in the news

CARLSBAD, N.M. (KRQE) – A proposal has been added to the National Defense Authorization Act that includes a move to designate White Sands National Monument as a national park. National parks status typically highlights the area’s recreational benefits, while monuments focus on historic or scientific interests. Lawmakers say the change...

The U.S. House on Wednesday passed a military spending bill that could pump $712 million into weapons-grade plutonium operations, with the aim of having Los Alamos National Laboratory and a South Carolina site produce a combined 80 nuclear cores per year by 2026, a target that critics and some federal agencies call unrealistic. The National...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A national monument in southern New Mexico is one step closer to being re-designated as a national park. The U.S. House on Wednesday approved a defense spending measure that includes language to boost the classification of White Sands National Monument. President Donald Trump has said he’ll sign the measure,...

White Sands National Monument could become New Mexico's next national park, as the National Defense Authorization Act proceeded through Congress with a conference report, following passage in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.  The bill included language to re-designate the national monument as White Sands National Park, and...

Today U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, annouced the introduction of legislation to establish Bandelier National Park and Preserve. The legislation seeks to build a stronger relationship between the National Park Service and pueblos whose history and culture is deeply rooted in...

For more than a century, visitors have enjoyed the trails, wildlife, waterways, cultural artifacts and history of Bandelier National Monument, a 33,000-acre park in the Jemez Mountains, about 12 miles south of Los Alamos, that gained fame for its ancient cliff dwellings. In an effort to increase protections for the area’s resources —...

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Senator Martin Heinrich is pushing ahead with a bill to establish Bandelier Monument as a national park. The bill would help build a stronger relationship between the National Park Service and pueblos by permanently safeguarding tribes’ religious rights and practices in Bandelier. It will also establish a tribal...

U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) sent a letter on Nov. 15 to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acting secretary Chad Wolf and DHS inspector Gen. Joseph Cuffari requesting an investigation into oversight and conditions for detainees held at all Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall are calling for an investigation into conditions for detainees at all Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities. “We are troubled by continued reports of inhumane treatment at ICE detention facilities that appear to be widespread at facilities housing ICE...

U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich on Monday asked federal authorities investigate the conditions and oversight of immigrant detainees held in facilities such as the Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico. In a letter to acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, the Democratic senators from New Mexico said they had “deep...

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule early next year on the Trump administration’s decision to discontinue the seven-year-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. But the fate of DACA recipients may not just rest in the hands of the high court. President Donald Trump sent signals again last week that he might be willing to...

LAS CRUCES - The Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Las Cruces would be renamed the Las Cruces Bataan Memorial Clinic under legislation proposed by the state's federal delegation. The Las Cruces Community-Based Outpatient Clinic, 3401 Del Rey Blvd., opened in April 2018.  U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin...

The Trump administration last week officially notified the United Nations of the U.S.’ intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement through a letter from the Department of State. The move fulfills a promise President Donald Trump made during his 2016 campaign. It isn’t sitting well with members of New Mexico’s...

New Mexico U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján and his House of Representatives compatriots have done their part to create a reasonable and appropriate buffer around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The Chaco Culture Heritage Protection Act – which proposes a 10-mile oil and gas development buffer around the spectacular ruins once inhabited...

KSFR News Director Tom Trowbridge brings you the latest input from Senator Martin Heinrich. The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to permanently prohibit oil and gas drilling on federal land within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. The bill, with main sponsor...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation weren’t crying wolf earlier this year when they voiced concerns the state could lose millions of dollars in defense project funding to pay for a wall on the border with Mexico. The state took quite a hit when considering what projects could have been affected. Of...

Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are criticizing a Department of Defense decision to divert $125 million from projects at two state military bases to help pay for the construction of a wall on the Mexican border. The lawmakers were informed of the decision Wednesday. It puts on hold an $85 million project for an unmanned...

A New Mexico clean energy summit this week led by U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) concluded with state, tribal, and local leaders committing to reducing carbon emissions. The summit brought together nearly 200 local officials and participants from across New Mexico, including the governor, the Albuquerque mayor, and representatives from...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The debate over guns is one that is very divisive, and one that many people are passionate about. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich says he is a hunter and believes in protecting the rights of law abiding gun owners. He also believes there should be changes in gun laws.  "Every shotgun I have has a plug in it so that I...

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich has heard the stories about people passing off agriculture products as Native American made. Now he, U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján and other lawmakers want to find out how widespread the activity is. “I’ve been working on this issue for five years now,” Heinrich told the Journal. “Tesuque Pueblo...