Press Releases
Bingaman & Udall: NM to Receive Over $4 Million in Veterans Affairs Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that New Mexico will benefit from over $4 million through the Veterans Administration as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The recovery funding will be used to make needed investments at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque and for improvements at the Santa Fe and Ft. Bayard veterans' cemeteries. In addition, the Senators announced that New Mexico veterans may also be eligible to receive … Continue Reading
March 24, 2009
Udall Encourages New Mexicans to Apply for DTV Coupons
WASHINGTION-U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today announced that New Mexicans can apply for coupons to help pay for digital television converter boxes. TV viewers using antennas and older TVs will need converter boxes in order to watch TV after the June 12, 2009, deadline for digital TV. According to recent surveys, New Mexico is less prepared than other states for the upcoming transition to digital television. Because of funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, t… Continue Reading
March 20, 2009
Senator Udall Announces New Mexico State Director
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today proudly announced that Bianca Ortiz Wertheim will serve as his state director. A native New Mexican, Ortiz Wertheim has a wide range of public service and government experience on the state and local level. "Throughout her career, Bianca has demonstrated a strong commitment to improving the lives of the citizens of New Mexico," said Udall. "She has developed a unique array of experiences working on behalf of the people and state she loves and … Continue Reading
March 19, 2009
Senate Again Passes Udall Proposal to Create Sabinoso Wilderness Area
WASHINGTON - By a vote of 77-20, the U.S. Senate today passed legislation to designate more than 17,000 acres in San Miguel County as wilderness. The Sabinoso Wilderness Act, legislation authored by Senator Tom Udall when he served in the House, was passed for a second time in a package of public land bills assembled by Senator Jeff Bingaman. The proposed new wilderness area would contain lands currently included in the Sabinoso Wilderness Study Area. The land is managed by the Bureau of Land … Continue Reading
March 16, 2009
Udall Urges NM Police Departments to Apply for Recovery Act Funding
WASHINGTION-U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today announced that New Mexico police departments can apply for Department of Justice (DOJ) grants to help them hire new officers. The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Udall supported, provides $1 billion to help police departments across the country through the popular and successful Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. Udall is encouraging New Mexico police departments to compete for the newly announ… Continue Reading
March 13, 2009
Bingaman & Udall: Recovery Package to Bring More Than $16 Million to Repair New Mexico Airports
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that Las Cruces, Albuquerque and Santa Fe will receive $16.5 million for transportation projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Both senators voted for the legislation when it passed the Senate. "New Mexico has already received tens of millions of dollars from the recovery package for energy efficiency, law enforcement and housing. This funding for airport upgrades is another example of how investm… Continue Reading
March 12, 2009
Udall Helps Sandoval County Get Clean Water, Public Transit, Health Care
WASHINGTION- The omnibus appropriations bill signed into law by President Barack Obama contains almost $3.8 million for Sandoval County and central New Mexico secured by U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M. The assistance will provide services to New Mexicans with disabilities, help rural New Mexicans get access to health care and expand public transportation. "As Sandoval County continues to grow, the community faces unique challenges and opportunities," said Udall. "The legislation Presiden… Continue Reading
March 12, 2009
President Signs Bill That Will Create Green Jobs, Help Dairy Farmers in Eastern New Mexico
WASHINGTION-U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., announced that Eastern New Mexico will receive almost $1.2 million from initiatives he included in the omnibus appropriations bill that President Obama signed into law. The projects will support New Mexico dairy farmers on the eastside and help build a clean energy plant in Roosevelt County. Said Udall, "Dairy farming and alternative energy are two pillars of Eastern New Mexico's economy. I am proud President Obama signed this legislation conta… Continue Reading
March 12, 2009
Udall Initiatives Help New Mexico Native Americans Access Electricity, Housing, Transit
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today announced that New Mexico's Native American communities will receive $12 million in funding through projects and initiatives Udall helped include in the omnibus appropriations bill the president has signed into law. The assistance will promote rural electrification, build housing for low-income families and help create a transportation system that will make future job creation possible. "The federal government has a unique responsibility to Am… Continue Reading
March 10, 2009
Bingaman & Udall: New Mexico to Receive Over $27 Million for Public Transit
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced New Mexico communities are set to benefit from over $27 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for public transit. "An increasing number of New Mexicans are relying on public transportation to get around, especially during these hard economic times," Bingaman said. "The funding released today will help communities buy buses or other transit equipment to help meet their growing need for public transportatio… Continue Reading
