Press Releases
Udall, Heinrich Announce $3 Million New Program For Women of Color Entrepreneurs to Drive Economic Growth in New Mexico
SANTA FE-U.S. Senator Tom Udall, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich announced a $3 million national program, Enterprising Women of Color, to improve capacity-building and growth potential for small business owned by women of color. The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce, developed the funding opportunity in response to Udall and Heinrich's push to expand MBDA's funding to support economic … Continue Reading
April 06, 2020
NM Delegation Announces Over $674,000 in Transportation Grants to Tribes in New Mexico as Part of Emergency Coronavirus Funding Package
WASHINGTON-Today, 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 New Mexico Tribes will receive over $674,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The funds are part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that the entire New Mexico delegation voted to pass Congress last week. The grants… Continue Reading
April 06, 2020
Senator Tom Udall’s Legislative Actions to Address the Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19
Funding - Senator Udall voted to pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,to provide immediate and badly-needed relief to New Mexicans grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. The $2 trillion package includes key provisions to support New Mexico, including: -Direct payments of $1,200 to individual New Mexicans, $2,400 for married couples and $500 per child. More information on direct payments can be found HERE and more details on direct payments and a summary can be … Continue Reading
April 03, 2020
Udall, Heinrich Call On Administration To Ensure Veterans, SSI Beneficiaries Get Stimulus Checks Automatically
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined 46 colleagues in calling on the Trump administration to issue stimulus checks automatically to recipients of benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Supplemental Security Income program. In their letter, the Senators point out that these are two groups with large amounts of non-filers and groups that the federal government has the data necessary to deliver the stimulus checks automatically… Continue Reading
April 03, 2020
Udall, Wyden, Merkley Urge Interior Department to Suspend Policy Actions Unrelated to COVID-19 Response
Department's obligation to undertake Tribal consultation for decisions cannot effectively take place when Tribal governments are responding to the public health emergency WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt urging the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) to … Continue Reading
April 03, 2020
Udall Statement on IHS Distributing $600 Million from CARES Act for Tribal Coronavirus Response
SANTA FE - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, released the following statement after the Indian Health Service (IHS) announced it is distributing $600 million of the $1.032 billion appropriated by Congress for the IHS in the recently passed CARES Act, the emergency COVID-19 legislative package enacted last week. Earlier this week, Udall led a bicameral, bipartisan group of lawmakers in writing to the president urging him to get CARES Act Trib… Continue Reading
April 03, 2020
NM Delegation Announces Over $133 Million in Grants for State Transportation Networks from Emergency Coronavirus Response Package
WASHINGTON-Today, 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 state and local governments in New Mexico will receive over $133 million in emergency transit grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The funds are part of a first wave of grants from the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that the e… Continue Reading
April 02, 2020
Udall, Heinrich To EPA: Be Transparent About Agency Actions During COVID-19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), along with nine Democratic colleagues have sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler, asking detailed oversight questions about how the agency is adjusting its operations in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) while continuing its critical mission to protect human health and the environment. While EPA has announced it will reduce enforcement of environmental laws during th… Continue Reading
April 02, 2020
Following Calls From Udall And Heinrich, Trump Administration Reverses Course And Allows Social Security Beneficiaries To Receive COVID-19 Direct Cash Assistance Without Filing Tax Returns
WASHINGTON - Following calls from U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Social Security recipients will automatically receive direct cash assistance included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act without having to file tax returns. On Wednesday, Senators Udall and Heinrich, along with a group of 41 colleagues, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressing alarm over guidance that the… Continue Reading
April 02, 2020
New Mexico Delegation Announces Over $16.7 Million in Housing Grants to New Mexico Communities from Emergency Coronavirus Funding
WASHINGTON-Today, 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 New Mexico communities across the state will receive over $16.7 million in emergency housing assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to bolster the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds are part of a first wave of grants from the $2 tr… Continue Reading
April 01, 2020
On National ‘Census Day,’ Udall Urges New Mexicans to Fill Out 2020 Census
