Press Releases
Udall, Whitehouse, Senate Democrats Introduce Resolution Supporting National Science Foundation, Climate Science
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) joined Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and 17 other senators in introducing a resolution establishing a sense of the Senate that the National Science Foundation (NSF) should be able to share critical climate science from federal agencies with the public. The resolution follows an unprecedented attack by four Senate Republicans on an NSF grant program that helps to educate TV meteorologists around the country about the science of climate change. J… Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Udall Leads Roundtable on School Infrastructure Needs in Indian Country
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led a roundtable discussion with tribal leaders, tribal organizations, and administration officials to document the infrastructure needs of schools that serve Native communities. "I don't think there's any doubt that more must be done to deal with school infrastructure needs," Udall said. "There exists a huge gap between the resources and the needs in schools throughout Indian country." Udall pressed … Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
VIDEO: Udall Speaks Out Against Trump Trade War: ‘You’re Going to Put Companies Out of Business in New Mexico’
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYcZNw6-mTs&feature=youtu.be WASHINGTON - Today, in a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) told a Trump administration official that President Trump's incitement and escalation of an unnecessary trade war with our allies threatens to put companies out of business in New Mexico. Udall said that the president's decision to place national security tariffs on steel and aluminum imports - including from allies l… Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Udall, Heinrich Demand Judiciary Committee Hearing On Family Separation
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich urged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to convene an oversight hearing on family separation and the Trump administration's haphazard plan to reunite immigrant children with their parents. The Senators' letter to Chairman Grassley follows a troubling call last week with Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar in which only three Senators were able to ask questions on HHS' role in family dete… Continue Reading
July 11, 2018
Udall, Portman, Burr, Coons, and Whitehouse Introduce DELTA Act to Protect the Okavango River Delta
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) today introduced the Defending Economic Livelihoods and Threatened Animals (DELTA) Act, legislation that encourages the U.S. to develop a strategy to protect the Okavango River Delta in South Africa. Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) are also original cosponsors of this legislation. A similar bill in the House - introduced by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), House Foreign Affai… Continue Reading
July 10, 2018
Udall, Heinrich Announce $6.5 Million from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Flood Control Project in Alamogordo
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich today announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to the senators' request to provide $6.5 million in infrastructure funding to complete a flood management project in the City of Alamogordo, N.M. Udall and Heinrich successfully pushed for the Corps to dedicate this funding, which will go toward completing a construction project designed to prepare and protect the city of Alamogordo from flooding, improve safety, and prevent … Continue Reading
July 10, 2018
Udall Calls for Immediate Disclosure of Information on Children Separated from Families
Udall's bipartisan amendment directs HHS to make information publicly available about separated children on weekly and monthly basis WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) demanded that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) immediately disclose critical information about the thousands of children who have been separated from their families as a result of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy for migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S. border. In a letter to… Continue Reading
July 09, 2018
Udall Statement on Supreme Court Nomination
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) released the following statement after President Trump announced he is nominating Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court: "It is the Senate's constitutional duty to advise and consent on Supreme Court nominees. But after Mitch McConnell made a mockery of the Supreme Court nomination process in 2016, the only advice and consent that Donald Trump has sought out is from the extreme, right-wing groups who hand-picked this nominee… Continue Reading
July 05, 2018
Udall Statement on Pruitt Resignation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) released the following statement on the resignation of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt: "Scott Pruitt's tenure at EPA was an utter disgrace. He should have been fired long ago. Pruitt embodies everything about the 'swamp' that President Trump claimed he wanted to end - and the fact that Pruitt was kept around this long shows that the president never cared about rooting out corruption or self-dealing in Washington. On … Continue Reading
July 02, 2018
Udall, Welch: Overdue EPA Report Shows Negative Environmental Impacts of RFS
WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following joint statement on a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, required by Congress, documenting the adverse environmental impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): "This EPA report clearly shows that the over-reliance on corn and soybeans in the Renewable Fuel Standard has resulted in a host of adverse environmental impacts, including domestic and international la… Continue Reading
