in the news

KSFR News Director Tom Trowbridge was recently (on July 16th, 2020) provided an opportunity to speak with New Mexico Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich. Trowbridge began by discussing The Great American Outdoors Act that he is co-sponsoring… and asked where it is now in the Congressional process? 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich is calling for the resignation of Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales. “Sheriff Gonzales wasn’t representing Bernalillo County when he opposed body cameras. He wasn’t representing Bernalillo County when he opposed efforts for common sense gun violence reforms. And he isn’t...

The great western writer Wallace Stegner once wrote that America’s great outdoors represent “the geography of hope.” At this time of grave crisis for our nation, millions of Americans — many of them out of work, worried about their health, and struggling to put food on the table — are seeking hope....

On this week’s episode, the crew is joined by Land Tawney, President/CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, to talk about the Great American Outdoors Act and its potential impact on our public lands and waters. To help in that discussion Ben and MeatEater’s Sam Lungren call Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH),...

The three members of New Mexico’s U.S. House delegation voted in favor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act on Thursday, which passed with a 236-181 vote. “While more work must still be done, this legislation takes important steps by increasing accountability, banning dangerous chokeholds and no-knock warrants, requiring body and...

New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall were among Democrats who blocked a Republican police reform bill Wednesday, calling it “flawed” and “inadequate.” The legislation, called the Justice Act, failed to receive the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate. It failed on a 56-44 vote. The House is expected to vote on...

REI President and CEO Eric Artz hosted a virtual fireside chat last Thursday with Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), two legislators who have supported outdoor recreation and public lands policy. Artz began by acknowledging how fortunate it was for the co-op “to be joined by two champions for the outdoors … [who]...

On June 17th, the U.S. Senate passed the Great American Outdoors Act with a vote of 73 yays and 25 nays. This news made headlines across an America that was reeling from protests, amid the profound uncertainty of a pandemic, at a time of polarized politics at a scale and fury not seen since the Civil War. As Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico...

New Mexico’s national laboratories would recieve an increase in funding from the 2021 defense spending bill before the U.S. Senate, if approved by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. Los Alamos National Laboratory would receive $3.22 billion, up from $2.3 billion in fiscal year 2020, through the National Nuclear Security...

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is calling on the CDC to share coronavirus data with the nation’s 12 Tribal Epidemiology Centers, warning that its refusal is hampering Native Americans’ ability to respond to the pandemic. “By not allowing Native communities access to this data, your agency is playing a role in widening the...

If you believe in good government and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars keep an eye on New Mexico’s Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) today. The ISC will vote on whether to continue studying controversial plans for dams and diversions on the Gila River. This is the first major vote on the Gila after the U.S. Department of Interior...

Earlier today the Senate passed the Great American Outdoors Act, allocating billions to support outdoor recreation in two separate ways. The first is by providing $9.5 billion over the next five years to help the National Park Service and other federal land-management agencies address their maintenance backlogs. Federal public lands are...

Billions of dollars were earmarked to support nuclear operations in New Mexico in the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). U.S Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said he worked to secure funding in the Act for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the state’s two national laboratories: Los Alamos and Sandia, along with...

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is poised to receive permanent funding after the U.S. Senate passed legislation Wednesday. The fund, created by Congress in 1965 to support public land management using offshore oil and gas royalties, will receive $900 million annually under the bill, marking just the second time since its...

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich is now asking that Confederate names be removed from military bases. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Heinrich and 11 other members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee are asking President Trump to support the proposal that would be made to the 2021 defense spending...

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich is now asking that Confederate names be removed from military bases. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Heinrich and 11 other members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee are asking President Trump to support the proposal that would be made to the 2021 defense spending...

Confederate statues and monuments have come down across the country amid protests after the death of George Floyd. The removal of Confederate names from military bases could be next if a group of lawmakers has its way, and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., is in that group. Heinrich, a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, and 11 of his...

It’s been two and a half weeks since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and protests and demonstrations calling for police accountability have continued to increase. Calls to action include a push to defund police forces, demilitarization of police and a reform of use of force standards.  Now, many federal lawmakers are...

New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are calling for changes in the culture of how law enforcement agencies operate around the country. And they said legislation that has been introduced in Congress this week is a step in that direction. The two Democratic senators have thrown their support behind the Justice in Policing Act introduced by...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — National parks, monuments, forests and wildlife refuges in New Mexico have a maintenance backlog of more than $121 million, according to U.S. Sen. Tom Udall. And some of that backlog can be cleared if legislation that has the rare support of both the Democratic senator and President Donald Trump is passed by Congress...