Press Releases
Udall and Heinrich Request Funding For Cleanup Efforts At Los Alamos National Laboratory And WIPP
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 4, 2013) - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall sent a letter to President Obama today requesting that the administration include federal funding in the Department of Energy's Defense Environmental Cleanup 2014 budget for at least $255 million for cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory and $222 million to operate and maintain the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall sent a letter to President Ob… Continue Reading
February 04, 2013
Senators & Reps Introduce Bipartisan Mining Cleanup Legislation
WASHINGTON - Today, Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, with Reps. Steve Pearce and Ben Ray Luján, introduced legislation in the Senate and House to help state and tribal governments complete high-priority uranium mine cleanup projects. The Abandoned Mine Land (AML) fund was created as part of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) and requires fees to be paid on local coal production to fund state and tribal mine reclamation. Current law limits state and tribal use o… Continue Reading
February 01, 2013
NFL Endorses Udall-Rockefeller Youth Sports Safety Effort
WASHINGTON - Ahead of this Sunday's Super Bowl XLVII, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, welcomed the NFL's endorsement of their forthcoming legislation aimed at protecting youth athletes from the dangers of sports-related traumatic brain injuries. The Youth Sports Concussion Act will ensure that safety standards for sports equipment are up to date and informed by the latest science. The bill will also increase… Continue Reading
February 01, 2013
Udall & Heinrich: COOL rules must put Americans first
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative to work with consumers, ranchers and meatpackers to make sure that American families know where their meat comes from. The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently required the USDA to adjust its rules requiring American retailers to clearly label where meat was raised and processed. The WTO said that while the U.S. can require meat labeling, current U.S. Co… Continue Reading
February 01, 2013
Congressional Delegation: Preserve Full Special-Ed Federal Funding
WASHINGTON - New Mexico's Congressional Delegation today sent a letter encouraging the U.S. Department of Education to give serious consideration to the New Mexico Public Education Department's (NMPED) waiver request to avoid a reduction in the state's special education funding. "Educating students with special needs is a serious shared responsibility between the state and the federal government," the delegation wrote to Secretary Duncan. "The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) f… Continue Reading
January 31, 2013
Udall Bill Increases Federal Contracting Opportunities
WASHINGTON - In his first bill of the 113th Congress, U.S. Senator Tom Udall is seeking to expand opportunities for small businesses to secure federal contracts, and make the reporting requirements for those awarded more transparent. The Assuring Contracting Equity (ACE) Act of 2013, would raise the Small Business Administration's (SBA) government-wide small business contracting level from 23 to 25 percent. It would also increase the contracting goal from 5 to 10 percent for businesses owned by … Continue Reading
January 30, 2013
Senators Introduce Bill to Crack Down on Online Payday Loans
Washington, DC - Today, Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act. The SAFE Lending Act would crack down on the worst practices of the online payday lending industry and give states more power to protect consumers from predatory loans. "We threw the payday lenders, who prey on families when they're at their most vulnerable, out of Oregon back in… Continue Reading
January 29, 2013
Udall: Kerry Will Serve Nation Well As Sec. of State
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement today on his vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to confirm Sen. John Kerry as Secretary of State: "I am confident John Kerry will serve our country well as Secretary of State. He is a decorated war hero who returned from battle to serve in a variety of ways, including as an outspoken activist, prosecutor and United States senator. "Throughout his distinguished career, John has earned a reputation as a seriou… Continue Reading
January 28, 2013
Udall Statement on Bipartisan Immigration Framework
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement today after a bipartisan group of senators released an outline for comprehensive immigration reform legislation: "I am very encouraged by the bipartisan framework that has been unveiled in the Senate to modernize our broken immigration system. Reform is long overdue. "The proposal contains the elements necessary to overhaul the system, including securing our borders, a roadmap to earned citizenship and employment verifi… Continue Reading
January 24, 2013
Udall Statement on Senate Rules Reform Agreement
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement today on the Senate rules agreement reached by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: "For more than three years, I've been committed to changing the Senate rules so that Congress can effectively respond to the needs of the country. The Constitution has been the catalyst for reforming the current filibuster and that marks a breakthrough. "The agreement that's been struck is a combination o… Continue Reading
January 22, 2013
ICYMI: NYT Backs Udall's Filibuster Reform Efforts
