While Nella Touts Father’s Accomplishments, Here’s a Review of What Martin's Done for Mental Health

Jul

2024

PRESS RELEASE

While Nella Touts Father’s Accomplishments, Here’s a Review of What Martin's Done for Mental Health

Nella Domenici, multimillionaire former hedge fund executive and Donald Trump’s hand-picked GOP recruit for Senate who is under fire for bailing on interviews with the press, released a new ad this morning touting her father’s record on mental health. Domenici’s ad offers no new insights into her own candidacy or agenda, but claims people “don’t want to talk about mental health.”

So for those curious, here’s a quick look at Sen. Martin Heinrich’s lengthy record on the issue:

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Heinrich delivered $6.59 million in federal funding to New Mexico just last year through the fiscal year 2024 budget process supporting behavioral health providers and addiction treatments services.
Heinrich secured $13.4 million in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for New Mexico to improve mental health care, including:
- $4 million for the hiring and training of mental health professionals to work in schools through BSCA funding.
- $7.5 million to update safety plans, hire mental health professionals and school resource officers, carry out community violence interventions, install security equipment, and take other steps to improve school safety.
- $1.9 million to New Mexico to help schools identify students who need mental health care and help them access that care through the Project AWARE program.
One of Heinrich’s first votes in Congress was for the Affordable Care Act, which insures over 40,000 New Mexicans every year.
Heinrich has delivered millions of dollars to New Mexico to support behavioral health providers and addiction treatment services, including in the major COVID relief packages, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2016, the 21st Century Cures Act, and the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act).
Heinrich also secured the following federal funding awards for mental health related projects in New Mexico through Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally Directed Spending:
- $1,800,000 for the Presbyterian Española Hospital to create the first ASAM Level 3.7 facility in New Mexico. Level 3.7 programs provide service coordination for people suffering with substance use disorders.
- $1,000,000 for Carlsbad Lifehouse to develop a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic in Southeastern New Mexico.
- $780,000 for the Amador Health Center to expand its current building to treat mental health and substance use disorders in Southern New Mexico.
- $700,000 for Taos Whole Community Health Substance Abuse Treatment Expansion to combat the addiction epidemic by bringing in specialized clinicians in substance use disorder.
- $516,000 for Gallup Community Health’s Behavioral Health Program to expand its mental health services to include onsite behavioral health and substance use disorder counseling and case management.
- $700,000 for the New Mexico Department of Health to create a Primary Care Community Hub to recruit, retain, and support primary care and behavioral health providers throughout New Mexico.
- $500,000 for the University of New Mexico to conduct the Measuring Child Maltreatment Project to assess the prevalence of child abuse and neglect in New Mexico.
- $350,000 for the Pueblo of Santa Clara to design a behavioral healthcare facility to provide services in an environment that promotes security, health, and healing.
$247,000 for El Puente de Encuentro’s Proyecto Crecer to create a culturally and linguistically diverse pipeline for behavioral health professionals in New Mexico.
Last Congress, Heinrich served as the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs and Military Construction. In this role, he delivered a Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations bill that included $13.9 billion for VA mental health services, including $498 million for suicide prevention outreach. This funding was appropriated under the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which passed the Senate on December 22, 2022, and was signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022.
In June 2023, Heinrich led the introduction of the Mental Health Workforce and Language Access Act of 2023 (S. 1784). This legislation would provide new incentives to help bolster the mental health workforce and federal grants to community health centers to help them recruit, hire, and employ qualified mental health professionals who are fluent in a language other than English.
Heinrich also introduced the Increasing Mental Health Options Act alongside Senators Brown, Collins, and Mullin in March 2023. This bill would increase access to mental health care services for older Americans by ensuring Medicare beneficiaries have access to clinical psychologists across all settings of care.
In March 2024, Heinrich introduced the Providing Resources and Opportunities for Health Education and Learning (PRO-HEAL) Act, which would expand pathways to high quality, in-demand health care careers, including in behavioral health.
Heinrich is a cosponsor of the Mental Health for Latinos Act, which would recognize the unique mental health challenges of the Latino community, aiming to reduce cultural stigma and rectify the health care disparities that prevent people from receiving life-saving mental health services
Heinrich is a cosponsor of the Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act, which would authorize $995 million in grants and other funding to support research, improve the pipeline of culturally competent providers, build outreach programs that reduce stigma, and develop a training program for providers to effectively manage disparities.
Heinrich is a cosponsor of the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, which would authorize the Maternal Mental Health Equity Program to award grants to eligible entities to address maternal mental health conditions and substance use disorders, with a focus on demographic groups with elevated rates of maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, maternal health disparities, or other adverse perinatal or childbirth outcomes.
Heinrich is a cosponsor of the Moms Matter Act, which would establish two grant programs to address maternal mental health conditions and substance use disorders, with a focus on demographic groups with elevated rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, maternal health disparities, and other adverse outcomes.

“Sen. Martin Heinrich’s record of securing critical funding for mental health services and passing impactful legislation to support the well-being of New Mexicans speaks for itself,” said Democratic Party of New Mexico Spokesperson Daniel Garcia. “Meanwhile, Nella Domenici’s latest ad only underscores her reliance on her father’s legacy, offering no clear agenda or solutions for the challenges we face today.”