Press Releases
Congress Passes Udall-Heinrich Measure to Improve Safety at New Mexico's National Labs
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced that the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives have passed a Udall-Heinrich measure to strengthen the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) in the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Udall-Heinrich amendment requires the DNFSB members to report to Congress each year about whether the White House's budget request for the board is sufficient to fund the safety reviews the board members beli… Continue Reading
November 16, 2017
Udall & Moran’s Landmark MGT Act to Reduce Wasteful IT Spending, Strengthen Cybersecurity Included in FY18 NDAA, Heads to President’s Desk
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) applauded the inclusion and passage of their Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2018. This bipartisan legislation will encourage federal agencies to cut wasteful spending and modernize and strengthen government information technology (IT) and security to save taxpayers up to $20 billion a year. The MGT Act now heads to the president's desk for signature. … Continue Reading
November 16, 2017
Udall Statement on Senator Franken
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall released the following statement on Senator Al Franken: "Sexual harassment is never acceptable at any time or any place. I fully support the Ethics Committee investigation into this matter, and I am glad that Senator Franken has agreed to cooperate. "With regard to the conversation we have been having about sexual harassment on Capitol Hill: A workplace should be safe from harassment of all kinds. And my wish and my hope is that Congress can set an example f… Continue Reading
November 16, 2017
Udall, Heinrich, Luján Announce $33,000 to Help Taos County Increase Clean Water Production
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and Congressman Ben Ray Luján announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has awarded a grant of $7,000 and approved a loan of $26,000, totaling $33,000, to help the Llano Quemado Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association in Ranchos de Taos complete a water infrastructure project. The rural development funds will be used to install a new fluoride-free water well and complete a treatment plant… Continue Reading
November 15, 2017
Udall, Heinrich, Senate Democrats Call On DHS To Accept DACA Applications Delayed By Postal Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 15, 2017) - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and a group of Democratic Senators sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expressing their concern with recent reports that DHS has rejected renewal requests for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that were received after the application deadline due to U.S. Postal Service processing delays and called on the department to take immediate action to reverse this dec… Continue Reading
November 14, 2017
Udall Urges Protection of New Mexicans' Right to Due Process, Opposes Civil Asset Forfeiture
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined a bipartisan group of senators in urging a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee to protect New Mexicans' constitutional due process rights by defunding the practice of seizing - without a hearing - property that law enforcement believes is connected to a crime. The practice, known as civil asset forfeiture, violates due process protections outlined in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the lawmakers wrote to the leaders of the Senate Appro… Continue Reading
November 14, 2017
Udall Welcomes Los Lunas Facebook Data Center Expansion Announcement
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall welcomed Facebook's announcement that it will triple the size of its Los Lunas data center, with plans to construct a total of six buildings and invest more than $1 billion in the project: "Facebook's announcement is a testament to what New Mexico can accomplish when we work together to harness the unique strengths of our state and our workforce. The expansion of this project will further energize economic development in Los Lunas and the entire state,… Continue Reading
November 09, 2017
Udall Holds Roundtable on Opioid Crisis in Indian Country
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, hosted a roundtable discussion to hear from and learn about best practices from Tribes, the federal government, and industry for responding to the opioid crisis in Indian Country. Udall pressed administration officials on what specific actions they have taken since the president's declaration of a public health emergency to help address the opioid epidemic in Native communities. Following the ro… Continue Reading
November 08, 2017
Udall Leads Indian Affairs Committee Hearing on STOP Act
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led a legislative hearing to review the Safeguarding Tribal Objects of Patrimony (STOP) Act, a bill to curb the theft, illegal possession, sale, transfer, and export of Tribal cultural items. Tribal cultural items have immense historical, traditional, and spiritual importance. It is illegal under federal law to own or sell Tribal cultural patrimony domestically, but federal law does not explicit… Continue Reading
November 08, 2017
Udall, Heinrich Urge USDA to Use Clear, Consumer-Friendly On-Package GMO Labeling
WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich pressed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to clearly label genetically engineered food to ensure all New Mexicans have the right to know what is in their food. In a letter, the senators urged USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to prioritize clear, consumer-friendly on-package text labels and discouraged the use of electronic codes and labeling that would require access to a smartphone or broadband internet and would not help th… Continue Reading