Today, The New York Times once again supported U.S. Sen. Tom Udall's efforts to end Senate gridlock and filibuster abuse in its editorial, "A Chance to Fix the Senate." Read the full editorial here. "For six years, Democrats in the Senate have chafed at an unprecedented abuse of the filibuster by Republicans, who have used the practice to hold up nominees high and low and require a supermajority for virtually every bill. But now that they finally have an opportunity to end much of this delay and… Continue Reading
January 19, 2013
For Katie & The Bacas
This weekend, Americans across the country are participating in a National Day of Service to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Monday, as we celebrate his birthday, we will also observe the second inaugural of our first African American President. But before President Obama is sworn in for his second term, I want to let you know about two bills -- inspired by brave New Mexico families -- that he signed into law at the end of his first. Earlier this month, President Obam… Continue Reading
January 16, 2013
Udall Statement on Departure of Interior Secretary Salazar
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued this statement today following Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's announcement that he will return to Colorado in March: "I want to extend my thanks and best wishes to Ken Salazar for his years in public office and dedicated service as Secretary of the Interior. "Over the last four years Ken has worked tirelessly to expand our nation's domestic energy resources and worked with tribal leaders to build stronger, healthier Native American communities.… Continue Reading
January 11, 2013
Udall: Bataan Survivors' Stories Entered Into Library of Congress
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - In partnership with the office of Senator Tom Udall and The Oasis Veterans History Project in New Mexico, New Mexico PBS has been asked to submit the unedited footage of interviews conducted for the television program BATAAN: A 70TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION, for inclusion into the permanent collection at the Library of Congress. As a companion to the documentary TRAGEDY OF BATAAN, New Mexico PBS produced the program BATAAN: A 70TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION, with survivors o… Continue Reading
January 10, 2013
Udall-Corker Burn Pit Registry Signed Into Law
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) announced that today President Obama signed their bill to establish a registry of service members and veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan into law. "Today we celebrate the conclusion of our bipartisan effort to improve the health and well-being of our veterans," Udall said, "This is a victory for our men and women in uniform across the globe, and I am proud to sa… Continue Reading
January 10, 2013
Udall: President Signs Katie Sepich Bill Into Law
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall reported that today President Barack Obama signed the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012 into law. Katie's Law will expand DNA collection efforts from serious criminal offenders in order to save lives, solve crimes and prevent future tragedies from occurring at the hands of repeat offenders. The bill was named for a New Mexico State University graduate student who was brutally raped and murdered in 2003. Because New Mexico did not collect DNA fr… Continue Reading
January 03, 2013
Senators Introduce Rules Resolution to Restore Senate Debate and Accountability
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) today introduced a resolution to enact meaningful Senate rules reforms that would end filibuster abuse and restore debate to the chamber. In accordance with Article 1, section 5 of the Constitution, a majority of senators have the power to adopt or amend the operating rules of the chamber at the beginning of a new Congress, a procedure known as the Constitutional Option. Earlier today, Senate Majority Lea… Continue Reading
January 01, 2013
Udall Statement on Senate Fiscal Cliff Vote
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after the Senate voted 89-8 on a measure to avert the fiscal cliff: "I remain disillusioned with the short-term nature of the deal that came through the Senate last night, but ultimately felt we had to pass it. We managed to make progress on middle-class tax cuts, wind energy tax incentives and unemployment insurance, but squandered an opportunity to implement a long-term vision to deal with the debt and deficit. "Inste… Continue Reading
December 28, 2012
Bingaman & Udall: Senate Passes "Katie's Law," Bill Goes to President
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall applauded last night's passage of the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012, a bill named for a New Mexico State University graduate student who was brutally raped and murdered in 2003. Because New Mexico did not collect DNA from felony arrestees at the time, her killer was not identified when he was arrested in 2003 for unrelated crimes. It wasn't until three years later, after his conviction for other crimes, that his DNA was ta… Continue Reading
December 22, 2012
A Victory For Our Veterans
I'm pleased to share some good news for our veterans. For the past two years, I've been working on a bill to help service members who were exposed to toxic fumes from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan. This week, the Senate unanimously approved our bill as part of a larger veterans package. National Guardsman MSgt Jessey Baca and his wife Maria of Albuquerque told me about Jessey's battle with cancer, PTSD and numerous other ailments believed to have been caused by exposure to burn pits… Continue Reading
