The New Mexico Legislature approved a bill during a fast-paced special session Monday that authorizes up to $162.5 million in state funds to provide food benefits to low-income families in case the federal government shutdown continues.

The bill, the only piece of legislation lawmakers considered, received bipartisan support in both chambers. It passed 30-6 in the Senate and 52-9 in the House.

"New Mexico should hold its head high today," Sen. George Muñoz, a Gallup Democrat who carried the bill in the Senate, said before the vote, adding the state is in a financial position to help its residents.

"In the last special session, we helped them with their health insurance costs. In this special session, we're helping with a greater need: daily food, daily nutrition," he said. "New Mexico s

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