Press Releases
NM Delegation Introduces Bill to Expand Research on Rare Genetic Disease Prevalent Among New Mexico Hispanics
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján, Steve Pearce and Michelle Lujan Grisham announced they have introduced a bill to increase research, education and treatment for Cavernous Cerebral Malformations (CCM), an uncommon genetic blood vessel disease that impacts the brain and spinal cord and is more common among New Mexico Hispanics than any other group. Due to limited research, there is no cure for CCM. The Cerebral Cavernou… Continue Reading
February 27, 2017
AUDIO: Udall Statement on President Trump’s Budget Blueprint
AUDIO: http://www.tomudall.senate.gov/files/mp3/budgetstatement022717.mp3 WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall released the following statement on President Trump's 2018 budget proposal. Udall is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, ranking member of the Appropriations subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. "President Trump's budget framework is t… Continue Reading
February 23, 2017
Udall, Democratic Senators Call On Trump To Halt Unconstitutional Conduct As Foreign Favors Pile Up
WASHINGTON - Following news that the Chinese government awarded the Trump Organization a trademark that may be worth billions of dollars - one of many foreign favors President Trump may have accepted since taking office - U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and twelve senators in calling on President Trump to take immediate action to resolve conflicts of interest that are putting him in violation of the U.S. Constitution. "A President must not have two masters. You ha… Continue Reading
February 23, 2017
Udall, Heinrich, Luján Announce Funding for Economic Development in Northern New Mexico Region Affected by Mine Closure
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján announced a $70,000 grant to strengthen and diversify the local economy through economic development and job creation in the region of New Mexico that suffered economic and job losses from the Chevron molybdenum mine closure. The grant will be used to plan a strategy to support private capital investment and job creation. "The Village of Questa and the surrounding area were devastated whe… Continue Reading
February 22, 2017
You Are Making A Difference
Over the past few weeks, I have been hearing from New Mexicans in truly unprecedented numbers. People from every corner of the state have been reaching out to me in letters, phone calls and emails to ask the same question: what can I do to make a difference? I want to thank each and every one of you who has taken the time to contact me; I hear your voices, I am listening, and I am taking your opinions into account when I cast my votes. There is a lot at stake today. Especially now, when our co… Continue Reading
February 21, 2017
Udall Statement on Trump's Plans for Mass Deportation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall released the following statement in response to recently released memos from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security establishing new guidelines for carrying out President Trump's immigration orders: "President Trump's guidelines amount to a plan to begin mass deportations. These plans are unrealistic, inhumane, bad for the economy, and an extremely inefficient use of already thin resources. And while the president's team told the media that they are trying t… Continue Reading
February 19, 2017
Udall Joins Senate Appropriations Committee Leaders for Bipartisan Congressional Delegation to Cuba, Colombia to Promote National Security and Trade Opportunities for New Mexico
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, a member of the Senate Appropriations, Commerce and Foreign Relations committees, announced that he will join Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Chochran (R-Miss.), Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) for a congressional delegation to Cuba and Colombia to promote national security and trade opportunities for New Mexico. "As a member of the Appropriations, Commerce, and Foreign Relatio… Continue Reading
February 17, 2017
Udall, Heinrich Seek Meeting with Immigration Officials, Answers about Constituents' Concerns about Raids, Immigrant Roundups
WASHINGTON - Today, amid news reports that the Trump administration had considered - but scrapped - a plan to mobilize as many as 100,000 National Guard troops to round up undocumented immigrants, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich demanded a meeting and answers from immigration officials about whether the agency has made changes in response to President Trump's Jan. 25 immigration executive orders, and whether it would take steps to ensure New Mexicans can continue to seek health care … Continue Reading
February 17, 2017
Senate Indian Affairs Committee Democrats Secure Exemption from Federal Hiring Freeze for Indian Health Services Staff
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) welcomed news that President Trump's administration will exempt Indian Health Service (IHS) clinical staff from Trump's Jan. 23, 2017, memorandum freezing federal hiring. The senators wrote President Trump on Feb. 1 to express th… Continue Reading
February 17, 2017
Udall, Democratic Senators Demand DHS Investigation into Whether Trump's Use of DHS Funds Violates Constitution's Emoluments Clause
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General John Roth to conduct an investigation into whether President Trump has violated the Domestic Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution by using DHS funds for security when he and his family's travel also potentially enriches his private business holdings. As the … Continue Reading
February 17, 2017
