Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
New Congress opens for business
Vol. 122, No. 4 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
SANDY HOOK KIDS HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL
MONROE, Conn. (AP) — For her son’s first day of school since last month’s massacre at his Sandy Hook Elementary, Sarah Caron tried to make Thursday as normal as possible. She made his favorite pancakes, and she walked the secondgrader to the top of the ... - PAGE A7
January 4, 2013
FRIDAY
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WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Congress opened for business Thursday to confront long-festering national problems, deficits and immigration among them, in an intensely partisan and crisis-driven era of divided government. “The American dream is in peril,” said House Speaker John Boehner, re-elected to his post despite a minirevolt in Republican ranks. Moments after grasping an oversized gavel that symbolizes his authority, Boehner implored the assembly of newcomers and veterans in the 113th Congress to tackle the nation’s heavy burden of debt at long last. “We have to be willing — truly willing
— to make this right.” Also on the two-year agenda is the first significant effort at an overhaul of the tax code in more than a quarter century. Republicans and Democrats alike say they want to chop at a thicket of existing tax breaks and use the resulting revenue to reduce rates. There were personal milestones aplenty as the winners of last fall’s races swore an oath of office as old as the republic. Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Deb Fischer of Nebraska were among the new-
comers sworn in, raising the number of women in the Senate to a record 20. Tim Scott of South Carolina became the first black Republican in the Senate in more than three decades. On the first day of a new term, one veteran made a stirring comeback. Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois returned to the Capitol for the first time since suffering a stroke a year ago, walking slowly up the 45 steps to the Capitol with the use of a cane. “Good to see you, guys,” he said. Across the Capitol, children and grandchildren squirmed through opening See CONGRESS, Page A3
AP Photo
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. passes the gavel to House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, who was reelected as House Speaker of the 113th Congress, Thursday.
Council discusses attorney position at workshop
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ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
After months of tabling a vote on the Roswell Police Department’s request for its own attor ney, City Council held a workshop Thursday to discuss the reservations councilors may have had. In August, Chief Al Solis and Deputy Chief Brad McFadin proposed the creation of a police attorney position, which would provide the department with immediate access to legal advice and be “solely responsible for handling Police Department prosecutions, defense and legal counsel in a timely, aggressive and efficient manner.” At the workshop, McFadin said the position was part of the department’s effort to upgrade itself. “We just want to moder nize our department,” he said. “We’re trying to catch up with other
INSIDE SPORTS
Mark Wilson Photos Above: Snow covers the frozen portions of a pond
at the Spring River Golf Course after an early morning dusting of wintry precipitation, Thursday.
LADY WARRIORS FALL TO GRADY
There were a lot of things the Gateway girls basketball team did well against Grady on Thursday. The Warriors moved the ball well and played aggressive defense throughout. Unfortunately for Gateway, the things they ... - PAGE B1
TODAY’S OBITUARIES • Donald L. Torres • James M. Stockton - PAGE A7
HIGH ...42˚ LOW ....17˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B3 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B6 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 WORLD .................B5
INDEX
Right: Rene Saenz of American Fence Company
works on one of the new ballfields under construc-
tion at the Wool Bowl complex in frigid and snowy
conditions, Thursday.
Gov. Martinez proposes corporate income tax cut
SANTA FE (AP) — Republican Gov. Susana Martinez on Thursday proposed lowering New Mexico’s corporate income tax rate to provide an incentive for economic development. In outlining part of her agenda for the upcoming legislative session, Martinez said she will ask the Legislature to reduce the corporate tax rate to 4.9 percent from 7.6 percent over several years. The governor also wants to change how New Mexico determines the taxes owed by corporations that do business in multiple states. Companies would be offered the option of basing their tax liability on their sales in New Mexico. The change could help corporations like computer chip maker Intel, which has a plant in Rio Rancho but the See MARTINEZ, Page A3
See COUNCIL, Page A3
Red states, too, get health care nod WASHINGTON (AP) — Injecting a rare shot of bipartisanship in the nation’s contentious health care overhaul, the Obama administration Thursday cleared four Republican-led states to build their own consumer -friendly insurance markets.
With open enrollment for millions of uninsured Americans just nine months away — Oct. 1, 2013 — the four GOP-led
states became part of a group totaling 17 states plus Washington, D.C., that have gotten an initial go-ahead to build and run insurance exchanges. Seven were approved Thursday. Significantly, the list also included California, which has nearly 7.5 million uninsured residents, mor e than any other state. Democraticled Califor nia was an early supporter of Presi-
dent Barack Obama’s health care law and had been working diligently on its plan. Insurance exchanges are not something consumers are familiar with. “Most people don’t really know what those words mean, but that’s OK,” said Rachel Klein, executive dir ector of Enroll America, a nonprofit trying to educate See CARE, Page A3
Espinoza looks for a ‘common sense approach’ to federal budget ILISSA GILMORE RECORD STAFF WRITER
Courtesy Photo
Rep. Nora Espinoza
One resolution Rep. Nora Espinoza, R-Roswell, has for the new year is to carry several bills into the state’s legislature. One of which is a twopart proposal, the Balanced Budget Amendment/Limited Delegation Act, with the goal of working with other states to plan a constitutional convention to form a federal balanced budget act. Espinoza said the annual budget deficits in Washington, D.C. are more than a
trillion dollars a year and have increased the national debt to more than $16 trillion. Other states have already passed the amendment and Espinoza hopes more will join. “This proposal is a common sense approach to a badly managed federal budgeting system,” she said. Another bill Espinoza supports would allow anesthesiologist assistants (AA’s) to practice outside of the UNM system to expand medical services to rural areas. “If (AA’s) can work there,
why not allow them to work anywhere else in New Mexico?” she said. “If you go and get a degree, why should you be censored and not be allowed to work anywhere else? That’s not what America’s about.” Espinoza is also working on two consumer protection bills. One would prevent subcontractors being able to put a lien on a home without the homeowner’s knowledge or permission. The other bill would allow police officers to tow vehicles if the driver is pulled over and unable to verify proof of insurance. Drivers with insurance
have to pay more to cover those without it, Espinoza said, so the goal of the bill is to encourage those without proper insurance to comply with the state’s traffic and insurance laws.
Also on Espinoza’s agenda is a Constitutional Amendment bill that would allow voters to define marriage as being between one man and one woman, as well as a women’s health bill that would protect a women’s right to know the risks associated with an abortion procedure and its alternatives.
igilmore@rdrnews.com