tax cuts. For the wealthiest one percent of New Mexico residents, who have an average income of $720,500, the tax breaks outweigh the added debt burden accumulated from 2001 through 2006 by an average of $14,450 per family member. They have received an average tax break of $50,630 per family member, which exceeds their added debt burden of $36,179 by $14,750. In contrast, the added debt burden accumulated from 2001 through 2006 outweighs the tax breaks for the other 99 percent of New Mexico residents by an average of $7,589 per person. They have received a tax break of $2,305, but their added debt burden is $9,894 per person. [Citizens for Tax Justice, “99% of New Mexicans Are Net Losers Under Bush Tax and Spending Policies,” June 2006]

Heinrich Urges Vote to Make Middle-Class Tax Cuts Permanent. On September 27, 2010, Martin Heinrich released a letter he signed with 45 other House members to then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi urging that the Congress vote on permanent tax cuts for the middle-class before adjournment in October 2010. The letter also called on the Speaker for a vote to allow the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans to expire, using the additional revenue to close the federal budget deficit. [09/27/2010, Heinrich Letter]

Tax Cuts: Heinrich Fights For The Middle Class. Heinrich voted for H.R. 6467, the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010, aimed at permanently extending the 2001 and 2003 income tax cuts for families making $250,000 or less and individuals making $200,000 or less. [12/02/2010, Roll no. 604]

Wilson Refuses to Take Position on Ryan Budget. In a March interview with the Albuquerque Journal’s Michael Coleman, Wilson dodged the question of whether she would support the Republican plan. “For the second year in a row, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson declined to take a clear position,” reported Coleman. “When I interviewed her last year, Wilson similarly refused to take a stand on Ryan’s 2011 proposal.” [3/24/12, Albuquerque Journal]

432 Days of Sidestepping. Heather Wilson has consistently dodged questions on the Ryan Budget since it was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 11, 2011. In an interview with POLITICO, Wilson stated, “I'm not in the House of Representatives. This is not something that I have to vote on.” [7/8/11, POLITICO; 4/11/2011, H.CON.RES.34 Library of Congress, THOMAS]

New Report: The Republican Budget Showers The Wealthy With Close To $300,000 In Tax Breaks While Increasing The Burden On Middle Class Families. In June 2012, the Washington Post reported, “The tax reform plan that House Republicans have advanced would sharply cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and could leave middle-class households facing much larger tax bills, according to a new analysis set to be released Wednesday … Households earning more than $1 million a year, meanwhile, could see a net tax cut of about $300,000 annually … Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, reviewed the Joint Economic Committee report. Although the numbers are rough, he said, the conclusions are largely accurate.” [Washington Post, 6/19/12]