Press Releases
Udall, Heinrich Announce $14 million in Federal Funding for Doña Ana County Wastewater Systems
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded a grant of $8.03 million and approved a loan of $6.2 million, totaling more than $14 million, for two unincorporated colonias in Doña Ana County. The funding will help the Lower Rio Grande Public Water Works Authority to renovate the wastewater system that serves the residents of Mesquite and Brazito. The funds would be used to make necessary wastewater syst… Continue Reading
April 19, 2018
Udall Blasts Decision to Begin Scoping Process for Oil and Gas Leasing in the Arctic Refuge
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall released the following comment on the Department of Interior's Notice of Intent to establish a process for an oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: "The Trump administration is moving full steam ahead on its destructive plan to drill in one of the world's last, truly wild places - despite pleas from the American people to protect the Arctic Refuge, opposition from the Gwich'in people who live there, and a complete lack of evide… Continue Reading
April 19, 2018
Udall, Schatz Introduce Legislation to Fight Illegal Robocalls
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Brian Schatz, members of the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced legislation to help the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fight illegal telemarketing calls, also known as robocalls. The legislation, the Robocall Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2018, would empower the FCC to prosecute violations of its automated telemarketing call rules by increasing the statute of limitations from one year to three. "Abusive robocalls aren't just a nuisance - the… Continue Reading
April 18, 2018
Udall: Future of Tribal Self-Governance is Bright, but Much Work Remains
WASHINGTON - Today, at an oversight hearing on Tribal self-governance, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, urged Congress, federal agencies, and others to continue to work with Tribes to ensure more opportunities for shaping policies and programs that affect their land, people and communities. "When the self-governance compacting program was made permanent in 1994, bureaucratic regulation and control of Indian programs administered by Tribes should h… Continue Reading
April 18, 2018
Udall, Castor, 170 Members of Congress Introduce Resolution Calling for Pruitt’s Resignation
Follows repeated abuses of power and ethics violations by EPA's Pruitt WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) led a group of 170 members of Congress in introducing companion resolutions in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives formally calling on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to resign. The resolution comes in response to Pruitt's repeated ethics violations, misuse of taxpayer dollars, and … Continue Reading
April 17, 2018
Udall, Murphy Introduce Student Loan Forgiveness Legislation To Help Beginning Farmers
WASHINGTON - After hearing directly from farmers that student loans often present a barrier to individuals who are new to farming or are looking to start their own farms, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) introduced new legislation, called the Student Loan Forgiveness for Farmers and Ranchers Act, to create a loan forgiveness program for beginning farmers and ranchers with less than 10 years of experience. The Murphy-Udall Student Loan Forgiveness for Farmer… Continue Reading
April 17, 2018
Udall, Heinrich, Pearce Urge USPS To Maintain Permanent Post Office In Pie Town, N.M.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representative Steve Pearce sent a letter to Postmaster General Megan Brennan to express concerns with the temporary suspension of operations at the post office in Pie Town, N.M. and urged the United States Postal Service (USPS) to keep a permanent post office open in Pie Town. USPS recently announced that beginning close of business on April 27, 2018, operations at the Pie Town Post Office will be temporarily suspended due to the… Continue Reading
April 17, 2018
Udall Questions National Guard about Strategy on US Border
Udall also urges support for MOMS Leave Act and future flying mission for NM National Guard VIDEO: https://youtu.be/KuKmw7XfoP0 WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, questioned the chief of the National Guard Bureau about President Trump's apparently unplanned announcement that he would send National Guard members to the border with Mexico. Udall has been a vocal opponent of Trump's call for a wall along the entire border … Continue Reading
April 17, 2018
Udall, Inhofe Introduce Bills to Strengthen Next Generation of Farmers & Ranchers
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced two bills to strengthen the next generation of farmers and ranchers by reducing the burden of student loan debt and making capital easier to obtain so new farmers can buy land, equipment or livestock. The bills, the Flexible Agricultural Repayments and Modifying Schedules (FARMS) Act and the Farmers of Tomorrow Act, aim to attract younger generations to farming and shore up the future of farming and ranchi… Continue Reading
April 16, 2018
Udall Votes for Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, joined the Senate in voting 55-41 in favor of beginning debate on the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, the first Indian Affairs bill in a decade to receive a vote on the Senate floor. The bill failed to receive the 60 votes necessary to move forward for final consideration. Although he supported moving forward with the legislation, Udall voiced serious concerns in a speech on the Senate floor follo… Continue Reading
April 16, 2018
