press releases

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) funding, introduced bipartisan legislation to repeal the VA copayment requirement for veterans traveling to medical appointments. “Veterans who live...

WASHINGTON – As Americans deal with rising energy prices caused by a reliance on fossil fuels, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is calling for Congress and the Biden administration to act on legislative and executive initiatives that will lower energy costs for working families. During an interview today on NBC Meet The Press...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and U.S. Representative Susie Lee (D-Nev.) led a bipartisan, bicameral group of 23 lawmakers in a letter urging Acting National Institute of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak to expand funding opportunities for research in osteopathic...

President Joe Biden yesterday announced the nomination of Matthew L. Garcia, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s chief of staff, to the US District Court for the District of New Mexico. Garcia has held the position for the last two years after serving as its general counsel. He was previously in private practice. New Mexico US Sen. Martin Heinrich...

Federal nuclear waste regulators issued a report that continued their support of a proposed project to store spent nuclear fuel at a remote location in the desert of southeast New Mexico, despite continued opposition from state and federal elected officials from that state. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its final environmental...

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) welcomed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Matthew L. Garcia for U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. “We are pleased that President Biden has accepted our strong recommendation to nominate Matthew L. Garcia to join the...

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday issued its final environmental impact statement for Holtec International’s proposal to build an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Lea County. The facility would be located approximately halfway between Carlsbad and Hobbs and the license would authorize the initial phase of the...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) has secured a commitment from the Biden administration to support funding for the first-ever abandoned hardrock mining reclamation program that he fought to authorize in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. VIDEO: Heinrich Secures Biden Administration’s Support To Fund Hardrock...

A major piece of environmental legislation could pass the Senate and reach President Biden's desk before Labor Day, and it starts with the letter “R.” No, it's not Biden's long-stalled reconciliation package, which is still the subject of intense negotiations between Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E....

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) are welcoming $477,074 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support research at New Mexico State University (NMSU) focused on ways to increase the nutritional quality and yield of chile in New Mexico and across the United...

WASHINGTON (July 7, 2022) — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) are welcoming more than $2.8 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to improve wastewater systems in Doña Ana County. “Upgrading and maintaining our wastewater treatment infrastructure is critical to...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) announced $7 million in federal investments from the Infrastructure Law heading to the Albuquerque International Sunport. This funding will be used to refurbish passenger boarding bridges and electric ground...

LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Veteran Affairs clinic is no longer in danger of being shut down, New Mexico’s U.S. Senators announced June 27. The Department of Veterans Affairs in March recommended the closure of 174 VA clinics across all 50 states, including four in New Mexico, including Las Vegas. If the recommendation had been followed,...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – This week, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Tribal leaders, and Trust for Public Land to celebrate the new addition to the Marquez Wildlife Area in New Mexico. Heinrich has worked to support this acquisition that will make the Marquez Wildlife Area the largest state-owned...

There’s an old saying in Washington, D.C.: It’s not so much where you stand, but where you sit. In the case of a special commission tasked with closing VA clinics, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators simply refused to seat any members. Killing the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission effectively killed recommendations by the U.S....

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the C0-Founder and Co-Chair of the Electrification Caucus, released the following statement after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) case, which...

MARQUEZ WILDLIFE AREA – Theresa Pasqual is eager to get reacquainted with the land east of Mount Taylor where her ancestors hunted and held traditional ceremonies. The Acoma Pueblo Historic Preservation director said she feels that a state project that has opened 54,000 acres of land to the public will allow more people to connect to a...

Federal lawmakers say they’ve killed a plan by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to shutter four VA clinics in New Mexico. The Gallup, Las Vegas, Raton and Española clinics would have been closed under recommendations released in March. A 2018 law passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump requires VA plans to go to...

Albuquerque — Sometimes, the underdogs win. Monday was one of those days. Thought to be on the chopping block for months after a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs commission called for their closure, veterans health clinics in Española; Raton; Las Vegas, N.M.; and Gallup have been saved. In what U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich called a...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – On Wednesday, June 29, at 10 a.m. MT, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Tribal leaders, Trust for Public Land, and more will come together at the Laguna Pueblo Dancing Eagle Event Center to celebrate the expansion of the Marquez Wildlife Area in New Mexico. Earlier this month,...