in the news

On Tuesday New Mexico Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján introduced legislation to designate the Gila River as a Wild And Scenic River, which would protect the watershed from mining and agricultural interests in the region. The Gila River is one of the last remaining free-flowing rivers and tributary systems to the Colorado...

In a Tuesday press conference, Democratic U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan announced the reintroduction of federal legislation to protect 450 miles of waterways within the Gila River system under the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. “It’s long past time to protect these segments as Wild and Scenic,” Heinrich told...

We continue to stare down dangerous and overt threats to our democracy in the U.S. Congress must do more to ensure our most fundamental constitutional right to vote is secure, accessible, and easy to navigate for every single lawful American. We should all be proud that New Mexico is setting a national example for what it looks like to enhance...

Trees and plants are nature’s best ally for capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide, and New Mexico State University wants to harness that power to help fight climate change in arid environments.   As the state’s land grant university, NMSU is well prepared to lead the way in decarbonizing agriculture in rural and urban areas...

To combat climate change brought on by air pollution, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) continued to rally support for electrifying homes and businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S. Heinrich introduced the Zero Emissions Homes Act earlier this year to provide tax rebates for electric appliances in single- and multi-family...

It’s hard to find states more different than New Mexico and Rhode Island. One is big, the other small; one is landlocked mountain ranges and high desert, the other seaside coast.  But both count on a healthy, clean environment, and each presents wondrous natural beauty. So we both fight tirelessly to defend that environment as climate...

A global pandemic, worsening climate change and a Democratic majority in Washington, D.C. have created a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a national response to the climate crisis. To meet the moment, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, has proposed the Civilian Climate Corps Act, an initiative designed to put people to work helping their...

While companies across the United States are extracting metals like gold, silver and copper, they do not pay royalties like other extractive industries. This is in part because the laws governing hardrock mining date back to 1872. U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, wants to reform hardrock mining among other measures to help...

WASHINGTON — Bipartisan federal legislation could dramatically reshape the funding available to tribal nations for wildlife conservation efforts.  The proposed Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would for the first time give tribes a direct line of federal funding for their natural resources departments to perform fish and...

WASHINGTON — Bipartisan federal legislation could dramatically reshape the funding available to tribal nations for wildlife conservation efforts.  The proposed Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would for the first time give tribes a direct line of federal funding for their natural resources departments to perform fish and...

About $7 million worth of environmentally friendly upgrades will be made to the Albuquerque International Sunport — part of a nationwide project by the Federal Aviation Administration to make airports more sustainable. In Albuquerque, the money will fund zero-emissions passenger shuttle buses and charging stations, as well as more...

SANTA ANA PUEBLO – Once absent from the pueblo land just north of Bernalillo, wild turkey and pronghorn now roam alongside elk, deer and mountain lions. Glenn Harper, the range and wildlife division manager at Santa Ana Pueblo, said that his team’s work in the last two decades shows it is possible to reintroduce species that are...

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich introduced legislation Wednesday aimed at keeping college students in school through graduation for the next 10 years. The bill, called the College Completion Fund Act, would require states to develop strategic plans for increasing completion and graduation rates in order to access $62 billion in funding through the U.S....

SANTA ANA PUEBLO – Once absent from the pueblo land just north of Bernalillo, wild turkey and pronghorn now roam alongside elk, deer and mountain lions. Glenn Harper, the range and wildlife division manager at Santa Ana Pueblo, said that his team’s work in the last two decades shows it is possible to reintroduce species that are...

The energy landscape is undergoing a massive transformation. New Mexico needs to be ready, and I’m working to make that happen. Our state is uniquely poised to benefit from advances in technologies, the growth of the clean energy economy, and widespread electrification of our homes and businesses. Widespread electrification is one of the...

Wink, wink: New Mexico now has a Tesla sales, service and delivery center for its electric cars — even though state law prohibits auto manufacturers from selling directly to customers. The outlet, soon to be at the new Tesla Center at Nambe Falls Travel Center in a former casino off U.S. 84/285, mirrors every purpose of a car dealership. You...

New Mexico U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich lead a group of U.S. Senate Democrats in aiming to reinstate federal methane emission controls enacted under the administration of former-President Barack Obama but rescinded by his predecessor Donald Trump. The senators introduced a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act for Trump’s...

Congress is gearing up to approve the largest federal investments in infrastructure and social programs since the Great Depression in the 1930s, and New Mexico could reap huge benefits. A two-day visit to New Mexico last week by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm highlighted some of the local industries and communities that could directly...

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE – Construction of a new information systems facility at the U.S. Army's largest U.S. installation was supposed to commence in 2019, until the Trump Administration diverted its funding for the border wall instead.  Last week, New Mexico's senior senator said funds to replace the nearly 60-year-old...

The United States and countries around the world are eyeing hydrogen as a source of clean, dispatchable power, but work is still needed to get to that point, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told NM Political Report while touring a facility in Farmington that manufactures blue hydrogen reactors. Farmington-based...