Udall, McCollum Statement on GAO Report Finding Pruitt Phone Booth Purchase Violated Federal Law
WASHINGTON - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today responded to a request from U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) with a finding that the Environmental Protection Agency violated federal law by purchasing a $43,000 phone booth for Administrator Scott Pruitt's office - and then hiding that purchase from Congress. In its report, the GAO found: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated section 710 when it failed to notify th… Continue Reading
April 13, 2018
Udall Statement on President Trump’s Decision to Launch Missile Strikes in Syria
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall issued the following statement on President Trump's decision to order a missile attack on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: "Bashar al-Assad's violence against his own people is horrendous, and he must be held to account by the international community for the many thousands of his fellow Syrians he has murdered in chemical and conventional attacks. But President Trump is dangerously escalating the situation by acting with no legal authority and no consistent … Continue Reading
April 13, 2018
Udall, Heinrich Raise Concerns with Retaliatory Chinese Tariffs that Hurt NM Pecan Growers
WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to express concern with the retaliatory tariffs implemented by the Chinese government on 128 American product lines, including an additional 15 percent tariff on U.S. pecans, in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum products imports. New Mexico is the second largest pecan-producing state in the U.S. In their letter, the Senator's urged U.S. Trade Representative … Continue Reading
April 12, 2018
Udall Statement on Interior Department Decision to Raise National Park Visitor Fees
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, released the following statement on the Department of the Interior's announcement that it will raise visitor fees at national parks across the country: "Reasonable, periodic increases to entrance fees can be necessary, but I'm not convinced this is the right move for our national parks, which really are 'America's best idea.' On the one hand, Secretary Z… Continue Reading
April 12, 2018
Udall Statement on Secretary of State Nominee Mike Pompeo
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after questioning President Trump's nominee to lead the State Department, current CIA Director Mike Pompeo, at his Senate confirmation hearing today. Udall also met with Pompeo in his Capitol Hill office earlier this week. A photo is available HERE. Video of Udall's questioning of Pompeo can be found HERE. "The next secretary of state will have to clean up the mess that has been… Continue Reading
April 12, 2018
Udall Urges Republican Leadership to Press ‘Pause’ on EPA Deputy Nominee and Former Big Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler
WASHINGTON - Today, as Republicans rushed to confirm the former coal industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to serve as deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Senator Tom Udall took to the Senate floor as part of an effort to urge GOP and Senate leaders to halt Wheeler's nomination and fully vet him before he is installed at the EPA. A final vote on Wheeler is expected later this afternoon. Republican leadership has pushed Wheeler's nomination forward without requirin… Continue Reading
April 12, 2018
Udall, Cantwell Lead Colleagues in Call for FCC to Investigate Sinclair Broadcasting for News Distortion
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), along with 10 of their Senate colleagues, called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate Sinclair Broadcasting Group for deliberately distorting news, calling into question the company's fitness to retain its existing broadcast licenses, as well as its ongoing attempts to acquire more broadcasting rights through its proposed merger with Tribune Media Company. In the letter, the senators ex… Continue Reading
April 11, 2018
Udall: Trump Administration’s Proposed FY19 Budget for Indian Programs is ‘Totally Inadequate’
WASHINGTON - Today, during an oversight hearing on President Trump's fiscal year 2019 budget request for Indian programs, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, questioned administration officials about why the administration is recommending "sweeping, unjustifiable cuts to vital programs" when it has promised to respect Tribal sovereignty and to invest in Indian Country. "The administration's rhetoric about respecting Tribal sovereignty and investing i… Continue Reading
April 11, 2018
Senators Demand Accountability from EPA’s Pruitt
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), ranking member on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee overseeing the EPA's budget; Tom Carper (D-Del.), ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.); Michael Bennet (D-Colo.); Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.); and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) held a news conference to demand Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt respond to the many unanswered ethics questions th… Continue Reading
April 11, 2018
Udall Statement on Inspector General Investigation of Interior Department Senior Staff Reassignments
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, responded to the Interior Department Office of Inspector General (IG) report he requested on the reassignment of Senior Executive Service (SES) staff members in 2017. Udall has repeatedly asked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for an explanation of the decision to move the senior career staff members, and he has yet to receive a full answer. The IG repor… Continue Reading
