WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and lead Democrat on the subcommittee overseeing funding for the Interior Department, environment and arts and culture programs, issued the following statement on the bipartisan agreement to fund the government through September 2017.
“At a time when Washington is more polarized than I've ever seen it, I'm pleased that we were able to reach this agreement for New Mexicans and the American people. This agreement keeps the government open and supports New Mexico families and communities without diverting one cent for President Trump's plans to build an ineffective and offensive border wall, cut off funding for sanctuary cities, and mount a deportation force," Udall said. "We also worked very hard to fight President Trump's devastating proposal to slash critically important federal funding for New Mexico, and we rejected over 160 poison-pill provisions from the bill — including many anti-environment riders — while maintaining investments in families and our economy.
"This bill includes provisions that will directly benefit New Mexicans, including an additional $407 million in emergency funding to protect Western communities from the most devastating wildfires, $160 million to combat the prescription opioid addiction epidemic nationwide, and some of the strongest funding in years for the Land and Water Conservation Fund — including $2 million for acquisitions in Rio Grande del Norte and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks national monuments. We will continue funding water quality monitoring and provide additional resources to help the Navajo Nation and Northwestern New Mexico communities recover from the Gold King Mine spill. And this bill includes a $9 million increase in funding for Los Alamos cleanup, and additional resources for Tribal health care and education, Pell Grants, Head Start, medical and energy research, national parks maintenance, and other repairs and improvements to water and sewer infrastructure, roads and bridges. All of these critical programs support jobs in New Mexico, help the next generation prepare for and afford college so they can go on to high-paying careers, and provide critically important grants that assist local communities in keeping their communities safe and healthy.
"Finally, despite President Trump's plan to eliminate funding for the national academies for the arts and humanities, we successfully increased funding for these critical arts and culture programs, which help support hundreds of jobs across New Mexico. I'm very proud to have secured a $1.9 million increase for both the NEA and the NEH so these programs can continue to support arts education, and local artists, musicians, culture and tourism in New Mexico."
Udall's statement on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations can be found here .
Below are details about some New Mexico-specific programs and funding of interest in New Mexico:
MILITARY BASES AND NATIONAL LABS
NNSA — Overall, the National Nuclear Security Agency is funded at $12.938 billion, a $412 million increase over fiscal year 2016.
WIPP and Los Alamos Cleanup — The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is funded at $324 million, which includes $4.86 million for security and $26.8 million for the settlement with the state of New Mexico over the 2014’s radiological incident. Los Alamos cleanup is funded at $194 million, a $9 million increase.
Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories — Facilities operations at both labs remain stable. LANL will receive $196 million for operations, and Sandia will receive $118 million. Operations funding is only a fraction of NNSA funding for the labs, and most of the funding will be determined through site splits for the various weapons activities and work for others done at the labs.
NNSA Weapons Activities — The bill funds the overall weapons program at $9.318 billion, a nearly $400 million increase.
NNSA Nonproliferation Activities — The bill funds nonproliferation activities at $1.902 billion.
Military Pay Raise — The bill fully funds a 2.1 percent pay raise for military and civilian employees.
New Mexico-Specific Defense Programs
Udall fought to increase funding for numerous Air Force Research Laboratory programs carried out at Kirtland Air Force Base and elsewhere in New Mexico, including:
-Air Force Technology Transfer — The bill includes $8.368 million for defense-related technology transfer and continues Udall's work to increase technology transfer from defense labs, including the Air Force Research Laboratory, which has a location at Kirtland Air Force Base.
-Operationally Responsive Space — The bill includes $18.421 million to support the ORS mission at KAFB AFRL. This is a significant increase and important for continued work on micro satellites.
-Space Test Program — The bill includes $42.070 million to support research and development activities related to space at KAFB AFRL. STP is responsible for all Defense Department space test missions and is charged with lowering developmental risk for space programs. ORS and STP have been working together to increase the fielding of smaller modular micro satellites and lower technological risk on future space missions.
-Active Primary Mirrors for Directed Energy Weapon Systems — The bill includes $42.3 million to support the Directed Energy High Energy Laser Research program at KAFB AFRL. This funding will support investments in programs, such as the high-power deformable mirrors used for increasing the efficiency and reach of directed energy weapons.
-Advanced Spacecraft Technology — The bill includes over $71 million for continued work on multiple AFRL programs including ground based surveillance of spacecraft and laser communications with space assets.
