Luján Statement on DHS Funding “NO” Vote, Announces Over $50 Million for New Mexico Projects

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after voting against a funding package that did not include needed reforms to rein in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):

"Under the Trump administration, our nation has witnessed federal immigration agents kill two American citizens in Minneapolis, while the administration has responded with outright lies and escalation. With ICE operating out of control under Secretary Noem and Stephen Miller, I cannot support a funding package that does not include accountability and meaningful reforms to end this violence.

"Although ongoing bipartisan negotiations to reform ICE and protect our communities are a step in the right direction, these critical reforms must be enshrined in the law to earn my support. I'm hopeful that we will reach that point in the coming weeks when the Senate takes another vote. New Mexicans are demanding action and accountability, and that is what I am focused on getting done."

Following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, Senator Luján announced that he would oppose the Homeland Security funding bill without real accountability and demanded the resignation or firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller.

While opposing the funding package on the Senate floor that did not include reforms to DHS and ICE, Senator Luján worked through the appropriations process to deliver key wins for New Mexico:

"I'm proud to deliver over $50 million in federal funding to support critical projects that expand housing, strengthen health services, and boost infrastructure across our state," said Senator Luján. "These investments will support projects that improve the lives of New Mexicans in every corner of our state. Throughout the appropriations process, I've fought to bring federal dollars back home."

In the Senate-passed appropriations bills, Senator Luján secured $50,040,000 for local projects.

Additionally, in the Senate-passed appropriations bills, Senator Luján secured key health care provisions. Senator Luján's Honor Our Living Donors Act, legislation to increase organ donations and save lives, was adopted as part of the passage of the appropriations bills. Further, Senator Luján secured key provisions advancing Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform that provides transparency and helps lower costs for patients.

In the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, Senator Luján secured:

• $3,000,000 for the Youth Development, Inc.'s early childhood development center. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $3,000,000 for La Cosecha Community Supported Agriculture's Raices Sagradas Eco-Wellness and Food Hub project. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $2,900,000 for the Pueblo of Acoma's Senior Center home improvements. Secured by Senator Luján, Senator Heinrich, and Representative Vasquez.
• $2,500,000 for Santa Fe County's Trauma-Informed Housing project. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $2,000,000 for the City of Albuquerque's modernization of the Westside Emergency Housing Center. Secured by Senator Luján, Senator Heinrich, and Representative Vasquez.
• $2,000,000 for the City of Albuquerque's senior stability site. Secured by Senator Luján, Senator Heinrich, and Representative Stansbury.
• $1,800,000 for the Town of Mountainair's downtown Mountainair roadway improvements. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $1,600,000 for the Ports-to-Plains Corridor Interstate Planning - Raton I-27 / I-25 interchange alignment study. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $1,512,000 for the Pueblo of Jemez's Pueblo Hazard Remediation and Revitalization. Secured by Senator Luján, Senator Heinrich, and Representative Leger Fernández.
• $1,500,000 for Bernalillo County's affordable housing development. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $1,500,000 for Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation's Vado New Horizons development project. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $1,210,000 for the City of Bloomfield's East Blanco Road. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $1,000,000 for the Pueblo of Sandia for the Middle Rio Grande Pueblos Irrigation and Acequia Infrastructure Improvements. Secured by Senator Luján and Representative Stansbury.
• $1,000,000 for the Region 9 Education Cooperative's early childhood center. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $1,000,000 for the Pueblo of Acoma Housing Authority's Cedar Hills Affordable Housing project. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $850,000 for the City of Las Vegas' South Pacific Road improvements. Secured by Senator Luján and Representative Leger Fernández.
• $850,000 for the City of Las Cruces' innovation and industrial park improvements. Secured by Senator Luján and Representative Vasquez.
• $700,000 for Cuidando Los Niños' facility expansion project. Secured by Senator Luján and Senator Heinrich.
• $620,000 for the Village of Mosquero's housing project. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $605,000 for San Joaquin del Rio de Chama land grant's community center renovations and upgrades. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $600,000 for the City of Bloomfield's Solar and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $519,000 for the Navajo Division of Transportation's N321 Environment Assessment and Roadway Improvements project. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $500,000 for the City of Lordsburg to refurbish the special events center. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $500,000 for the McKinley County Red Rock facility improvements. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $412,000 for the Angel Fire Airport (AXX) for snow removal equipment. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $300,000 for the Espanola Valley and Los Alamos Habitat for Humanity's affordable home construction. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $250,000 for the Sunland Park Drive Intersection Phase I project. Secured by Senator Luján and Representative Vasquez.
• $250,000 for the City of Carlsbad's Police Department renovation. Secured by Senator Luján and Representative Vasquez.

Programmatic Highlights:

• Senator Luján secured a provision for his RIDE/HALT Act that states the Appropriations Committee's support for the timely issuance of impaired driving safety standards.
• Senator Luján secured a provision directing the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) to implement a technical escalation process through which disputes can be adjudicated.