July 02, 2018
Udall, Welch: Overdue EPA Report Shows Negative Environmental Impacts of RFS
WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Peter Welch (D-Vt.) released the following joint statement on a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, required by Congress, documenting the adverse environmental impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): "This EPA report clearly shows that the over-reliance on corn and soybeans in the Renewable Fuel Standard has resulted in a host of adverse environmental impacts, including domestic and international la… Continue Reading
June 29, 2018
Udall Advances Protections for Children, Farmworkers as Long-Term Pesticide Registration Agreement Clears Senate
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) announced that his amendment to preserve key protections for children and farmworkers has cleared the Senate as part of a bipartisan agreement to reauthorize the nation's pesticide registration program under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA). The Udall amendment preserves two rules by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the updated Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) and Certification of Pesticide Applicators (CPA) Rul… Continue Reading
June 29, 2018
Udall Secures Key Tribal Provisions in Senate Farm Bill Reauthorization
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, announced that he has secured several key tribal provisions in the Senate's bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill. Many of these provisions reflect tribal priorities that were originally included in Udall's CROPS for Indian Country Act and Tribal Food and Housing Security Act. "Reauthorization of the Farm Bill is an opportunity to improve federal nutrition, agriculture, and conservation policies for all of Indian … Continue Reading
June 29, 2018
Udall, Heinrich Secure Provision Making Acequias Eligible for Grants and Technical Assistance
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced that they have secured a provision in the Senate's 2018 Farm Bill to make acequias eligible for grants and technical assistance from conservation and environmental programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to increase agricultural water efficiency and further conservation of soil, water, and other natural resources. Acequias provide water for many … Continue Reading
June 28, 2018
Udall Amendment Requires HHS Transparency on Family Separation
Udall: "We need and the public deserves transparency about these children and how soon they are being reunited with their families" WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall secured passage of an amendment to require public transparency from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) about its care for thousands of children separated from their families under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy during the Senate Appropriations Committee's consideration of the Fiscal Year … Continue Reading
June 28, 2018
Udall, Murphy Introduce Farm Bill Amendment to Help Farmers with Student Loan Debt
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment to the Farm Bill to help farmers with student loan debt. Specifically, the bipartisan amendment would authorize a study of the impact student loan debt is having on farmers, especially beginning and underserved farmers. Too often, farmers are prevented from growing their farms or staying in the agricultural industry because of crushing student debt. The Farm Bill also includes … Continue Reading
June 27, 2018
Udall: The American People Must Speak Before We Consider Supreme Court Nominee
WASHINGTON - Today, during a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Tom Udall said that the Senate must allow the American people to speak in the upcoming midterm election before a nominee is considered to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Udall's comments came in a speech about the president's inhumane and immoral family separation policy, during which Udall advocated for a strong judicial system to guarantee due process and uphold the rule of law and fundamental rights. Udall's comment… Continue Reading
June 27, 2018
Udall, Heinrich Announce NM Counties to Receive $42.6 Million in 2018 PILT Payments to Support Schools, Roads, First Responders, Crucial Services in Rural Communities
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that counties across New Mexico will receive more than $42.6 million through the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for Fiscal Year 2018. The total is a $4.1 million increase from the total payments the state received last year, helped by the advocacy of Udall and Heinrich. A full list of funding by county and the final state total is included below. PILT provides federal payments to local governments to help offset … Continue Reading
June 27, 2018
Udall, Heinrich Announce $3.1 Million In AmeriCorps Funding For New Mexico
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced $3.1 million in AmeriCorps funding for New Mexico from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency responsible for AmeriCorps and other national service programs. These grants will put nearly 300 AmeriCorps members on the ground to serve in communities across the state. "AmeriCorps funding is a big win for New Mexico. AmeriCorps members do everything from mentoring economically disadvanta… Continue Reading
June 27, 2018
VIDEO: Udall Fights for Justice for Victims of Radiation Exposure in Key Senate Hearing
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hdDWHIXQrs WASHINGTON - In a major step forward in the fight for justice for victims of radiation exposure, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) testified today in a key Senate hearing on the need to enact his legislation to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) and provide compensation to all New Mexicans, Tribal members, and families throughout the country affected by exposure to radiation during the Cold War. The hearing in the Senate Judic… Continue Reading
