Watch and share President Obama’s weekly address.

Leslie Endean-Singh, Candidate for New Mexico CD2 (Photo: Stephen Jones, Democratic Party of Doña Ana County)

Leslie Endean-Singh was in Las Cruces Thursday where she announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. Endean-Singh, an Alamogordo attorney, made her formal announcement at the monthly meeting of the Democratic Party of Doña Ana County, held at the Ramada Palms de Las Cruces on University Avenue.  Endean-Singh made the decision to run after extensively talking to voters throughout the District.

Endean-Singh has promised to use her business experience and collaborative skills to address gridlock in the U. S. Congress.  Ms. Singh, a longtime medical office manager, she will bring a business woman’s perspective to assist worker and business participation in the Affordable Care Act, as well as bring jobs to New Mexico.  Ms. Singh also said Dr. Jagdev Indar Singh’s primary care medical office, whose business affairs she administers, is more efficient and tailored to patient’s needs due to collaboration between the hospital and doctors, as well as coordinating both public and private health funding sources.

Ms. Singh served the State for 25 years as a Children’s Court attorney for Children Youth and Families Department, as an Assistant District Attorney, Public Defender and Magistrate Judge.

Medgar Evers

The National Board of the NAACP is meeting this week in Jackson, Mississippi in tribute to Medgars Evers, who in 1954 became the first field secretary of the Mississippi NAACP. The Board held a wreath-laying this morning at the former home of the civil rights leader who was assassinated outside the family home fifty years ago on June 12, 1963. At the time of his death in 1963 Medgar Evers was leading a voter registration drive.

Evers’ widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, attended the event. She pushed for reprosecution of her husband’s killing, and in 1994, a jury convicted Byron De La Beckwith of murdering Evers. Sentenced to life, Beckwith died in prison in 2001.

Evers-Williams, who went on to serve as National Chair of the NAACP from 1995-1998, spoke at the President Obama’s inauguration in January.

Al Rucks of Las Cruces, who is a member of the NAACP National Board, was also in attendance in Jackson this morning.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.

“I’ve reviewed the Treasury Department watchdog’s report, and the misconduct that it uncovered is inexcusable,” he said. “It’s inexcusable, and Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in any agency, but especially in the IRS, given the power that it has and the reach that it has into all of our lives. And as I said earlier, it should not matter what political stripe you’re from — the fact of the matter is, is that the IRS has to operate with absolute integrity. The government generally has to conduct itself in a way that is true to the public trust. That’s especially true for the IRS.”

The President laid out a series of steps aimed holding the responsible parties accountable and putting new safeguards in place to prevent future issues.

Read more in the full remarks, or watch the statement:

New Mexico Democratic Party State Chair Sam Bregman

For Democrats, education is one of our core values that will help build a better future for all New Mexicans.

New Mexico Democrats:

• Support full funding for schools; rejected in Governor Martinez’s budget.
• Support improving evaluation systems for teachers and students.
• Support Early Childhood Education-K-3+ programs, with an emphasis on targeting schools that need more resources to improve.
• Took Merit Pay out of state budget and away from PED Secretary-Designate from rewarding her friends and put the money back into public schools.

In addition, the Democratic Party of New Mexico supports the student loan reform overhaul, signed into law by President Obama in 2010. This law ended government subsidies to big banks and made college more affordable to thousands of New Mexicans.

All New Mexicans want a good education for their kids and grandkids. Democrats have stepped up and have presented common sense solutions that parents, teachers, educators, as well as our kids can understand and support.

Governor Martinez is concerned with glossy photo-ops and pushing failed, partisan agendas while ignoring the proven ideas that parents, teachers and educators endorse and support.

These individuals serve on the front lines every day, performing their jobs in a professional and dignified manner, within the communities where they live and work.

Thank you to all parents, teachers and educators for all the hard work and dedication you give to our students.  It’s priceless.

