Heinrich Cosponsors Legislation to Lower Grocery Costs for New Mexico Families

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) cosponsored the No Tariffs on Groceries Act, legislation to prevent President Trump from enacting tariffs that raise grocery costs for New Mexico families. The No Tariffs on Groceries Act will require congressional approval for any tariff levied on food or agricultural products. While Republicans blocked passage of the No Tariffs on Groceries Act earlier this month, Heinrich remains committed to lowering grocery costs and getting this legislation passed into law.

"Trump's tariffs are driving up the cost of groceries, and it's hitting New Mexicans hard. This legislation will help rein that in," said Heinrich. "When Republicans blocked our bill earlier this month, they proved once again that they don't care about lowering costs for everday Americans. But I won't stop fighting to lower costs for New Mexicans, because working families can't afford to wait."

President Trump has imposed wide-ranging tariffs on groceries, household goods, and other items that have severely increased costs for New Mexico families. A new report released by Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Democrats shows that New Mexico families paid $815 in higher costs from February to September 2025 because of the inflation that has occurred since President Trump took office.

The No Tariffs on Groceries Act will require congressional approval for any tariff levied on food or agricultural products.

The legislation is led by U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.).

The text of the bill is here.

Heinrich has been fighting hard to lower costs and help New Mexicans put food on the table.

Last February, Heinrich spoke out against President Trump's tariffs, which have raised costs for families and killed jobs.

Heinrich also cosponsored Senator Ed Markey's (D-Mass.) Small Business Liberation Act, which would exempt small businesses from global baseline and reciprocal tariffs and provide refunds to the small businesses that were forced to pay them.

This past spring, Heinrich pushed Trump's then-Secretary Designee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)to share her plan to address the rising cost of eggs driven by the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak. His letter emphasized the importance of the USDA in maintaining a safe, affordable food system for American families and supporting robust domestic and foreign markets for American farmers.

Last April 2025, Heinrich sent a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative demanding answers on how Trump's tariffs will impact New Mexico farmers.

Last November, Heinrich cosponsored legislation to stop the Trump Administration from illegally withholding SNAP funds during Trump's recent government shutdown. Heinrich supported the New Mexico state government's plan to fund SNAP benefits during Trump's shutdown. Once the federal government reopened, Heinrich joined his colleagues in the New Mexico Congressional delegation to urge the USDA to refund New Mexico for Trump's shutdown food stamps lapse.

As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Heinrich fully funded SNAP and increased funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by $603 million.

Last July, Heinrich voted against Republicans' Big, Bad Bill, which funds Republicans' tax handouts for billionaires at the expense of working people by cutting SNAP and Medicaid. Senate Republicans also voted down Heinrich's amendments to protect funding for food assistance like SNAP.

Additional background on Heinrich's work to lower health care costs for New Mexicans.

Last month, Heinrich joined Senate Democrats to introduce the Lower Health Care Costs Act to extend the enhanced premium ACA tax credits for three years and protect New Mexicans from rising health care costs. Congressional Republicans and President Trump blocked this bill and let the ACA tax credits expire, effectively raising the cost of health care during a time when New Mexican families are already struggling under high health care costs.

In addition to voting for the Lower Health Care Costs Act, Heinrich cosponsors the Health Care Affordability Act of 2025 to make the enhanced Advance Premium Tax Credit permanent and build upon record health care marketplace enrollment.

Heinrich also hosted a roundtable to hear directly from New Mexicans whose premiums will rise significantly as a result of Republicans' refusal to extend the ACA's enhanced premium tax credits.

Last September, Heinrich hosted a press conference with BeWell New Mexico and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty to highlight how the health care crisis, created by Trump and Republicans, will hike health care premiums if Republicans allow ACA premium tax credits to expire.

In July, Heinrich stood up for New Mexico families by voting against Senate Republicans' Big, Bad Bill that would fund Republicans' tax handouts for billionaires at the expense of working people. For over 27 hours, Heinrich pushed to amend Republicans' reconciliation legislation, repeatedly voting to lower costs for families, block cuts to Medicaid, protect rural hospitals in New Mexico, extend tax credits for health care premiums, and prevent millions of Americans from losing their health insurance.

Heinrich voted to pass the American Rescue Plan in 2021, which authorized initial enhancements to the premium tax credit to make health insurance more affordable for more people and increase subsidies for working, middle-income families in New Mexico. In 2022, Heinrich voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which extended the enhanced premium tax credit through 2025.

Additional background on Heinrich's work to lower energy costs for New Mexico families.

In December, Heinrich secured long overdue funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to lower utility costs and heating bills for New Mexico families this winter.

Last month, Heinrich, as Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released a fact sheet to inform New Mexicans how President Trump's actions are gutting the energy sector and hiking up costs for families across the country. At a time when high energy demand is causing rising prices, Heinrich has repeatedly called for Trump and his agencies to stop stalling projects that could increase energy supply and lower prices.

Last October, Heinrich delivered remarks on the Senate floor, blasting President Trump for waging a war on American-made energy - causing energy costs to skyrocket and killing good-paying jobs. He urged his Republican colleagues to take action to resolve the affordability crisis facing New Mexico families.

Last August, Heinrich hosted a roundtable discussion on how many jobs the Trump Administration will kill and how much they will raise New Mexicans' utility bills as a result of Trump's Big, Bad Bill.

Last July, Heinrich grilled Trump's Department of Energy (DOE) nominee Audrey Robertson on energizing our grid with renewables to keep costs low for families, and her record of managing oil spills in New Mexico as the co-founder and an executive of Franklin Mountain Energy. Heinrich also questioned energy company executives on Trump Administration actions that are impacting grid reliability and driving up families' energy costs.

Additionally, Heinrich pressed several pending Trump Administration nominees on the president's Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget request and his Big, Bad Bill, which raises costs on American families by gutting investments in energy efficiency and clean energy programs. Last May, Heinrich urged the Trump Administration to immediately reverse course on its plan to illegally and unilaterally terminate the ENERGY STAR program. In the letter, Heinrich highlighted the cost-saving benefits of the program, which would save the average American household $450 on utility bills each year simply by choosing ENERGY STAR certified products.

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