Heinrich Invites Energy Secretary To New Mexico, Requests Follow Up On Commitment To Create Energy Transition Plan That Supports New Mexicans

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 diverse and robust energy industries.

During Secretary Granholm’s confirmation hearing, Senator Heinrich secured a commitment from her to work with him on creating a place-based energy transition plan that ensures hard-working New Mexicans can continue to play a role in the nation’s energy future.

Senator Heinrich is fighting to make sure that New Mexico’s energy veterans are central to the continued rapid growth of America’s zero-carbon economy. He is preparing to introduce legislation to help offset the reduction of fossil fuel revenues as efforts continue to curb the industry’s impact on the climate.

In a letter to Secretary Granholm, Heinrich wrote, “The energy sector is changing rapidly, which means exciting new careers for hundreds of thousands of Americans, but it also means many job losses or changes in traditional fossil energy. I know you agree there is a need for federal investments to ensure that oil and gas workers and their communities are not left behind. The people who work in these sectors are our ‘energy veterans,’ men and women who have powered this great nation for the last half century and given their working lives to that goal.”

Heinrich continued, “I appreciate your commitment to work with me to create a place-based energy transition plan that ensures hard-working New Mexicans are not left behind. Your early visit to New Mexico will be an opportunity to begin the process of assessing our state’s economic assets and developing a comprehensive strategy to retrain individuals to be prepared for new careers in their communities.”

Senator Heinrich is also inviting Secretary Granholm to see the work at Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories that is critical to meeting the U.S. Department of Energy’s mission of assuring national security through stewardship of the nuclear weapons stockpile, nuclear non-proliferation, and homeland security.

Read the full text of the letter below or by clicking here.

Dear Secretary Granholm:

I write to congratulate you on your recent confirmation as Secretary of Energy with strong bipartisan support. I look forward to working with you on important national security issues and implementing a comprehensive energy strategy to manage the nation’s transition to a clean-energy economy. I would like to extend an invitation to you to visit New Mexico and my state’s two flagship national laboratories, Los Alamos and Sandia. I hope that your schedule will permit an early trip to New Mexico. The work at Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories is critical to meeting the U.S. Department of Energy’s mission of assuring national security through stewardship of the nuclear weapons stockpile, nuclear non-proliferation, and homeland security.

While you are in New Mexico, I would also like to invite you to visit with representatives of New Mexico’s diverse and growing energy industry, including community leaders, producers of traditional fossil fuels, wind and solar energy, and advanced technologies such as hydrogen that will play a critical role in eliminating carbon emissions, particularly in hard-to-decarbonize sectors. The energy sector is changing rapidly, which means exciting new careers for hundreds of thousands of Americans, but it also means many job losses or changes in traditional fossil energy. I know you agree there is a need for federal investments to ensure that oil and gas workers and their communities are not left behind. The people who work in these sectors are our ‘energy veterans,’ men and women who have powered this great nation for the last half century and given their working lives to that goal.

I appreciate your commitment to work with me to create a place-based energy transition plan that ensures hard-working New Mexicans are not left behind. Your early visit to New Mexico will be an opportunity to begin the process of assessing our state’s economic assets and developing a comprehensive strategy to retrain individuals to be prepared for new careers in their communities. Working together, I believe we can blaze a path forward for New Mexico that addresses the climate crisis while creating good-paying union jobs, building a sustainable energy industry, and delivering environmental justice for our communities.

Sincerely,