March 09, 2009
Bingaman & Udall: Forest Land to Benefit From Recovery Package Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the Forest Service will soon release nearly $5 million in federal funding for two projects aimed at improving national forests in New Mexico. Congress set aside $650 million in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to improve national forest lands, and another $500 million for wild fire management. The U.S. Forest Service has approved two projects, one in the Santa Fe National Forest and another in the Lincoln Natio… Continue Reading
March 09, 2009
Udall Statement on President's Executive Order on Stem Cell Research
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today issued the following statement on President Obama's Executive Order reversing the ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research: "By signing the executive order lifting the ban on federal funding for existing embryonic stem cell research today, President Obama has reaffirmed our country's commitment to life saving scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs. " Most everyone has a story of a loved one impacted by conditio… Continue Reading
March 06, 2009
Udall, Bipartisan Group of Senators Join to Support Families of Severely Disabled Vets
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today joined a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing legislation to provide essential support services to family caregivers of severely disabled servicemembers and veterans. The Veteran and Servicemember Family Caregiver Support Act of 2009 establishes a program to provide technical, financial and practical support to family caregivers of veterans or members of the Armed Forces seriously injured in the line of duty since September 11, 2001. Udal… Continue Reading
March 05, 2009
N.M. Congressional Delegation Unveils Recovery Package Resource Guide
WASHINGTON - The New Mexico congressional delegation today unveiled a resource guide designed to help ensure that New Mexico can make the most of the economic recovery package enacted into law last month. U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, and Representatives Martin Heinrich, Ben Ray Lujàn and Harry Teague said the guide contains necessary contact information and other key resources New Mexicans will need to tap into recovery funds. "Our top priority is to help get our economy… Continue Reading
March 04, 2009
Udall: Federal Grant Will Allow 3,800 New Mexico Students to Earn College Credit
WASHINGTION-U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today announced that New Mexico will be receiving $98,800 to pay for low-income students to take Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams. These tests allow high school students to earn college credit and dramatically increase the chances that students will go on to college and succeed. "When a student wants to invest the time and effort that AP and IB classes demand they should not be denied the opportunity to receive… Continue Reading
March 03, 2009
Bingaman & Udall: New Mexico Poised to Receive Over $18 Million to Fight Crime
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that New Mexico is set to receive $18.3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fight crime. The funding will be used to support a variety of anti-crime initiatives that would otherwise suffer because state and local funding is drying up due to the economic downturn. Grants can be used to upgrade equipment used by law enforcement, for prosecution and court programs, and for drug treatment and prevention pro… Continue Reading
March 02, 2009
Udall Addresses N.M. Legislature About Jobs, Clean Energy and Health Care
WASHINGTION-U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today spoke to a joint session of the New Mexico Legislature about plans to address the country's economic crisis, create clean energy jobs and fix America's health care system. Udall has been a leader in the Congress on clean energy and preventive health care. Below are his remarks, as delivered. "Lt. Governor, thank you very much. I know that you're doing a great job back here. I want to thank you and let you know your daughter is also doi… Continue Reading
February 27, 2009
Udall to President: We Must Stop Border Violence
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to include in his budget "the highest levels of funding possible" to reduce violence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Udall noted that 5,300 people were killed in Mexico last year from drug-related violence. About 1,500 of those murders occurred in Ciudad Juarez, directly across the border from El Paso, Texas and the New Mexico border. "To ensure that our nation's communities are safe from this o… Continue Reading
February 26, 2009
Udall: Indian Country Youth Suicide Rates Demand Attention, Help
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., participated in a hearing to examine the overwhelming frequency of youth suicide in Indian Country. The rate of suicide among American Indian and Alaskan Native population is 70 percent higher than the general United States population, with the incidence of youth suicides reaching epidemic proportions. New Mexico, which has the fifth highest Native American population in the country, also has the seventh highest rate of suicide for youth from a… Continue Reading
February 24, 2009
Over $1.1 Million of Udall Projects for Health and Education in New Mexico Included in FY09 Budget
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today announced that an omnibus appropriations bill currently moving through Congress contains more than $1.1 million for New Mexico-specific health care and education projects. Udall worked to ensure that the projects were included in the bill when he served on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. "At this time, when New Mexicans are suffering because of economic failures they did nothing to caus… Continue Reading