In the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill, Senator Luján secured:

• $1,540,000 for the University of New Mexico's Project ECHO, a rural health telemonitoring training program. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $1,484,000 for the University of New Mexico to provide services to individuals and their families experiencing overdose or other substance use crises. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $1,135,000 for Central New Mexico Community College's effort to expand innovative clean-energy and transmission technology training across New Mexico. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $1,135,000 for the City of Albuquerque's comprehensive behavioral health and substance use disorder center for individuals experiencing homelessness. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $1,000,000 for San Juan College to train students to earn their Class A, commercial driver's license. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $798,000 for the University of New Mexico to train individuals in data science and language acquisition research in rural and Tribal communities. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $762,000 for New Mexico State University for professional development and curriculum building surrounding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $750,000 for Gallup Community Health to provide comprehensive, community-based health care to McKinley County. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $516,000 for Amador Health's project to expand access to behavioral health services in Doña Ana County. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $512,000 for the University of New Mexico's District Partner Teacher Residency to support K-12 public education by preparing teacher residents with a comprehensive training approach. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $500,000 for the National Forest Foundation-New Mexico to create an acequia youth corps that creates an entry pathway for youth to begin careers in conservation. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $500,000 for the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 244 to provide behavioral health services to first responders. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $500,000 for the Hispano Roundtables' program to provide science, technology, engineering, arts & mathematics (STEAM) education to students across New Mexico. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $333,000 for Las Cumbres Community Services kinship care program, allowing grandparents to raise their grandchildren. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $307,000 for the San Juan County Partnership program to prevent youth substance use. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $250,000 for Explora to foster science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce exploration for middle and high school students. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $40,000 for Northern New Mexico College to train future health care professionals in the Española area. Secured by Senator Luján.

Programmatic Highlights:

• The Oral Health Literacy Act, to continue the oral health literacy strategy to reach underserved communities, was funded at $300,000.
• Project ECHO/Technology-Enabled Collaborative Learning, a telehealth education and health care model, was funded at $8.5 million.
• The Pregnant and Postpartum Women Treatment Program, to provide residential treatment services for pregnant and postpartum women with a substance use disorder, was funded at $38.9 million.
• Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, to compensate workers who suffer from occupational illnesses tied to their work at the Department of Energy, (EEOICP) was funded at $68 million.
• Head Start programming, a fundamental early childhood education program, was funded at $12.4 billion.
• Impact Aid programming, providing assistance to federally impacted schools, was funded at $1.6 billion.
• Native American Programs, including Native American Language Preservation, were funded at $60.5 million.
• Autism research from the Autism CARES Act will be funded through the $2.9 billion for the National Institutes of Mental Health.
• Strengthening Communities of Recovery Act and Building Communities of Recovery Act, expanding recovery support services, were funded at $2 million.
• Language encouraging the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to study Mobile Stroke Units was also included.

In the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, Senator Luján secured:

• $1,500,000 for Santa Teresa Port of Entry to complete the project design and environmental impact statement for the modernization and expansion of the port. Secured by Senator Lujáns and Heinrich.
• $1,000,000 for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center's Indian Pueblo Entrepreneur Complex. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $633,000 for the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area's Entrepreneurial Academy at Los Luceros and Española. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.
• $200,000 for the City of Albuquerque's Southern New Mexico Technical Assistance Program. Secured by Senator Luján.
• $167,000 for Vida Mejor Capital's Technical Assistance Navigation Services Center for Small Rural Business Project. Secured by Senators Luján and Heinrich.

Senator Luján secured programmatic funding and language for New Mexico-based universities and companies in the Defense appropriations bill:

• $20,000,000 for integrating real-time space domain awareness capabilities into the U.S. Space Force operations to track, monitor, and respond to threats, ensuring space security and operational superiority.
• $10,000,000 for autonomous rendezvous, proximity, operations, and docking (RPOD) technologies.
• $6,000,000 to modernize the U.S. satellite control network and provide resilient satellite communications and data transmission.
• $6,000,000 for developing a space manufacturing scale-up operation that improves resource sharing and coordination between innovative space companies.
• $5,000,000 for the Classified Ready Employee Workforce program at New Mexico State University (NMSU) to develop a pool of classified-ready professionals with the skills required to pursue successful careers in support of national security.
• $3,500,000 to advance solar cell production for defense applications and increase domestic capacity.
• $3,500,000 to design and produce additive-manufactured materials under extreme heat fluxes experienced in advanced propulsion systems and hypersonic weapons.
• $3,000,000 to accelerate the deployment of AI technologies for health monitoring of satellites.
• $2,000,000 for advancing a combined space plus ground-based sensor network for persistent monitoring of the Geosynchronous orbit.
• The bill fully funds the 3.8% across-the-board pay raise for servicemembers, as well as the junior enlisted pay raise. It also fully funds a 1% pay raise for civilians.

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