Udall, Heinrich Introduce Bills To Establish Wilderness Areas Within Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Río Grande del Norte National Monuments
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich reintroduced legislation to protect wilderness within the Río Grande del Norte National Monument northwest of Taos, New Mexico and the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument in Doña Ana County, New Mexico. "The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and the Río Grande del Norte national monuments are stunning landscapes, rich with culture and history, that are creating jobs by driving visitors to New Mexico from around … Continue Reading
February 17, 2017
VIDEO: Udall Speaks on Senate Floor Against Pruitt Nomination for EPA
VIDEO: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4657467/udall-speaks-senate-floor-scott-pruitt-epa WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In opposing Pruitt's nomination, Udall cited Pruitt's long record of fighting for polluters in court, denying climate change, disrespecting Tribal sovereignty, and working to undermine the fundamental … Continue Reading
February 16, 2017
Udall, Cardin Introduce Bill to Ban Religious, Racial and Discriminatory Profiling by Law Enforcement
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), along with more than two dozen original cosponsors, has introduced an updated version of his legislation to ban discriminatory profiling by all levels of law enforcement nationwide. S. 411, the End Racial and Religious Profiling Act of 2017 (ERRPA),is designed to enforce the constitutional right to equal protection of laws through changing policies and procedures for law enforcement and promoting best practices in community-based law en… Continue Reading
February 16, 2017
Udall, Warren, Cummings and Whitehouse Request GAO Immediately Review President Trump’s Apparent Violation of National Security Protocols at Mar-a-Lago
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) in sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a review of whether President Donald Trump and his staff have followed appropriate protocol for handling sensitive national security materials at Mar-a-Lago and other locations. They also asked f… Continue Reading
February 16, 2017
VIDEO: Udall Urges Senate to Reject Nomination of Friedman for Ambassador to Israel
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/G_tLwrpj2_E WASHINGTON - Today, at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senator Tom Udall urged senators to reject the nomination of David Friedman to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Udall questioned Friedman on his litany of well-documented, extreme, and inflammatory positions and statements maligning members of the Senate, the Obama administration, and other public officials. Below is the text of Udall's opening statement as prepared for delivery: "M… Continue Reading
February 16, 2017
Udall Joins Senators in Demanding Scott Pruitt Recuse Himself from All Issues Related to Lawsuits He Brought Against the EPA to Overturn or Weaken Clean Air and Water Pollution Rules
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and 28 other senators in calling on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator nominee Scott Pruitt to recuse himself from participating in any matter related to litigation that he pursued against the EPA as Oklahoma Attorney General. In the letter, the senators specifically call on Mr. Pruitt to recuse himself from decisions on how the EPA will defend i… Continue Reading
February 16, 2017
Udall to Vote Against Scott Pruitt for EPA Administrator
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall announced that he will vote against Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Udall released the following statement: "Scott Pruitt's extreme record on the environment makes him the wrong choice to lead the agency tasked with protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the communities we call home. I strongly oppose his nomination, and I encourage my colleagues on both … Continue Reading
February 16, 2017
Udall, Fischer Introduce Legislation to Reform FCC Lifeline Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) today introduced the Preserving State Commission (PSC) Oversight Act. The bill would reinforce existing law and ensure that states have primary authority to determine which carriers participate in the FCC universal service Lifeline program. The Lifeline program provides phone and broadband service to Americans who cannot otherwise afford it. "States are best-qualified to determine which carriers should participate in this critical FCC… Continue Reading
February 15, 2017
Udall Celebrates Contributions of African Americans During Black History Month
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall issued the following statement today in honor of Black History Month: "This Black History Month, we celebrate the immense contributions that African Americans have made to our nation, and we honor the struggle for equality and civil rights that black people have made through the generations. New Mexico and America are indebted to the black soldiers, workers, scientists, artists, business people, and many others who have strengthened and enriched our communitie… Continue Reading
February 15, 2017
Udall to Vote Against Mulvaney for OMB Director
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall announced that he will vote against confirming Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) as Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Udall issued the following statement: "The Office of Management and Budget has far-reaching authority over the federal budget and policies that affect the lives and paychecks of hard-working people across the country. It should not be led by Congressman Mulvaney, who has been the ringleader of some of Washington's … Continue Reading
