New Mexico congressman in swing district seeks health care trust for oil field workers

By MORGAN LEE
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bill aimed at compensating oil field workers and immediate relatives for uninsured medical costs related to air-pollution and heat-related illness has been introduced by a first-term congressman from New Mexico. Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez said Wednesday that his bill would require that energy companies nationwide pay into a trust that provides reimbursement to workers for health costs associated with ailments linked to methane and smog, including respiratory problems such as asthma. The bill marks a shift in focus from an unfettered support of the oil industry under Vasquez’s Republican predecessor. New Mexico is the nation’s second-largest producer of oil behind Texas.