Friday, February 17, 2012

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District released the following statement today after voting in support of a conference committee report that extends the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits and prevents a cut to Medicare physicians for the rest of the year.

“While this bill is not perfect, it does take important steps to provide a boost to middle-class workers during this difficult economic time by cutting taxes for 900,000 New Mexicans.  It also ensures that those who are still struggling to find work in the wake of the recession will continue to have vital unemployment benefits while we keep working to turn our economy around.  Finally, it ensures that seniors will continue to have access to the doctor they trust by preventing deep cuts to Medicare physicians.  It’s disappointing, however, that Republicans once again targeted a small group of middle-class workers to bear the brunt of the costs, while fighting against any effort to ask millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.”

*  *  *

A recent report, “Keeping More Money in the Pockets of American Families,” provides county-level data regarding how much money a New Mexican worker making the median annual wage will receive as a result of the payroll tax cut extension.  Below is a breakdown of counties in Luján’s Northern New Mexico district:

County                                   Median Annual Wage         Additional Take-Home Pay
                                             Per Worker                           Per Worker

Bernalillo County                  $27,353                                   $456
Colfax County                     $19,861                                   $331
Curry County                         $21,413                                   $357
Harding County                   $28,177                                   $470
Los Alamos                            $52,463                                   $874
McKinley County                   $20,076                                   $335
Mora County                         $23,564                                   $393
Quay County                          $20,486                                   $341
Rio Arriba County                 $25,519                                   $425
Roosevelt County                  $17,811                                   $297
San Juan County                    $28,540                                   $476
San Miguel County                $21,312                                   $355
Sandoval County                   $31,571                                   $526
Santa Fe County                    $26,530                                   $442
Taos County                          $21,079                                   $351
Union County                         $21,435                                   $357

#  #  #