Press Releases
Bingaman & Udall: Key Bill Supports N.M. Military Installations
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today reported that a bill being developed in the Senate will support the state's military bases and key research to benefit the Department of Defense. The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved the fiscal year 2011 Defense Appropriations Bill, which contains funding the Senators secured for defense work being done in New Mexico. That bill can now be sent to the full Senate for debate. "New Mexico has long played a key role in our n… Continue Reading
September 16, 2010
Udall Urges Troops and Veterans to Claim Stop Loss Compensation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., is urging active duty service members, veterans, and beneficiaries of service members who were involuntarily extended between September 11, 2001 and September 30, 2009, to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay. Under the 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act, compensation is available to service members of every military branch who had their enlistment extended or retirement suspended due to "Stop Loss," a policy utilized during major conflic… Continue Reading
September 16, 2010
NM Delegation: UNM Receives $143M Loan Guarantee to Build New Sandoval Regional Medical Center
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján today announced that the University of New Mexico (UNM) has received a $143.4 million federal loan guarantee to construct and equip a state-of-the-art, 68-bed teaching hospital in Rio Rancho. UNM will receive a $143,425,000 Section 242 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan guarantee through the Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund the new Sandoval Regional Medical Center, which … Continue Reading
September 16, 2010
'Stop Loss' Pay Deadline Extended to Dec. 3
UPDATE: "Stop Loss" pay deadline has been extended to Dec. 3, 2010. If you served in the military between Sept. 11, 2001 and Sept. 30, 2009 and your service was involuntarily extended, or your retirement was suspended due to "Stop Loss," you are eligible for special compensation. This is not a gimmick or a scam. It's a real opportunity for our troops who have sacrificed so much. You can find out more about the program on the Defense Department's website here. Under the 2009 War Supplemental … Continue Reading
September 16, 2010
Udall: NM Receives $1 Million to Expand Nutrition Aid for Low-Income Seniors
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall today announced that the state of New Mexico is among three states that have been awarded more than $1 million each to expand nutrition assistance to low-income seniors. The grants, which total $3.1 million, were awarded to New Mexico, Washington and Pennsylvania by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and will fund pilot projects to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation among Medicare's Extra Help population. Extra Help,… Continue Reading
September 16, 2010
Udall Votes to Approve Small Business Jobs Bill
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall today joined 60 of his Senate colleagues in approving legislation that will help Americans get back to work by creating the right economic conditions for small businesses to expand and create new jobs. The 61-38 vote on the Small Business Jobs Act came after weeks of obstruction by Senate Republicans, who continue to side with Wall Street over the interests of Main Street and the small businesses that have created two-thirds of all new jobs in America over the… Continue Reading
September 14, 2010
Credit Small Businesses Deserve
Back from the Senate's district work period, our first order of business is to take up a bill to help aid new and existing small businesses. Believe it or not, earlier this summer this commonsense bill was repeatedly blocked by filibusters. Thankfully, after months of obstruction, today we succeeded in overcoming the filibuster so we can pass this measure to help New Mexico's small businesses create jobs and regain access to private capital. Throughout the financial crisis, small business owner… Continue Reading
September 13, 2010
NM Delegation: $18.65 Million Awarded Through Recovery Act for Broadband Services Across State
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall and U.S. Representatives Harry Teague and Ben Ray Luján today announced that more than $18.65 million has been awarded to three New Mexico Internet providers to expand access to high-speed broadband services to underserved communities across the state. The awards, provided by the Department of Agriculture through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will benefit approximately 45,000 people, more than 600 businesses, and 98 comm… Continue Reading
September 08, 2010
Bingaman & Udall: $3.5 Million in Recovery Act Funds Released For Middle Rio Grande Habitat Restoration Project
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the Bureau of Reclamation is releasing $3.5 million for a restoration project on the Middle Rio Grande. Funding, which is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used for construction of habitat improvements in the Isleta Reach of the Middle Rio Grande floodplain downstream of Belen. The project was designed in consultation with the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission under the programma… Continue Reading
September 08, 2010
New Mexico Receives More Than $3.6 Million for Airport Runway Improvements
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that airports in Los Alamos and Santa Teresa will receive more than $3.6 million in grants for runway extensions. Doña Ana County Airport in Santa Teresa will receive $2,287,944 in funding. Los Alamos County Airport will receive $1,372,062. "Airports are one of the best economic tools that a community has to offer. The funding awarded today is an important investment in these two airports and in the communities that d… Continue Reading
