January 26th, 2026NEW REPORT: New Mexico Families Spent Over $1,355 More Because of Inflation During Trump’s First Year

In 2025, inflation raised costs for New Mexicans across the board, including $162 more for housing and $217 more for transportation
WASHINGTON —U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), joined JEC Democrats to release anew reportfinding that New Mexico families spent $1,355 more on average because of inflation during Trump’s first year in office.
The JEC report shows that in 2025, the average New Mexico household spent $1,355 more across the board – including over $162 more in housing costs and over $217 more on transportation costs.
“President Trump promised to lower costs on day one – instead, he made it worse. Whether it’s housing, health care, or transportation, the one thing President Trump delivered for New Mexico families in 2025 was higher prices, and it’s hitting families hard. I understand that ‘affordability’ isn’t a made-up word. It’s the difference between saving for a vacation and moving in with your in-laws. That's why I won’t stop fighting to lower costs for New Mexicans now, because working families can’t afford wait,”said Heinrich.
Read the full reporthere.
Heinrich has been fighting hard to lower costs and help New Mexicans put food on the table.
This month, Heinrichcosponsored the No Tariffs on Groceries Act, legislation to prevent President Trump from enacting tariffs that raise grocery costs for New Mexico families.
Last February, Heinrichspoke 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 pushedTrump’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, Heinrichsent a letterto the U.S. Trade Representative demanding answers on how Trump’s tariffs will impact New Mexico farmers.
Last November, Heinrichcosponsored legislationto stop the Trump Administration from illegally withholding SNAP funds during Trump’s recent government shutdown. Heinrichsupported the New Mexico state government’s planto 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 torefund New Mexico for Trump’s shutdown food stamps lapse.
As a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Heinrichfully funded SNAP and increased funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)by $603 million.
Last July, Heinrichvoted 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 theLower Health Care Costs Actto 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 theLower Health Care Costs Act, Heinrich cosponsors theHealth Care Affordability Act of 2025to make the enhanced Advance Premium Tax Credit permanent and build upon record health care marketplace enrollment.
Heinrich alsohosted a roundtableto 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, Heinrichhosted a press conferencewith 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 againstSenate Republicans’ Big, Bad Billthat 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.
Heinrichvoted to pass theAmerican 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, Heinrichvoted topass 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, Heinrichsecured long overdue fundingfor 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 sheetto 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 forTrump and his agencies to stop stalling projects that could increase energy supply and lower prices.
Last October, Heinrichdelivered 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, Heinrichhosted a roundtable discussionon 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, Heinrichgrilled Trump’s Department of Energy (DOE) nomineeAudrey 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 alsoquestioned energy company executiveson Trump Administration actions that are impacting grid reliability and driving up families’ energy costs.
Additionally, Heinrichpressed several pending Trump Administration nomineeson 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, Heinrichurged the Trump Administration to immediately reverse courseon 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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