press releases

After nearly two decades in development, SunZia, the $11 billion, 3.6 gigawatt wind project built by Pattern Energy came online in New Mexico last week. It’s the country’s largest wind energy project, and is accompanied by a 550-mile HVDC transmission line designed to carry up to 3 GW of clean energy to southern Arizona and California. And it was...

WASHINGTON – During a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine the state of the U.S. Territories, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the Committee’s Ranking Member, questioned Jenniffer González-Colón, Governor of Puerto Rico, on the island’s electric grid, and her plans to improve its reliability. VIDEO: Ranking...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced the Senate passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, bipartisan legislation to tackle the housing crisis in New Mexico and nationwide by increasing the housing supply and lowering the cost of housing for working families. “More and more New Mexicans are being priced out of a place...

On Juneteenth, a room full of Black entrepreneurs at a soul food smokehouse in Albuquerque did something radical: they told a U.S. senator exactly what’s wrong — and what they need to survive. The Black Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico hosted U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich at Nexus Smokehouse on Friday for a roundtable focused on the economic pressures...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement on Juneteenth, which commemorates June 19, 1865, when U.S. Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced freedom for enslaved people, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation: “Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom and resilience. It is...

WASHINGTON – During a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to conduct oversight of the Colorado River Basin, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the Committee’s Ranking Member, questioned Andrea Travnicek, Assistant Secretary of Water and Science at the Department of the Interior (DOI), and Tom Kiernan, President and Chief...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced that after nearly two decades of his advocacy to complete one of the largest energy infrastructure projects in the Western Hemisphere, the SunZia Project has become fully operational. SunZia is a milestone...

WASHINGTON – Today, during a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee business meeting to consider pending legislation, the Committee advanced S. 1547, the America the Beautiful Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Angus King (I-Maine) to reauthorize the National Parks and Public Land Legacy...

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) hosted a roundtable to discuss how the Trump administration’s policies, including the war with Iran, have driven up energy costs for families, consumers, communities, and small businesses. The...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) sent a letter pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the impacts that President Trump’s cuts to foreign aid and withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) have had on the United States’ ability to protect Americans from Ebola and hantavirus. “The dismantling...

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) introduced the Postsecondary Student Success Act, legislation to authorize dedicated federal funding for evidence-based programs that help students stay enrolled in college, complete their degrees, and prepare for successful careers. The...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) sent a letter demanding answers from U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on the Trump administration redirecting tens of millions of dollars from fees paid to the...

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, Vice Chair of the National Service Congressional Caucus and the first AmeriCorps alum to serve in the United States Senate, announced the introduction of his bipartisan resolution to designate today, June 12, 2026, as National Service and Conservation Corps Day. Heinrich introduced the resolution with U.S....

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) led 17 of their colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of...

When I draw a hunting tag, especially for elk, one of the first things I do is pull out a map. I look for public land – and then I look for roads, because that’s where the elk aren’t. That’s because elk need food, water, and a secure place to bed – and that usually means being miles from any open roads. Want to fill your freezer? Find the roadless...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), member of the U.S. Senate ENR Committee hosted a press conference on Republicans’ latest effort to repeal the Roadless Rule, which protects nearly 45 million acres of public lands administered...

Numerous members of the Senate Democratic caucus sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, urging it to do more to curb the New World screwworm fly that recently crossed the border. There are seven confirmed cases of the flesh-eating pest in the U.S., six in Texas and one in New Mexico, threatening the region's livestock industry. The...

A last-minute amendment to a bipartisan wildfire bill ignited a fiery spat in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Wednesday before advancing along party lines. The addition getting rid of the 25-year-old Roadless Rule was a "poison pill" for the Democratic minority, including New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich. "One of the...

Eleven senators are demanding answers from the Trump administration on the use of national park entry fees for the president’s “vanity projects,” according to a letter that the lawmakers sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday. The National Park Service plans to spend at least $90 million in entry fee revenue on D.C. beautification and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, to introduce the Protecting Indian Water Rights Settlements Act of 2026, legislation to ensure the federal government fulfills its trust responsibilities by providing dedicated, mandatory funding for...