in the news

FARMINGTON — Tribal leaders from the Southwest will be among the guests selected by congressional members to attend the State of the Union address tonight. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez will attend as Sen. Tom Udall's guest, Vice President Myron Lizer is the guest for Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Ariz., and Sen. Martin Heinrich...

Senate Democrats introduced legislation on Monday to prevent President Trump from using military and disaster relief funds to construct the U.S.-Mexico border wall should he declare a national emergency. The legislation would prevent Trump from using funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works funds and...

A bill filed in the U.S. Senate will benefit Native American entrepreneurs.  U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are sponsoring the Native American Business Incubators Program Act. The act lays out a plan to expand entrepreneurship in Indian Country through a competitive grant program.  Sen. Udall says Native businesses...

Two United States senators from New Mexico joined 10 others to introduce Savanna’s Act, legislation to combat the epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous women by improving the federal government's response to the crisis. The bipartisan bill would increase coordination among all levels of law enforcement, increases data...

WASHINGTON (KRQE) - U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich wants to turn Bandelier National Monument into a National Park.  Sen. Heinrich plans on introducing a new proposal that would make it happen.  The designation carries more prestige, which in turn brings more tourists, jobs and revenue.  He's also working on granting the National Parks...

A study commissioned by the Rail Passengers Association says that local economies along the route of the Amtrak’s Southwest Chief passenger train between Albuquerque and Dodge City, Kan., would be derailed by as much as $116.4 million annually if Amtrak were to substitute rail service between the two cities with charter buses. Direct spending...

On Monday, federal employees will return to work.  For now. After more than 30 days, the partial federal shutdown ended Friday. During that time, almost 11,000 New Mexicans—and 800,000 people nationwide—were either furloughed or working without pay. But many people remain wary, given that the deal worked out between Congress...

The government is open and many were out enjoying some of New Mexico's open spaces. The Petroglyph National Monument was just one of several parks partially closed during the shutdown, which caused some problems that had to be cleaned up. "Three weeks is better than nothing, so I hope that it works," said Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. The shutdown...

Thursday, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) voted for a clean spending bill to reopen the government immediately.  The measure, which received bipartisan support, would reopen currently closed agencies and fund the federal government through Feb. 8. The proposal failed to reach the 60-vote threshold to advance in the Senate.   “New...

Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, along with U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Martin Heinrich...

Today, as federal workers miss their second paycheck, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released a Shutdown Resource Guide to help those who have been impacted by President Trump's shutdown. “I've heard from far too many New Mexicans who cannot afford to wait any longer for President Trump's reckless shutdown to end," said...

SANTA FE (AP) — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich wants the federal government to turn Bandelier National Monument into a full-fledged national park. New Mexico's junior senator told state lawmakers Friday that he plans to introduce legislation this year what would provide national park status to the wilderness area and archaeological preserve near...

SANTA FE – U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich called on state lawmakers Friday to pass legislation dealing with renewable energy, climate change and early childhood education during their ongoing 60-day legislation. In a 20-minute speech, Heinrich, a Democrat, said the session represents a “once-in-a-generation opportunity,” due largely to...

Senate Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday to ensure information given to the government by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries isn't used for immigration enforcement. New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) led the bill, dubbed the Dreamer Confidentiality act. “Nearly a million Dreamers across the...

New Mexico families are paying the price for the longest government shutdown in American history because President Trump refuses to stop holding our federal workers, our economy and basic government services hostage to his political gamesmanship. Congress has taken the votes to pass a bipartisan solution to reopen the government immediately. In...

SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) - Many federal employees affected by the shutdown are likely concerned that they will not be able to pay their largest bills, mortgages, car loans and even student loans. Now, one of New Mexico's US Senators says he's working on legislation to protect them, while they wait for the government to reopen. Roughly 6,000 federal...

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., hosted a press call Dec. 13 to discuss the importance of reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. VAWA was enacted in 1994 under then-President Bill Clinton to fund prosecution of violent crimes against women, impose automatic, mandatory restitution on those convicted and allow civil redress in un-prosecuted...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Lawmakers in Washington have until Friday to figure out how to fund the Federal Government. A government shutdown could end up hurting New Mexico in more ways than one. Around 20,000 New Mexicans who work for the Federal Government are watching D.C. very closely. A shutdown would have detrimental effects on...

The opioid epidemic is one of the greatest and gravest public health crises our nation has ever faced. It has taken a heartbreaking toll on families all across New Mexico. For years, without adequate treatment resources, communities in our state have suffered through some of the highest rates of opioid and heroin dependence and overdose deaths in...

I grew up helping my parents run a small cattle operation, which is where I learned to truly value the hard work farmers and ranchers do each and every day to produce the food we eat. Our farmers help drive New Mexico’s economy, especially in rural communities. According to the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, our food producers grow...