Heinrich Named Ranking Member of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) has been named Ranking Member for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee for the 119th Congress.
The ENR Committee plays a critical role in setting national energy policies and managing our nation’s public lands within the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. The Committee also oversees the U.S. Department of Energy and has jurisdiction over U.S. territories and nuclear waste policy.
“I am honored to have been chosen by my colleagues to serve as Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The responsibility to lead our Caucus in driving our energy and natural resources work is one I take very seriously. At the same time, I am clear-eyed about the work we will need to do to defend and protect our communities from the threats we will inevitably face from the incoming administration.
“As I take on this role, I want to be clear about who I am working for: the electrician looking for a job in her home community, the family trying to make ends meet by lowering their utility bill, the manufacturer looking to expand but needing a strong electric grid, and those just looking to clear their mind or fill their freezer on public lands nearby. The reality is that all of us will need steadfast leadership to deliver water security for communities and farmers, and to slow and mitigate the effects of climate change as the unnatural disasters it is causing continue to wreak havoc— from New Mexico to North Carolina. I will work every day to deliver that leadership.
“Being an AmeriCorps volunteer on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge inspired my career in public service. Building a carbon-fiber solar car in college informed my understanding of the way energy technology could revolutionize the way communities and industries function. And camping in the Gila Wilderness is where I decided to run for public office. My work as Ranking Member won't be philosophical or ideological. It will be grounded in my own love of public lands, my own understanding of energy technologies, and my unwavering commitment to deliver for the people and places of New Mexico.”
New Mexico has a storied history of its U.S. Senators taking on leadership of the ENR Committee and its predecessor committees, including former U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), Clinton Anderson (D-N.M.), and Carl Hatch (D-N.M.).
Background on Heinrich’s Longtime Leadership on Public Lands and Natural Resources:
As a former outfitter guide, outdoor educator, lifetime sportsman, and conservationist, Heinrich has dedicated his entire career to protecting New Mexico’s public lands and natural resources.
As a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Heinrich championed the designation of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande del Norte National Monuments, and passed legislation to establish White Sands National Park, the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah, and Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Areas.
Heinrich helped secure the resources and support for new land acquisitions that opened up new public access to the Sabinoso Wilderness, acquire the Dawson Elk Valley Ranch in northeastern New Mexico, and secure the addition of the historic L Bar Ranch property to western New Mexico’s Marquez Wildlife Area — the single greatest addition to protected public land in New Mexico in a generation.
Heinrich also played a leading role in securing strong, bipartisan support for the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act in 2019 and theGreat American Outdoors Act in 2020, two of the most significant pieces of conservation legislation to be signed into law in decades. The Dingell Act established the most protected wilderness in New Mexico in nearly 40 years and also included Heinrich’s Every Kid Outdoors Act, which provides free access to national parks and other public lands to all American fourth grade students and their families.
Heinrich is continuing to lead the effort to pass the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which would provide enhanced protections for the watershed that supports the Gila Wilderness. In this Congress, Heinrich and U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) have also introduced legislation to establish Cerro de la Olla Wilderness within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
Before he was elected to Congress, Heinrich led the successful community campaign in the mid-2000’s to establish the Ojito Wilderness — on Bureau of Land Management lands about an hour northwest of Albuquerque. The Ojito became the first new protected wilderness area in New Mexico in decades and laid the foundation for future successful community-driven campaigns to protect and designate National Conservation Lands throughout New Mexico.
Background on Heinrich’s Longtime Leadership on Energy Policy:
With a background in engineering, Heinrich is a climate and clean energy champion in Congress. Throughout his time in Congress, he has successfully passed policies to ensure American energy security and unlock unprecedented economic opportunity for working people by building our nation’s clean energy future.
Heinrich is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Electrification Caucus, and the Founder and Chair of the Senate Fusion Caucus. He has long worked to increase our investments in widespread electrification of residential and commercial buildings, transportation, and industrial processes. He is also leading forward-looking investments in fusion and geothermal energy, and the limitless clean energy opportunities they can deliver.
In 2022, Heinrich helped author and pass into law the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, which has created a manufacturing renaissance throughout the country and established New Mexico at the center of the nation’s clean energy future. Heinrich marked the two-year anniversary of the legislation being signed into law in August, highlighting how its incentives have expanded and spurred a number of new clean energy projects across New Mexico.
Heinrich has also long led efforts to improve and expand the capacity of our nation’s transmission infrastructure, which is urgently needed for reliability, affordability, and clean electricity. In May, Heinrich welcomed the announcement that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) heeded his calls to finalize a strong transmission planning and cost allocation rule. Heinrich is also leading major legislation to strengthen electric reliability by improving the way that we permit, plan, and pay for transmission infrastructure — dubbing these bills as the “three Ps of transmission.”
In 2023, Heinrich delivered a keynote address at an advanced energy conference in Albuquerque where he laid out his vision to position New Mexico at the center of the nation's clean energy future. He said, “Done right, we will continue to create projects that export clean electrons, while importing capital and creating careers in the skilled trades that New Mexicans can build their families around. We will establish new industries. We will reshape our state’s entire economy.”
Heinrich also recently celebrated the groundbreaking of the new SunZia Transmission Line, the largest renewable energy project in America, which he worked for over a decade to advance. When completed, the SunZia Transmission and SunZia Wind projects will become the largest renewable energy infrastructure project in U.S. history, transporting up to 3,500 megawatts of energy from New Mexico to markets in Arizona and California. The project is expected to create over 2,000 jobs during construction and support over 100 permanent jobs once online.
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