press releases

Unless Congress acts, interest rates on new subsidized student loans will double on July 1, 2013, impacting thousands of students across New Mexico. With rising tuitions and fees at public universities, taking out loans to make the investment in higher education is almost par for the course. This year, student debt topped $1 trillion, with more...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, along with Reps. Ben Ray Luján, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and Steve Pearce announced they have introduced legislation to improve tribal education and preserve Native American language in schools. Graduation rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives are less...

Thank you, Mr. President for the opportunity to address this chamber today. Mr. President, I am a strong believer that innovation is what America does best.  That boundless wonder and curiosity can lead to revolutionary discoveries. That diligence and optimism can break down barriers. Mr. President I’m a believer that technology, and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich today announced counties in New Mexico will receive approximately $34 million through the 2013 Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. A full list of the funding by county is included below. PILT is administered through the Department of the Interior and provides funding for...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, along with Reps. Ben Ray Luján, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and Steve Pearce announced they have introduced a bill to strengthen the nation's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and training programs in New Mexico and the U.S. The STEM Support...

40,703  Students In New Mexico Could Be Hit By Devastating Student Loan Rate Hike If Congress Fails To Act By July 1st   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) voted in favor of S. 953, the Student Loan Affordability Act of 2013, a fiscally responsible bill he is cosponsoring to keep student loans interest rates...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation have introduced a bill that would protect New Mexico’s future special education funding. This week, the Department of Education  ruled that New Mexico underfunded its share of the cost of educating students with special needs for the state fiscal year 2011. It...

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will tour the Algae Cultivation Testbed facility at New Mexico State University (NMSU) on Wednesday, May 1. The testbed  offers both outdoor and greenhouse facilities designed specifically for research and development around optimizing algal biofuel production, including algae-based...

CARLSBAD, N.M. - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will tour the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring & Research Center (CEMRC), a division of the College of Engineering at New Mexico State University, on Tuesday, April 30, 2013. CEMRC Director Russell Hardy and scientific group leaders will give Sen. Heinrich an overview of the radiochemistry...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced federal grant funding for the University of New Mexico’s (UNM) School of Engineering. The Federal Department of Transportation will be granting $48,758to the UNM School of Engineering for a project that seeks to increase interest in transportation and engineering...

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) met with students and faculty at New Mexico Tech on Feb. 22, then journeyed through Socorro on an economic tour. Heinrich is the only engineer in the U.S. senate, and interested in things related to science, technology and math education across the state. “Tech is one of the really unique institutions in the...

SOCORRO, N.M. – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will meet with students and faculty at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology on Friday, February 22, 2013. A strong advocate for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education, and the only engineer in the senate, Sen. Heinrich will receive an overview from New...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich today reintroduced legislation to expand job training and educational opportunities for youth, while helping repair and restore the country's public lands.   The Public Lands Service Corps Act of 2013 improves on the existing Public Lands Corps by expanding the scope of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – New Mexico's Congressional Delegation today sent a letter encouraging the U.S. Department of Education to give serious consideration to the New Mexico Public Education Department's (NMPED) waiver request to avoid a reduction in the state's special education funding.   "Educating students with special needs is a serious...