Press Releases
Udall, Heinrich Welcome Wildfire Funding Reform in President's Budget
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich today applauded the news that President Obama incorporated into his Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal a plan based on a bill they cosponsored to reform federal wildfire policy. The change, which still must be approved by Congress, would fund major wildfires the same as other natural disasters and free up funding to prevent future fires. "Wildfires are as devastating in New Mexico and the rest of the West as hurricanes are on the East and G… Continue Reading
March 05, 2014
Udall, Heinrich Announce $1.7 Million for Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System Project
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that the Bureau of Reclamation will provide $1.7 million for the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System Project. Combined with previously enacted FY 2014 funding, these additional funds bring the total available for the project to over $2.3 million. The funding will be used to continue construction at the Ute Resevoir, which will supply water to the communities of Clovis, Elida, Grady, Melrose, Portales and Texico, and redu… Continue Reading
March 04, 2014
Udall Statement on President's Budget Proposal
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement about the President Obama's Fiscal Year 2015 budget request: "The president's budget is a statement of the administration's priorities for the year to come, and overall, it contains good news for New Mexicans. It continues to roll back the devastating sequestration cuts that risked jobs and threatened our state's economy. Fiscally responsible investments in innovation and m… Continue Reading
March 04, 2014
Udall, Luján Announce Over $5.1 Million for Wireless Service for Navajo Nation and Picuris Pueblo
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján announced that the Federal Communications Commission will award over $5.1 million to support mobile broadband service in areas of the Navajo Nation and Picuris Pueblo lacking wireless coverage. Through a reverse auction bidding process designed to maximize the expansion of wireless coverage, the FCC allocated a total of $5,149,628 to Smith Bagley, Inc. and Commnet Wireless, LLC for mobile broadband service at… Continue Reading
February 28, 2014
Udall, Heinrich Announce $788,700 Grant Funding to Strengthen N.M. Affordable Housing Nonprofit Organizations
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that NeighborWorks America will award three New Mexico nonprofit affordable housing organizations with grants funded through the FY2014 Omnibus Appropriations Funding Bill. Santa Fe's Homewise, Inc., Navajo Partnership for Housing, Inc. in Gallup, and the Tierra del Sol Housing Corporation in Southern New Mexico will receive a total of over $785,000 to support revitalization efforts, to promote and preserve affordable hous… Continue Reading
February 27, 2014
Udall: Crucial Veterans Bill Blocked
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall expressed deep disappointment after Republicans blocked a comprehensive bill to expand crucial health care, education and job-training benefits to thousands of veterans in New Mexico and across the nation. The Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act would have restored cost-of-living increases for all remaining future military retirees, and provided a critical expansion of VA health facilities, education assistance for p… Continue Reading
February 27, 2014
Udall Praises Confirmation of Michael Connor as Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined the Senate in voting unanimously to confirm Michael Connor to serve as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Connor is a Las Cruces native and New Mexico State University graduate, and currently serves as commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. Udall issued the following statement after the confirmation vote: "Mike Connor has proven himself to be a smart, thoughtful and effective public servant. As a native New Mexi… Continue Reading
February 27, 2014
Udall, Heinrich Ask EPA to Assess Risk, Deploy Mobile Monitors to WIPP
WASHINGTON - U.S Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich today sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy asking her to provide public health analysis and deploy mobile environmental monitoring units to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, N.M. The mobile monitors would conduct independent tests and help respond to questions that have arisen from the community about safety following the Feb. 14 radiation leak at WIPP. "The health and safety o… Continue Reading
February 27, 2014
Udall Praises Reauthorization of Critical Drought Information Program to Protect N.M. Farmers, Ranchers and Communities
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Pryor (D-AR), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Mark Udall (D-CO) applauded the passage of their bipartisan legislation reauthorizing the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), which provides vital drought information to farmers, ranchers and other industries affected by weather conditions. The bill, which was also sponsored by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), will now head to the president for his signature. "This bill is vital for N… Continue Reading
February 26, 2014
Udall, Heinrich, Luján: New Mexicans Deserve Clear Information about Lamy Project
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján announced that they have sent a letter on behalf of their constituents to Pacer Energy Marketing, which has announced plans to truck crude oil from the Four Corners to a property in Lamy owned by Santa Fe Southern Railway, where it would be transported by rail to refineries south of Albuquerque. The lawmakers note in their letter that Pacer's plans have raised strong concerns among the residents of L… Continue Reading
