press releases

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) sent a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) urging the quick implementation of the Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act that they authored.  This bipartisan bill, which was signed into law in December, reauthorizes...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the bipartisan Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act to establish an investment tax credit (ITC) for business and home use of energy storage. The bipartisan bill modifies the existing investment tax credits (ITC) for solar...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is inviting U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to visit New Mexico to see first-hand the important national security work at Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories and to learn about the state’s...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources, issued the following statement on U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s decision to lock in gas-powered vehicle purchases for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) fleet: “The U.S. Postal Service’s decision to not replace its...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is leading 12 Senate Democratic colleagues in a letter to President Joe Biden, announcing forward-looking proposals to help the Biden administration ramp up the electrification of the federal vehicle fleet. The senators wrote, “As you know, the transportation sector produces more...

WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, released the following statement after voting to advance the confirmation of President Biden’s U.S. Secretary of Energy nominee former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm out of committee. The Committee voted 13 to...

WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, released the following statement after voting to advance the confirmation of President Biden’s U.S. Secretary of Energy nominee former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm out of committee. The Committee voted 13 to...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Ranking Member on the Energy Subcommittee, participated in a hearing to consider the nomination of former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to lead the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). VIDEO: Heinrich Stresses...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is leading 23 Senate Democratic colleagues in a letter to President-elect Joe Biden, calling on the incoming Biden-Harris administration to swiftly act to restore and strengthen regulations of methane emissions from oil and natural gas production. The senators are also requesting a vigorous...

WASHINGTON – Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) to accelerate the development of next-generation energy storage has been signed into law. The Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act will support grid-scale energy storage research and development...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) touted the inclusion of clean energy tax credits in the $1.4 trillion federal spending and tax extension package that is expected to be voted on soon. "I am pleased this bipartisan agreement extends and expands tax incentives for clean energy, which are proven ways to grow both the wind and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is leading 11 Senate Democratic colleagues in a letter to President-elect Joseph R. Biden requesting that the incoming Biden administration make a full repeal of the Trump administration’s harmful section 201 tariffs on imported solar photovoltaic cells and panels an early...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined Xcel Energy to celebrate the completion of the Sagamore Wind Project, one of the largest wind farms ever built in New Mexico. “The completion of the Sagamore Wind Project is proof that eastern New Mexico is rapidly becoming one of the best places in the world to produce...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ranking Member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, and co-founder of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, secured major wins for New Mexico in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 that support New...

The Pecos watershed is home to some of the state’s most pristine riparian habitat, but Lela McFerrin, vice president of the Upper Pecos Watershed Association, is worried that a proposal to drill new mines in the area will threaten the creeks, streams and drainages that make up the headwaters of the Pecos river.  “What we’re...

New federal claims to extract minerals, including oil, gas and metals, would be barred in the Pecos watershed under a bill introduced by a New Mexico senator. Democratic U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said he seeks to avoid accidents in the area, such as a disastrous toxic waste spill from a closed mine in the 1990s that killed fish for 11 miles in the...

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement after U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced the agency would refuse to extend public comment period on a resource management plan surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park while the Tribes and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) have sent a letter to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Manager for the Los Alamos Field Office, Michael J. Weis, requesting that the agency keep local communities and Pueblos fully informed on...

A bill that would withdraw all federally-managed minerals in the Pecos watershed from future leasing or sales was introduced by U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich this week. “We all have different relationships with this river, but whether you’re a fisherman or farmer or outdoor recreationist, people understand this river is the thing that ties...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) has introduced the Pecos Watershed Protection Act to protect portions of the Pecos Watershed in northern New Mexico from all mineral development. In the 1990s, a spill of toxic waste from a closed mine killed fish in the river for more than 11 miles. It took decades and millions of...