INTERIOR AND ENVIRONMENT
Gold King Mine Cleanup — The bill provides $4 million for a long-term water quality monitoring program, and directs the EPA to continue to work in consultation with affected states and Tribes on that effort. Additionally, a recent legal decision has left many stakeholders concerned that they will not be compensated for property damage, business losses, and other negative financial impacts. The bill directs the EPA to explore all legal and financial recourses that could compensate individuals for such damages and, if available, ensure that recourses will be extended to individuals located in all areas impacted by the spill in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and the Navajo Nation. The agency is required to report to the committees within 60 days of enactment on the details and timeline for such efforts, including plans for stakeholder engagement in all areas affected by the spill.
Emergency Firefighting — The bill provides $4.2 billion for wildland fire management activities at the Forest Service and Interior Department. This includes $2.05 billion for wildfire suppression for the agencies to respond to forest fires, which with carryover balances fully funds estimated firefighting needs. A total of $407 million is provided on an emergency basis in order to prevent the agencies from resorting to borrowing from non-fire accounts and having to put ongoing restoration, construction, and acquisition projects in jeopardy of permanently losing funding and momentum. The bill also provides an increase to hazardous fuels reduction programs, including $390 million for the Forest Service and $180 million for the Interior Department, which is a total of $25 million above the enacted level.
Payments in Lieu of Taxes — The agreement fully funds $465 million for payments to counties through the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program. The amount provided supports the Department of the Interior’s updated estimates to fully fund payments in fiscal year 2017.
Land and Water Conservation Fund — The bill provides $400 million to the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service for the four land management agencies to acquire and conserve lands and provide assistance to state and non-federal partners. This includes $5.48 million in New Mexico acquisitions, including $1.25 million for Rio Grande del Norte and $750,000 for Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, and $3.48 million for Brazos Cliff through the Forest Legacy program.
Key Funding for National Parks — The bill provides a 3 percent increase for national parks, including $56 million in new funding to address the Service’s estimated $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog.
National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities — The conference agreement provides $149.8 million each for the NEA and NEH to support arts and humanities programs, an increase of $1.9 million each above the enacted level.
Institute of American Indian Arts — $3.5 million increase to provide forward funding for IAIA.
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge — $3.063 million to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to complete the visitors center.
Old Santa Fe Trail Building — $4.77 million for the National Park Service to fund critically needed renovations of the historic structure.
Manhattan Project National Historical Park — $691,000 to expand park operations, an increase of $350,000 above last year.
TRIBAL PROGRAMS
Tribal Health and Education Priorities — The agreement provides important increases for the Indian Health Service (+5%) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (+2%) to meet the nation’s trust responsibility for serving American Indian and Alaska Native health and education needs. Contract support costs are fully funded, and the agreement provides a $22 million boost for construction and maintenance for Tribal health facilities. The bill continues to support important funding for construction and maintenance of Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools. The bill also provides $2 million to increase capacity at BIE and Tribal schools for development and implementation of Native American language immersion programs.
BORDER SECURITY
No Border Wall — The bill specifically rejects new construction of a border wall and a deportation force, but includes $1.5 billion for technology improvements and to repair existing border fencing and add new technology, such as drones and sensors.
Sanctuary Cities — No restrictions on federal funding for so called “sanctuary cities.”
HEALTH AND EDUCATION
National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The bill provides an important $2 billion increase for NIH, totaling in $34.1 billion. This includes $352 million from the 21st Century Cures Act. In fiscal year 2016, New Mexico received $99.7 million in NIH funding, supporting an estimated 1,531 jobs in our state.
Heroin and Opioid Addiction Treatment and Prevention — The bill provides $160.5 million to help states and local communities in the fight against heroin and illegal use of opioids, a $35.5 million increase over fiscal year 2016 level. Funding includes $10 million in grant funding for statewide anti-heroin task forces as part of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program.
Pell Grants — The bill maintains $22.5 billion in discretionary spending for Pell Grants in fiscal year 2017 and authorizes year-round or summer Pell grants, benefiting roughly 1 million students nationwide, and many in New Mexico. Importantly, the bill maintains Pell reserve funding, which the president had proposed for elimination.
Federal TRIO programs — The bill provides an additional $50 million over enacted levels totaling $950 million. TRIO serves low-income, first-generation students across the nation in earning a college degree. There are over 30 programs in NM successfully serving students.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Addressing Violence Against Women — The bill contains $481.5 million for grants provided by the Office on Violence Against Women, the highest funding level ever.
