Longest serving New Mexico senator leaves bipartisan legacy

Pete V. Domenici, the son of Italian immigrants who rose to become a power broker in the U.S. Senate, died Wednesday in New Mexico. The Republican was known for reaching across the partisan divide and his work on the federal budget and energy policy over a career that spanned more than 30 years.

‘I’m not disgusted, but I am disappointed,’ by our politicians’ failure, ex-Pa. Congressman says

Last fall, amid the smoldering ruins of the 2016 presidential election, defeats in Congress, statehouses and governor's mansions across the land, Joe Hoeffel had one urge: To put his fellow Democrats on the couch, to diagnose their problems, and to help them find a way out of the wilderness. "I was so disappointed in so much of what's happened lately," said Hoeffel, who represented Montgomery County's 13th Congressional District in Washington for three terms between 1999 and 2004.

Dreamers: The best of this nation

In deciding to phase out the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected the children of immigrants who came to the United States illegally, Trump built in a six-month grace period before deportations could begin. He has called on Congress to act on a replacement before that happens.

Top Senate Democrat wants Turkish recognition of Armenian Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer , a decades-long outspoken advocate of justice for the Armenian Genocide, has cosponsored bipartisan Senate legislation condemning that crime and calling for an end to international complicity in Turkish government denials, reported the Armenian National Committee of America . "It is my sacred duty to speak out against the terrors of the past and against those who cannot speak of it themselves and that's why I am a proud co-sponsor of this Senate resolution.

House panel backs bill to revive Nevada nuclear waste dump

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., during a press conference where he announced he will vote no on the proposed GOP healthcare bill at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building on Friday, June 23, 2017 in Las Vegas. People enter the south portal of Yucca Mountain during a 2015 congressional tour of the proposed radioactive waste dump near Mercury, Nev., 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Heinrich, Udall say GOP health care bill would be devastating for most New Mexicans

Just hours after Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate released a draft version of a health insurance bill to replace the federal Affordable Care Act, New Mexico's two senators were joining other Democrats in trying to stop the measure from receiving the 50 votes needed for passage. In a statement, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall said he has received more than 10,000 letters and emails urging him to oppose the bill, which would roll back some rules for health insurers and eventually reduce the number of low-income Americans covered under the government-funded Medicaid program.

New Mexico Democrats push feds to limit drilling near Chaco

The Bureau of Land Management previously agreed to defer all leases within a 10-mile radius around the park as the agency works to update its resource management plan for northwestern New Mexico. The agency is also working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs on how to best protect archaeological and cultural sites in the region.

New Mexico lawmakers introduce bill to make paying off student loans easier

Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich joined Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren to introduce the "Bank on Students Act," which would allow people to refinance student loan debt at a lower interest rate.

5 more senators Gorsuch no votes

Five more Democrats said Friday that they will vote against Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and will support a filibuster against him. Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Patty Murray of Washington, and Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both of Rhode Island, said they believe that the Denver-based appeals court judge has ruled too often against workers and in favor of corporations.

New Mexico warily studies Republican health overhaul plan

New Mexico's health care sector and policy makers were warily studying a proposal Tuesday by U.S. House Republicans to replace the Affordable Care Act that has cut the state's uninsured rate in half since 2013. Of particular concern were measures to reduce federal matching funds for newcomers to Medicaid health coverage starting in mid-2019, and link overall federal spending on Medicaid to a limited, per-beneficiary amount.

Warren pressing Trump administration on cost of border wall

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing the Trump administration on how they plan to pay for a wall on the U.S. and Mexico border. The Massachusetts Democrat and five other Democratic senators have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly raising concerns about what they said was the potential diversion of funds from key agency priorities.

Residents say 1st atom bomb test caused cancer cases

This July 16, 1945 file photo shows an aerial view after the first atomic explosion at Trinity Test Site, N.M. A report is scheduled to be released Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, on the health effects of the people who lived near the site of the world's first atomic bomb test. The Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium will release the health assessment report, on residents of a historic Hispanic village of Tularosa near the Trinity Test in the New Mexico desert.

Sen. Tom Udall to vote against Tom Price confirmation

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico says he will vote against confirming the White House nominee for secretary of health and human services. Udall said Monday that he believes nominee and Congressman Tom Price of Georgia is committed to a "radical agenda" that would strip health coverage from hundreds of thousands of New Mexico residents.

Congresswoman first contender in New Mexico governor’s race

Democratic U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced her candidacy Tuesday, becoming the first to declare intentions to replace second-term GOP Gov. Susana Martinez. She cannot run again because of term limits.

Officials: Loopholes allow for trafficking of Native American items to foreign markets

A diplomatic push for the return of Native American ceremonial objects from auction houses in Paris has been hampered by loopholes in U.S. laws that authorities and lawmakers say prohibit the trafficking of the federally protected items domestically but don't explicitly ban dealers from exporting them to foreign markets.

Strange Bedfellows – The senators sponsoring the STC’s…

Last week, the Sustainable Trails Coalition announced the introduction of a bill that seeks to modify blanket bans on human-powered travel in federal wilderness areas by allowing local federal officials to determine "the manner in which non-motorized uses may be permitted in wilderness areas, and for other purposes." Basically, if passed, the bill would put the authority to lift bans on mountain biking in wilderness areas and on several protected backcountry trails in the hands of local land managers.

Industry group petitions BLM to approve leases

Industry group petitions BLM to approve leases Park advocates say Chaco deserves a permanent protection buffer zone. Check out this story on Daily-Times.com: U.S. Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor, left, and New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall, listen to Dabney Ford, chief of cultural resources at Chaco Culture National Historical Park on June 29, 2015, during a fact-finding tour.

Senator Bernie Sanders Asking Help on Opposing GMO Labeling Bill, Vote Coming up very soon

I'm writing to ask you to oppose the Roberts-Stabenow compromise language on the GMO labeling bill. This legislation would overrule Vermont's GMO labeling law, and prevent states from passing similar laws.