February 26, 2014
Udall, Heinrich Back Effort To Secure Water Resources In New Mexico
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are backing legislation to conserve water resources and promote sustainability. The SECURE Water Amendments Act of 2014 would expand grants and increase funding for water conservation and drought projects, and provide resources for better data collection and analysis of water supply and use. The bill, introduced by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power, will rec… Continue Reading
February 20, 2014
Udall, Heinrich Statement on Response to Radiation Event at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
CARLSBAD, N.M. - U.S Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich issued the following statement on the continuing response to the detection of higher than usual radiation levels at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, N.M. "The health and safety of the Carlsbad community and WIPP personnel are our top priorities. It is critical to ensure the public has access to accurate, timely information, and as the response to this event continues, we urge the Department of Energy to work with the… Continue Reading
February 20, 2014
Udall, Heinrich, Luján Announce $1 Million SAFER Grant for Bloomfield Fire Department
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján, announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded the Bloomfield Fire Department with a $1,023,494 grant under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program. The grant funds will be used to increase the number of firefighters in Bloomfield, and help the Bloomfield Fire Department to enhance its deployment capabilities to ensure that the co… Continue Reading
February 15, 2014
Udall, Heinrich Statement On Radiation At Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
CARLSBAD, N.M. - U.S Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich issued the following statement after an air monitor detected higher than usual radiation levels at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico: "We are in close contact with officials at the Department of Energy and WIPP, and we will continue to monitor the situation as more information becomes available. The safety of WIPP personnel and the surrounding community is of the utmost importance." The U.S. Department of En… Continue Reading
February 14, 2014
Udall, Heinrich Welcome News that USDA will Enable Ranchers to Sign up for Farm Bill Drought Disaster Aid within 60 Days
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will soon enable livestock producers to sign up for disaster assistance, which the senators helped to pass in the Farm Bill earlier this month. The assistance is being expedited -- signups will begin in 60 days -- at the request of Udall, Heinrich and several other senators from Western states, where producers have been struggling with several years of drought. The program provides a… Continue Reading
February 14, 2014
More Doctors, More Jobs & Better Care for New Mexico
This week I introduced two bills to help solve an issue that affects nearly everyone in our state - access to quality health care. For generations, community doctors have treated entire families -- delivering babies and healing everything from chicken pox to heart disease. Small-town doctors help hold communities together. I believe everyone deserves access to this kind of quality health care. But times are changing, and New Mexico faces a serious shortage of primary care providers in every coun… Continue Reading
February 13, 2014
N.M. Dem Congressional Delegation Supports N.M. Minimum Wage Increase
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham announced their enthusiastic support for increasing New Mexico's minimum wage. The New Mexico state legislature is currently debating a measure to raise the minimum wage and provide for annual inflation increases to strengthen the economy and help lift more families into the middle class. Udall, Heinrich, Luján and Lujan Grisham also support raising the federal mini… Continue Reading
February 12, 2014
Udall Votes to Reverse Military Retiree COLA Reduction
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined the full Senate in voting to undo a 1 percent reduction to the cost of living adjustment (COLA) for working-age military retirees and current service members who have not yet reached retirement. The reduction in COLA was included as part of a bipartisan budget agreement passed by the Senate in December. The Senate voted 95-3 to reverse the cut. The U.S. House of Representatives approved the measure earlier this week. It now goes to the president … Continue Reading
February 12, 2014
In Speech, Udall Urges Support for his Bill to Improve Care for Rural Veterans
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall spoke on the Senate floor about a bipartisan bill he introduced with Senator Dean Heller (R-Nev.) to address some of the biggest barriers to health care for veterans in rural communities. To illustrate the need for the bill, Udall told the stories of many rural New Mexico veterans who have struggled to access health care - traveling long distances and enduring high turnover among doctors and staff at rural VA clinics, among other problems - and discusse… Continue Reading
February 11, 2014
Udall Introduces Bill to Increase Access to Health Care, Address Physician Shortage in Rural N.M., U.S.
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall announced he has introduced legislation to increase access to primary care services in New Mexico and across the country and to address the growing shortage of doctors and other health care professionals in rural and underserved communities. The problem was highlighted earlier this year in a series of articles by the Albuquerque Journal. New Mexico faces a serious shortage of primary health care providers in every county but Los Alamos; 1,429 doctors… Continue Reading
