Press Releases
Senator Tom Udall’s Legislative Actions to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic
To download and print this information, please click HERE. Funding - Senator Udall voted to pass H.R. 266, a $484 billion bipartisan COVID-19 response package with key funding for New Mexico and Indian Country, including: - Senator Udall and Senate Democrats fought to increase the amount of loans that small community lenders receive by $120 billion, a key provision that will help finance the loans for many small businesses in New Mexico and Indian Country. - An additional $75 billion for h… Continue Reading
September 17, 2020
Udall Holds Roundtable with Tribal Leaders, Calls for Urgent Senate Action on Additional COVID Relief and Tribal Priorities
WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, held a virtual roundtable with Tribal leaders as part of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Tribal Unity Impact Days event. During the roundtable, Udall discussed his continued efforts to secure more federal resources to respond to the ongoing pandemic and his work on legislative priorities for Native communities. Udall then answered questions from Tribal leaders on the poten… Continue Reading
September 17, 2020
Udall, Heinrich Denounce Trump Administration Attempt to Exclude Immigrants from Census Count, an Unconstitutional Move that Jeopardizes Fair and Accurate Congressional Representation
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined a group of 19 senators to demand that the U.S. Census Bureau provide information about how the agency will use the data collected during the 2020 Census to produce a fair and accurate apportionment of federal representation across the country. The senators' letter follows attempts by the Trump administration to undermine an effective Census count by spreading fear and misinformation within immigrant communities and c… Continue Reading
September 16, 2020
NM Delegation Announces Over $4.1 Million to 7 NM Universities to Improve Educational Opportunities for Hispanic Students
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) announced that seven New Mexico colleges and universities will receive over $4.1 million in combined continuing grants to expand and improve educational opportunities for Hispanic students. The colleges and universities received the Department of Education (ED) grants from a competitive Hispanic Serving Institution… Continue Reading
September 16, 2020
VIDEO: Udall Advocates for Gila Wild & Scenic Legislation in Key Committee Hearing
VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flv91aflRk8&feature=youtu.be WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, testified before a Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on the environmental and economic benefits of designating parts of the Gila River and river segments within its watershed as Wild and Scenic. Udall urged the committee to pass The… Continue Reading
September 16, 2020
Bipartisan Leadership of Senate Committees on Indian Affairs and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Call on the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board to Better Engage Tribes on Access to CARES Act Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, John Hoeven (R-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs are encouraging Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Jerome Powell to inc… Continue Reading
September 15, 2020
VIDEO: Udall, Senate Democrats Demand Removal of Anti-Public Lands Zealot William Pendley from Position Leading Bureau of Land Management
As the West burns, Trump administration is circumventing the law to keep Pendley - a climate change denier of the first order - in charge of 10% of all American lands and ignoring the devastating consequences of a warming climate VIDEO LINK: https://www.facebook.com/senatortomudall/videos/317171746224802/ WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, led U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich… Continue Reading
September 15, 2020
AUDIO: On ‘Tuesdays with Tom’, Udall Pushes for Senate Action on Coronavirus Relief, Encourages New Mexicans to Fill Out 2020 Census
New Mexico's Census response rate falls behind national response rate as Trump administration cuts deadline one month short AUDIO: Udall Hosts Press Call on Coronavirus Relief, Importance of Full and Fair Census count to New Mexico WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) held a press call with New Mexico reporters to push for urgent Senate action on COVID-19 relief legislation and encouraged New Mexicans to fill out the 2020 Census. Though the House of Representatives passed a… Continue Reading
September 14, 2020
Udall, Senate Democrats Call on FCC Chairman to Expeditiously Address the Digital Divide in Indian Country
As Tribal governments and Native communities work to continue to slow the spread of COVID-19, internet access is critical for telehealth services, online learning, telework, and more WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee led a group of 14 Senate Democrats in calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to expedite broadband connectivity to Native c… Continue Reading
September 14, 2020
N.M. Delegation Warns Census Bureau’s Current Operation Could Result In Undercount, Costing N.M. Hundreds of Millions In Federal Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) are raising concerns in a letter to U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham about the Census Bureau's ongoing operational strategy and engagement with the state of New Mexico. The delegation criticized the Census Bureau's sudden reversal of previous plans to extend its operations in light of the coronavi… Continue Reading
September 11, 2020
