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  • — by Scott Turner
    Confederate statues and monuments have come down across the country amid protests after the death of George Floyd. The removal of Confederate names from military bases could be next if a group of lawmakers has its way, and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., is in that group. Heinrich, a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, and 11 of his...
  • — by Andy Lyman
    It’s been two and a half weeks since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and protests and demonstrations calling for police accountability have continued to increase. Calls to action include a push to defund police forces, demilitarization of police and a reform of use of force standards.  Now, many federal lawmakers are...
  • — by Scott Turner
    New Mexico Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are calling for changes in the culture of how law enforcement agencies operate around the country. And they said legislation that has been introduced in Congress this week is a step in that direction. The two Democratic senators have thrown their support behind the Justice in Policing Act introduced by...
  • — by Scott Turner
    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — National parks, monuments, forests and wildlife refuges in New Mexico have a maintenance backlog of more than $121 million, according to U.S. Sen. Tom Udall. And some of that backlog can be cleared if legislation that has the rare support of both the Democratic senator and President Donald Trump is passed by Congress...
  • — by Theresa Davis
    As New Mexico’s energy production looks to bounce back from historic lows, some regulators and lawmakers support the idea of a new federal fund to give oil and gas workers jobs plugging abandoned wells. There are more than 700 orphaned or abandoned oil and natural gas wells in New Mexico, said Adrienne Sandoval, director of the Oil...
  • — by Christal Hayes
    WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats stood in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds Thursday at the U.S. Capitol to honor the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, all unarmed black individuals whose deaths have spurred worldwide protests against racism and police brutality.  Senate Democrats, some...
  • — by Robert Nott
    A proposed public works program would send conservation crews to scores of national parks and other federal sites, such as Bandelier National Monument, to complete up to $2 billion in improvements each year. It would not be the first time the federal government put unemployed people to work at Bandelier. In the 1930s, young men working with...
  • — by Adrian Hedden
    New Mexico lawmakers sought increased federal funding to plug abandoned oil and gas wells across the country as the industry struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent decline in fuel demands that caused an historic bust in the price of oil. The state’s Congressional delegation called upon the House Natural Resources...
  • — by Scott Wyland
    The U.S. Transportation Department has awarded $2.9 million to a regional transit district to help replace fuel-powered buses with electric vehicles.  The money will be used to replace three diesel- and two gasoline-powered buses within the North Central Regional Transit District's 55-vehicle fleet.  Boosting the green bus program is...
  • — by Robert Nott
    New Mexico congressional delegates are pushing for the creation of a federal fund to help cover the costs of plugging and reclaiming abandoned oil and gas wells. U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Luján, Xochitl Torres Small and Deb Haaland, all New Mexico Democrats, participated in a virtual congressional hearing on the proposal earlier this...
  • — by Noel Lyn Smith
    FARMINGTON — Congressional members from New Mexico and Arizona are seeking answers from the Indian Health Service over a $3 million purchase of respirator masks that may be unsuitable for use by medical workers. They were procured from a company recently started by a former White House official. U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin...
  • — by Nicole Maxwell
    Situated between Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range is a large swathe of gypsum desert. White Sands National Park was designated a national park in November and is considered to be a local jewel in Otero County. Under more regular conditions, tourists visiting White Sands National Park would stop at one of the City of...
  • — by Nick Miroff
    Hundreds of thousands of potential voters will be ineligible to cast ballots in November unless the Trump administration resumes citizenship ceremonies and clears a pandemic-related backlog of immigrants waiting to take the naturalization oath, according to rights groups and lawmakers from both parties. President Trump, who claims falsely that...
  • — by Matthew Reisen
    In a phone call from the Santa Fe Penitentiary, Vincent Delara tells his wife that if he’s going to die, he would rather die at home. Currently behind bars on a probation violation, the 43-year-old suffers from diabetes, sleep apnea and autoimmune deficiencies. “My husband, if you were to look at him you’d probably say he’s...
  • — by Algernon D'Ammassa
    LAS CRUCES - Over the past decade, an average of 720,000 immigrants have been naturalized each year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In New Mexico, naturalizations peaked at nearly 3,600 in fiscal year 2018, the latest year for which data are available.  This spring, however, U.S. Citizenship and...
  • The novel coronavirus raging in the Navajo Nation and New Mexico pueblos in part prompted U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to announce Thursday the extension of the public comment period on a plan that will shape the future of oil and gas drilling near Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Tribal officials have met with or spoken remotely...
  • — by Susan Montoya Bryan
    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Thursday he’ll extend the public comment period on a contested plan that will guide oil and gas drilling and other development in an area of northwestern New Mexico that includes a national park and locations important to Native American tribes. A coalition of tribal...
  • — by Geoffrey Plant
    U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich announced Tuesday that legislation to protect 450 miles of the Gila River system under the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was introduced in the Senate late last week. Members of the agricultural community and some private landowners along the river, as well as the New Mexico Entity of the Central Arizona...
  • — by Kendra Chamberlain
    U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich introduced legislation Tuesday that would designate portions of the Gila River as Wild and Scenic, after a “years-long” effort to protect what’s known as one of the country’s last wild rivers.  The M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act would designate 446...
  • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –KRQE Media Group hosted a Special Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 featuring both of New Mexico’s U.S. Senators Wednesday, May 13. U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D) and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D) addressed the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. The senators also answered questions from...