U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) spoke with seniors at the Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Center in Santa Fe on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Danielle Prokop/ Source NM)

U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) pledged to protect federal spending that pays for medical care for many seniors and benefits for people with disabilities Monday, and denounced proposed cuts to federal programs by billionaire Elon Musk and Republican lawmakers.

Luján kicked off a multi-day tour across New Mexico at the Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Center in Santa Fe, speaking to approximately 80 seniors eating a St. Patrick’s Day lunch of roasted potatoes and corned beef and cabbage.

He said recent GOP proposed cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security pose particular risks to New Mexican seniors, noting that about 440,000 seniors depend on Medicare, the public health insurance for people 65 and older, but about 100,000 seniors in New Mexico use Medicaid, which insures low-income people and families, and could impact senior homes and home aid programs. A recent report found proposed cuts to Medicaid could mean more than one in five New Mexico seniors lose their nursing home care.

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“There is no way to come up with that savings unless they eliminate the federal money for Medicaid, almost $700 billion dollars,” Luján said, adding it would devastate programs across the country, but particularly in rural areas.

He said Social Security benefits, a national program which pays out to individual older adults or people with disabilities, must be preserved.

“I’m 52 now, I’m not far behind you,” he told the crowd. “And we need to make sure that this program is gonna be there not just for you, but for your kids and their grandkids and the great-grandkids.”

During his joint address earlier this month, President Donald Trump repeated false claims that people older than 100 are receiving Social Security payments. Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has called the program a “Ponzi scheme.”

Luján told Source NM that Musk’s remarks and efforts to cut Social Security “should concern anyone and everyone that is looking at protecting this program, strengthening the solvency, and assuring that it doesn’t get privatized.”

Barbara Brice, 75, outside of the Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Center on Monday, March 17, 2025 said federal programs have played a major role in her family’s life for the past 30 years. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

Barbara Brice, 75, a former seamstress, said federal programs have played a major role in her family’s life for the past 30 years. She became a single mother shortly after moving to New Mexico, and qualified for some Social Security payments to help care for her daughter.

Medicare paid for her care in the hospital after she fell a few years ago and was looking for a diagnosis for a chronic condition. Her daughter had to use Medicaid after a divorce.

“It’s been an important part of our lives,” she said.“When I was in the hospital, I didn’t even know who was covering what, I was just thankful I was getting cared for.”

She said she’s generally concerned about federal cuts to programs, but said she can’t follow it too closely.

“I have a lot of concerns, but the problem is that I have some sort of a chronic condition I’m trying to survive,” she said. “So I don’t really have too much wiggle room for worrying.”

She said she appreciated Luján’s promise to keep the programs in place.

“I’m thrilled he came to see us, and we’re thrilled that he’s a Democrat and trying to stop the blood-letting from the Republicans in the House.”

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