November 07, 2017
Udall, Heinrich, Luján Announce Federal Funding for Rural Electric Coops in Northern and Eastern New Mexico
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján announced $32.2 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loans to increase access to affordable energy by building and improving electric infrastructure in Northern and Eastern New Mexico. Jemez Mountains Electric Coop will receive $18.3 million to build 58 new miles of power line, improve 28 miles of power line, make other system improvements, and invest in smart grid… Continue Reading
November 07, 2017
Udall, Heinrich, Luján Announce Trade Adjustment Assistance for New Mexicans Affected by Mine Closure in Questa
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján announced that the Department of Labor has granted Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for workers who lost their jobs when Chevron closed its molybdenum mine in Questa, N.M. The TAA will help former employees of the mine transition to new jobs by providing career training, employment services and other support. Since Chevron closed the mine in Questa in 2014, the lawmakers have supported … Continue Reading
November 03, 2017
Udall: Climate Report Shows Urgent Need to Act on Climate Change
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall issued the following statement on the release today of the Fourth National Climate Assessment: "The federal government's comprehensive climate report confirms yet again the warnings we've heard from scientists for years. Here are a few of the findings:-The last 115 years have been the warmest in the history of modern civilization.-The last three years have been the warmest years on record - and that trend is expected to continue.-Human-generated greenhouse ga… Continue Reading
November 03, 2017
Senate and House Democrats Oppose Delay of BLM Waste Prevention Rule, Urge Zinke to Save Taxpayer Money and Protect Public Health
WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) led a bicameral group of 81 lawmakers in urging Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke not to suspend or unlawfully delay implementation of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) methane waste prevention rule. The lawmakers disputed the department's stated rationale for attempting to repeal the rule, and requested public hearings an… Continue Reading
November 03, 2017
Udall, Heinrich Introduce Resolution to Honor Native American Heritage Month
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Martin Heinrich announced that they have cosponsored a resolution to establish the month of November as National Native American Heritage Month. The resolution recognizes and celebrates the many contributions Native Americans make to our nation's identity through their rich heritages, cultures, languages, and the arts. "Every chapter of American history is touched by the contributions of tribes an… Continue Reading
November 02, 2017
Udall: GOP Tax Plan Funnels Benefits to Corporations and Ultra-wealthy, not NM Families
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall released the following statement after House Republicans released their tax proposal: "New Mexicans want and deserve tax reform that helps working families and small businesses and makes Tax Day easier for all Americans. They want reform that makes the system more fair - that requires the ultra-wealthy to pay their share, that doesn't add to the deficit, and that enables us to invest in roads and bridges, broadband internet and other infrastructure. Ba… Continue Reading
November 02, 2017
Udall, Heinrich Back Resolution Honoring Nuclear Weapons Workers
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced Senate passage of a bipartisan resolution authored by Udall and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and cosponsored by Heinrich, designating Oct. 30, 2017, as the ninth National Day of Remembrance to honor the contributions of thousands of New Mexicans and Americans who helped develop, support, and maintain the nation's nuclear weapons efforts during the Cold War. "Thousands of scientists, maintenance workers, miners, mille… Continue Reading
November 01, 2017
Udall Raises Concerns About Effects of GOP Tax Reform on Indian Country
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, voiced his deep concerns about the impact of the Republican tax proposal on Indian Country and expressed alarm about Republicans' apparent attempt to fast-track the bill through Congress without consulting Tribes, even though the legislation could reshape the entire economy, including Tribal communities. "While we are still waiting on details, what we know about the Republican tax plan shows lit… Continue Reading
November 01, 2017
AUDIO: Udall, Markey, Advocates Speak out Against Misguided Efforts to Open the Arctic National Refuge to Drilling
AUDIO: https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/download/arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-press-conference-call WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) spoke out against Republican efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling ahead of a hearing in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to determine the potential for oil and gas development on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. In a press conference call, the senators dispu… Continue Reading
October 31, 2017
Udall Statement on Pruitt Actions on Science Advisory Board
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, ranking member on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, released the following statement after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced several unprecedented changes to the EPA's Science Advisory Board. "The Trump EPA's continued attack on science will likely be one of the most lasting and damaging legacies of this administration. Administrator Pruitt is purging expert scienti… Continue Reading