New Mexico Land Commissioner Ray Powell

New Mexico Land Commissioner Ray Powell has announced that in the month of April, the New Mexico State Land Office earned $45.4 million in revenue for the beneficiaries of the state land trust.

“The New Mexico State Land Office is working hard to ensure that revenues are optimized to support the public schools, universities, and hospitals,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Ray Powell. “We are working with the private sector, our sovereign tribes, our local, state, and federal agencies, and our local communities to create jobs for New Mexicans while protecting the health and productivity of our working lands.”

The New Mexico State Land Office is responsible for managing state trust lands to generate income for 22 beneficiaries and for taking care of the lands so they are healthy and productive for the future.

• More than $41 million went to support public schools in New Mexico.
• More than $418,000 went to state colleges and universities.
• More than $2.19 million went to special schools, such as the School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, in Alamogordo, and the School for the Deaf, in Santa Fe.
• About $383,000 went to hospitals, including Miner’s Colfax Hospital in Raton, and special hospitals like Carrie Tingley Hospital in Albuquerque.
• The remaining $1.3 million went to other institutions, including the State Penitentiary and public buildings, water reservoirs, Rio Grande Improvements, and other beneficiaries.

In fiscal year 2012, earnings from the State Land Office amounted to almost 93 percent of the operating budget for the New Mexico School for the Blind in Alamogordo, almost 80 percent of the operating budget for the New Mexico School for the Deaf in Santa Fe, 81 percent of the operating budget for the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, 29 percent of the operating budget for Miner’s Colfax Medical Center in Raton, and 20 percent of the operating budget for public schools throughout the state.

Revenues from nonrenewable use of the trust lands, such as the royalties from oil and natural gas extraction, are deposited into the Permanent Fund. They are invested and a percentage of the fund is paid to the beneficiaries.

Ray Powell, the New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands is an elected state official responsible for administering the state’s land grant trust. Thirteen million acres of land were granted to New Mexico in 1898 and 1910. Each tract is held in trust for the public schools, universities, as well as special schools and hospitals that serve children with physical, visual, and auditory disabilities. In fiscal year 2012, the trust lands produced a record amount of more than $653 million in income for the beneficiaries, which saves the average household about $850 a year in taxes.

“Health centers have extensive experience providing eligibility assistance to patients, are providing care in communities across the Nation, and are well-positioned to support enrollment efforts,” Secretary Sebelius said.  “Investing in health centers for outreach and enrollment assistance provides one more way the Obama administration is helping consumers understand their options and enroll in affordable coverage.”

With these new funds, health centers will be able to hire new staff, train existing staff, and conduct community outreach events and other educational activities.  Health centers will help consumers understand their coverage options, determine their eligibility and enroll in new affordable health insurance options.  Community health center staff will provide unbiased information to consumers about health insurance, the new Health Insurance Marketplace, qualified health plans, and Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

This funding opportunity was issued by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and it complements and aligns with other federal efforts, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service funded navigator program.

Today’s funding announcement is part of the administration’s larger effort to make applying for health insurance as easy as possible.  For example, last week, we released a single, streamlined application that was shortened from 21 to 3 pages.  We are committed to providing the type of assistance that Americans need to ensure that they have access to affordable health care.

“Health centers work in communities across the country, giving them a unique opportunity to reach the uninsured in their communities and help connect them with the benefits of health insurance coverage under the health care law,” said HRSA Administrator Mary Wakefield, Ph.D, R.N.

For a list of health centers eligible to apply for this funding visithttp://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2013tables/outreachandenrollment/.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, visit www.HealthCare.gov.

Watch and share President Obama’s weekly address.

Under the terms of the Executive Order and a new Open Data Policy released  by the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget, all newly generated government data will be required to be made available in open, machine-readable formats, greatly enhancing their accessibility and usefulness, while ensuring privacy and security.

Yesterday’s Executive Order marks another step by the Obama Administration in public openness and technical innovation to insure the nation remains an economic leader, and works toward the jobs and economic development of the future.

Watch today’s video by Administration technology officers Todd Park and Steve VanRoekel.