Growing up, I learned the value of hard work from my parents. I also saw that sometimes, no matter how hard they worked, they struggled to get by. One of the reasons I eventually ran for office was to help make it easier for people like my parents to make ends meet.

I am proud to support Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz this election because they share my passion for helping hardworking families thrive. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz grew up in working families themselves. They understand that for too many Americans, the cost of housing, healthcare, and groceries make it hard to get ahead, and they have a plan to help called a New Way Forward.

As the former Chair of New Mexico's House Taxation and Revenue Committee, I can tell you that good tax policy is one of the best ways to relieve the pressures of bills and household expenses on working families. Over the last several years, our state has reduced income taxes for all hardworking New Mexicans, enacted some of the most generous state-level tax credits for working families in the nation, and made our tax code more fair. For example, the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department estimates that the expanded state Child Tax Credit that went into effect this year will provide $180 million to help nearly 300,000 working families in New Mexico. Still, to break cycles of generational poverty, we must do more to help.

At the federal level, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz's plan will provide relief for New Mexico families by restoring the national Child Tax Credit to provide $3,600 per child for the middle class and the most hard-pressed working families. On top of restoring the federal Child Tax Credit, Vice President Harris will expand it to provide up to $6,000 in total tax relief for middle- and low-income families for the first year of their child's life when a family's expenses are highest. When a similar measure was in effect, it cut taxes for 40 million families and reduced child poverty and food insecurity across the country. The New Mexico Children's Cabinet reports that in the 2021 tax year, New Mexico taxpayers raising children received over $778 million from federal child tax credits.

Vice President Harris won't stop there, she will lower the costs of everyday necessities by going after corporate price gouging while also making the dream of home ownership more attainable. In stark contrast to Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda that will raise costs for a typical family by nearly $4,000 a year -- increasing prices for groceries, medicine, and clothes -- by essentially slapping a new sales tax on goods coming into the United States.

This election will be a choice between two very different visions for the future: Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are fighting for a New Way Forward that ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead. Donald Trump is running to enact his extreme and dangerous Project 2025 agenda that will hurt working families and threaten our democracy.