Martin's Blog

Dear Friend, I’ve fought like hell every step of the way to keep the VA community-based outpatient clinics--or CBOCs for short--in Gallup, Las Vegas, Española, and Raton open, and I’m pleased to announce we’ve succeeded. By putting a halt to the AIR Commission process today, these clinics that provide quality health care to New Mexico veterans are...

Dear Friend, For the first time in almost three decades, the Senate proved that it is possible for us to set aside the vicious politics that have held us back for too long and pass meaningful legislation to reduce gun violence and save lives. I was proud to be a part of the bipartisan group of senators who came together to chart this path forward...

Dear Friend, Today, six radical-conservative Supreme Court Justices gave Republican lawmakers final say in the reproductive and health care decisions of every woman in America. Like the overwhelming majority of the American people, I believe that a woman has a right to make her own health care decisions without the government getting between her...

Dear Friend, Far too many families have lost loved ones to gun violence. It’s past time for the Senate to act. I am proud that our bipartisan group has found a meaningful path forward to reduce gun violence and invest in our communities in the legislation that we just announced, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This legislation includes...

Dear Friend, For months, I’ve been pushing to implement a pay raise and more support for our wildland firefighter workforce. These brave men and women are battling historic fires in New Mexico and are on the frontlines of the climate crisis across the West. That’s why I was so pleased to welcome the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement today...

Dear Friend, The Senate just passed the SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act, historic bipartisan legislation that will finally deliver critical VA health benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxins during their service. Right after the vote, I joined veterans and their families in front of the Capitol to talk about the importance of this...

Dear Friend, Over these past weeks, I have been working hard to find a meaningful path forward in the Senate to reduce gun violence. Yesterday, we announced an initial framework proposal that has the support of a group of 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans in the Senate. >>I hope you can take a moment to watch and share the video of my interview...

Dear Friend, I am a gun owner. I also have two kids who grew up doing active shooter drills that would have been unimaginable when I was their age. The level of gun violence in our country—and in New Mexico—is appalling and unacceptable. But I refuse to accept the idea that we are so divided that we can’t make this situation better. That’s exactly...

Dear Friend, I hope that sportsmen and other public lands users in New Mexico will utilize a new internet-based portal created by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to more easily and efficiently nominate public lands that are currently inaccessible but could provide valuable opportunities for hunting, fishing and other recreational...

Dear Friend, I am proud to vote today to advance the SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act. This historic bipartisan legislation would finally deliver critical health benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxins during their service. This morning, I joined a number of veterans and their families at a press conference in front of the Capitol...

Dear Friend, On Memorial Day, we pause to remember the generations of American heroes who selflessly gave their lives to defend our great nation. It is humbling to reflect on the countless New Mexicans who have sacrificed so much in service to our country—from World War II’s Navajo Code Talkers and Bataan Death March Survivors to veterans of...

Dear Friend, It's been many years now since my boys were infants, but I remember what it’s like to worry about making sure they are healthy and fed. I can only imagine the impact the nationwide infant formula shortage is having on New Mexico’s families right now. We know these shortages are the result of Abbott Nutrition’s voluntary recall of...

Dear Friend, Today marks the 150th anniversary of President Ulysses S. Grant signing the General Mining Act of 1872 into law. That law is a product of an era of unrestrained Western expansion, when the federal government essentially gave away public lands and natural resources to private users with no strings and often no price tag attached. Unlike...

Dear Friend, Multiple wildfires burning across our state have put New Mexicans in a life or death crisis. That’s why I worked alongside our state’s entire Congressional Delegation and Governor Lujan Grisham to secure President Biden’s swift approval of a Major Disaster Declaration that will send sorely needed help to impacted communities in New...

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich stands with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol in solidarity with women’s right to make their own health care decisions, May 3, 2022. Dear Friend, The Supreme Court’s draft opinion on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that was leaked yesterday is a direct threat to a woman’s right to make...

Dear Friend, Hundreds of New Mexicans have been forced to flee their homes in recent weeks, as wildfires have ripped through their communities. I’ve met personally with residents, local leaders, volunteers, and the heroic wildland firefighter crews who have been working on the frontlines of these fires. I cannot thank them enough for the resilience...

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich joins Isabella O’Donnell Silfverberg at KNCE True Taos Radio for an interview on climate action and Earth Day, April 21, 2022. Dear Friend, Earth Day offers us the opportunity to renew our commitment to pass on a healthy and livable planet to future generations. As the father of two teenage sons, I know just how...

PHOTO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich meets with veterans at VFW Post No. 1 in Las Vegas, N.M., April 19, 2022. Dear Friend, Earlier this week, I sat down with veterans in Las Vegas who are worried about not being able to get to the health care they need if the VA’s Community-Based Outpatient Clinic in town closes. Veterans who sacrificed so much for...

Dear Friend, As the father of two teenage sons, I know just how attuned our kids and young Americans are to how their future is going to be impacted by the climate crisis. In New Mexico, we are witnessing more destructive wildfire behavior in our forests, dangerously low water levels in our rivers and reservoirs, and the disappearance of snowpack...

Dear Friend, Today marks a solemn anniversary for New Mexico and for our nation. Eighty years ago, on April 9, 1942, after mounting a courageous, months-long defense of the Bataan Peninsula and then Corregidor Island in Manila Bay, approximately 75,000 troops from both the United States and the Philippines were taken prisoner by the Japanese. Many...