September 07, 2010
Bingaman & Udall Announce $31 Million to Help Address One of New Mexico’s Most Dangerous Highways
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation has signed an agreement with the Navajo Nation's Division of Transportation to provide $31 million to improve and upgrade one of New Mexico's most dangerous highways. The funding, which is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used to expand the width of U.S. 491 over a corridor length of approximately 69 miles, constructing two new lanes adjacent to th… Continue Reading
September 07, 2010
ABQ to Receive $500,000 Grant to Make Energy out of Garbage
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-NM, today announced the City of Albuquerque will receive a $500,000 grant for its landfill gas-to-energy project. The grant, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will fund a system that converts gas emitted from Albuquerque's Cerro Colorado landfill into energy, including the power for a glass recycling facility. "I applaud the EPA selection of Albuquerque's gas-to-energy project for these funds," Udall said. "This innovative pr… Continue Reading
September 02, 2010
Udall: New Mexico Receives $900,000+ for Airport Improvements
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall today announced that airports throughout New Mexico will receive a total of $925,232 in grants to fund safety improvements and airport master plan studies for future needs. "I am glad to see this funding coming to New Mexico," said Udall, a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. "These grants will help ensure that local airports have well-researched plans in place and the tools they need to anticipate and respond to future challenges - i… Continue Reading
September 01, 2010
U.S. Education Department Releases $64.9 Million for New Mexico Schools to Keep Teachers in the Classroom
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today reported that the U.S. Department of Education has released $64.9 million to help close New Mexico's budget gap, and keep approximately 1,000 teachers in classrooms around the state. "Nothing is more important to a child's education than having good teachers in the classroom. When teachers are fired, classroom sizes increase, other teachers are overloaded, and students are forced to try to learn in challenging environments," Bingaman … Continue Reading
August 27, 2010
Udall: Survey Shows Need to Curb Drunk Driving
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-NM, today responded to a National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors released by the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showing that one-in-five Americans age 16 and over drove a car within two hours of drinking alcohol over a one year period and nearly one-third of them admitted they thought they were over the legal limit. Based on this survey, NHTSA estimates that 8 percent of all drivers, or 17.2 million peop… Continue Reading
August 27, 2010
How We Curb Drunk Driving
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) just released a study showing that one-in-five Americans age 16 and over drove a car within two hours of drinking alcohol over a one year period. And nearly one-third of them admitted they thought they were over the legal limit. That means almost 17 million drunk drivers on the roads. We need to do more to keep drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel, and this study also gives important insight into how to make that happen. Par… Continue Reading
August 24, 2010
Udall: Five NM Financial Institutions Receive More Than $2 Million to Help Struggling Communities
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-NM, today announced that five New Mexico financial institutions serving struggling communities have received a total of $2.08 million to support small businesses and spur local economic growth by expanding access to capital and affordable financial services. The awards were distributed by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, which invests and builds the capacity of existing private, for-profit and non-p… Continue Reading
August 20, 2010
NM Delegation: ABQ Airport Receives $2.4 Million Grant to Install Solar Panels on Parking Facility
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall and U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich today announced that Albuquerque International Sunport has received a $2.4 million federal grant to install solar panels that will provide electrical power to the airport's parking facility. The $2.44 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Voluntary Airport Low-Emission (VALE) project will fund the acquisition and installation of a Solar Photovoltaic Array on top of the airport's multilev… Continue Reading
August 16, 2010
Udall, Bingaman Host NM Broadband Summit
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman today co-hosted a New Mexico Broadband & Smart Grid Summit in Moriarty that featured the announcement of more than $73 million in grants and awards to expand broadband services to rural, underserved areas of New Mexico. More than 300 people attended the summit at the Moriarty Civic Center, which included panel sessions featuring experts on the challenges and opportunities facing New Mexico as it works to overcome the digital divide and h… Continue Reading
August 12, 2010
Udall & Bingaman to Host New Mexico Broadband & Smart Grid Summit
ALBUQUERQUE - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall will co-host the New Mexico Broadband & Smart Grid Summit with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development on Monday, August 16. The Summit, being held at the Moriarty Civic Center, will feature a keynote address by the Hon. Jonathan Adelstein, Administrator of the USDA Rural Utility Service (RUS). The address will be followed by two panel discussions moderated by Sens. Udall and Bingaman respectively. The American Recov… Continue Reading
