My congresscritter is not attending the SOTU.

Rep. Steve Pearce, the delegation’s only Republican, will not attend the State of the Union speech because he will be in Roswell for a rally in opposition of the Obama administration’s listing of the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act. A public hearing on the issue will follow the rally this afternoon.

“The Obama Administration’s Fish and Wildlife Service scheduled the public hearing on the lesser prairie chicken for the same day as the President’s State of the Union address,” according to a news release from Pearce’s office. “Pearce has chosen to attend the public hearing, in order to stand with his constituents in defense of New Mexico’s jobs, communities, and education funding oil and gas interests.”