NM Delegation Secures Funding To Increase Pipeline Safety Across New Mexico
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), along with U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) has awarded a total of $1,246,218 to the New Mexico Pipeline Safety Bureau, New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and New Mexico State Public Regulation Commiss… Continue Reading
September 10, 2020
N.M. Delegation, Governor Sound Alarm On Trump Administration’s Decision To End Census Early
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján, Deb Haaland, and Xochitl Torres Small, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham are sounding the alarm about the Trump administration's decision to end Census field data collection activities by September 30, 2020-one month earlier than previously planned. During a press teleconference today, the lawmakers highlighted how the administration's sudden reversal of earlier plans to delay censu… Continue Reading
September 10, 2020
Following Staggering Report that Wildlife Populations Plummeted By Two Thirds in 50 Years, Udall Renews Call for Bold Action to Save Nature
WASHINGTON-Today, following the World Wildlife Fund's alarming report documenting that the world has lost two-thirds of global animal, bird and fish populations over the past 50 years, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement to renew his call for bold action to save nature in order to save ourselves, by protecting 30 percent of our land and waters by 2030. Udall is the lead author of the 30x30 Resolution to Save Nature. "This new report brings the consequences of habitat… Continue Reading
September 09, 2020
Udall and Heinrich to DeJoy: Postal Delays Are Harming Small Businesses During Pandemic
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined a group of 25 senators in a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, pressing him about recent changes to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that caused delivery delays and increased costs for small businesses already struggling with lost revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. USPS is the "carrier of choice" for many small businesses that have fewer than 10 employees, which are among the most vulnerable small bus… Continue Reading
September 09, 2020
NM Delegation Announces Over $8.3 Million in Grants to 18 Airports Across the State
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded over $8.3 million in grants to 18 New Mexico airports for infrastructure improvements and redevelopment. The funds are from Department of Transportation (DoT) grants for infrastructure improvements as well as from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Econo… Continue Reading
September 09, 2020
Udall Reiterates Call for Immediate Senate Action to Provide Real Relief to Millions of Suffering Americans, Following Months of GOP Delay
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) called for the Senate to act immediately to provide real relief to New Mexicans struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to reject the new, insufficient proposal from Senate Republicans. Senate Republicans have delayed action for months, refusing to take up the HEROES Act, a badly-needed coronavirus relief package that was passed by the House of Representatives in May, or come back to the negotiating table to find a solution that addresses … Continue Reading
September 08, 2020
Following Flagrant Misuse of National Park Sites for Republican National Convention, Udall and McCollum Demand Answers
WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M) and U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), ranking member and chair of the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, respectively, pressed the National Park Service (NPS) for answers after President Donald J. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Republican party leaders used the White House and national park sites as political stages for the Republican National Convention. The lawmakers dem… Continue Reading
September 08, 2020
Udall, Heinrich, Torres Small Hail $2.5 Million Investment in Carlsbad and Artesia to Support Small Businesses and Economic Growth
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Henrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) announced the city of Carlsbad and Artesia will receive over $2.5 million from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) as local economies continue to respond and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the Carlsbad Industrial Action will receive funding through the CARES Act to provide small businesses impacted by COVID-19 with gap financing loans, w… Continue Reading
September 03, 2020
Udall, McCollum Demand Answers from EPA After Agency Reorganizes Hardrock Mining Office Without Congressional Authorization
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, and U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment, sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler demanding answers after EPA notified the committees of a reorganization and relocation of the agency's offices overseeing abandoned ha… Continue Reading
August 31, 2020
Udall, Heinrich to Trump Administration: Stop Putting Politics Ahead of Public Health in COVID-19 Response
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined a group of 32 Senate Democrats to denounce the Trump administration's continued political interference in the COVID-19 pandemic response. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, the senators warned that decisions to pressure and overrule public health experts will erode public trust and hamper efforts to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. The senators' letter follows several recent incid… Continue Reading