Udall has been highlighting #CensusCounts social media campaign The Census form can be completed here. WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) released the following statement calling on all New Mexicans to fill out the 2020 Census in recognition of the national "Census Day": "Every New Mexican counts-and one of the biggest contributions that New Mexicans can make to their neighbors, themselves, their families and their communities is to fill out their Census form," said Udall, se… Continue Reading
April 01, 2020
Udall, Heinrich Call For Social Security Recipients To Get CARES Act Direct Cash Assistance Without Having To File Tax Return
WASHINGTON- While the CARES Act that the president signed into law last week ensured that the Treasury Department had the authority to send automatic direct cash assistance to Social Security beneficiaries regardless of whether they file taxes or not, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released contradictory guidance earlier this week stating that Social Security beneficiaries would need to file tax returns in order to receive direct payments. New Mexico U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinr… Continue Reading
April 01, 2020
Udall Leads Bipartisan, Bicameral Push for Swift, Effective Implementation of Tribal Provisions of the CARES Act
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.). vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 18 senators and 12 U.S. representatives in writing to President Donald J. Trump requesting that federal agencies implementing the Tribal provisions of the CARES Act do so in a manner that upholds the federal trust and treaty responsibilities to Indian Tribes, respects Tribal sovereignty and provides for meaningful government-to-government consultation… Continue Reading
April 01, 2020
Udall Releases Guidance for Tribes on Federal Resources from Emergency Coronavirus Package
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, released guidance documents for Tribal governments to provide information on the $8 billion "one stop" Tribal Coronavirus Relief Fund and the $2 billion in Tribal health provisions appropriated in the third emergency coronavirus package, the CARES Act. "Indian Country is on the front lines of this public health crisis, and they have been very clear that they need health, economic, and community… Continue Reading
March 31, 2020
Udall Statement on Trump Administration’s Rollback of Clean Car Standards
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement on the Trump Administration's rollback of fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. The Obama-era standards represented the federal government's strongest effort to combat climate change. The Trump rollback will send nearly one billion more tons of carbon dioxide into the air over vehicles' lifetime - roughly equivalent to one-fifth of all U.S. CO2 annual emissions, along with increased air toxins that worsen… Continue Reading
March 31, 2020
Udall, Heinrich, Torres Small Join Bipartisan Push for Federal Assistance to Rural Hospitals Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic
33 New Mexico hospitals serve primarily rural areas WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.) joined 41 senators and 81 representatives in sending a bipartisan letter to U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar urging him to direct funding included in the recently passed CARES Act to sustain small and rural hospitals. The CARES Act created a $100 billion grant program fo… Continue Reading
March 31, 2020
Udall Statement Honoring César Chávez Day
SANTA FE-Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) released the following statement honoring the legacy of civil and labor rights activist César Chávez, founder of the National Farm Workers Association, now the United Farm Workers union: "César Chávez was a workers' rights and civil rights hero who refused to accept that the farmworkers who harvest the food that nourishes Americans families did not have enough for themselves and their own families. Chávez's dedic… Continue Reading
March 31, 2020
NM Delegation Calls for Public Comment Period Extension for Chaco Canyon Draft Resource Management Plan for at Least 120 Days
WASHINGTON - 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.) sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt asking for the Department of Interior to extend the public comment period for the joint Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the area around Chaco Culture National Historical Park by at least… Continue Reading
March 30, 2020
Udall Calls for Protections for Consumers from Price Gouging During the Coronavirus Pandemic
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) joined 16 Senate Democratic colleagues in urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect consumers from price gouging during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In a letter, the senators call on the agency to use the full extent of its authority to prevent abusive price gouging on consumer health products that members of the public need to protect themselves and their loved ones from the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). "Serious and justi… Continue Reading
March 30, 2020
Udall, Heinrich Release Guide for Small Business Owners and Non-Profit Leaders to the CARES Act
Find the guide HERE. WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released a guide to help small business owners and non-profit leaders access new funding included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that passed the Senate, House and was signed into law by the President last week. The CARES Act contains major provisions to provide relief to small businesses and non-profits hurt by the coronavirus pandemic and its required public … Continue Reading
