Issue Position: Bases and Labs

Issue Position

The groundbreaking work completed at New Mexico's National Labs and military bases is vital to our nation's security and scientific advancements. I've been proud to serve as the co-chair of the Congressional National Labs Caucus, the Clean Up Caucus, and the Tech Transfer Caucus to showcase the importance of New Mexico's National Labs to my fellow members of Congress.

The National Labs are strong partners in our communities -- and I've championed increased cooperation between our neighbors and the labs to benefit our economy and local businesses. In Congress, I've worked to expand opportunities for New Mexico small businesses to partner with the labs and advocated for Los Alamos National Labs to contract with locally-owned businesses.

As the current National Labs workforce reaches retirement age, thousands of jobs will begin to open up. To help New Mexicans fill these jobs, I introduced the DOE National Laboratory Jobs ACCESS Act to expand training programs for young people to gain the technical skills needed to build a career in science, innovation, and research.

I've also worked to ensure that New Mexico's bases and labs live up to their obligations as responsible community neighbors. I introduced legislation to require the Air Force to clean up PFAS contamination at Holloman and Cannon Air Force Bases and help those whose livelihoods are affected by that contamination.

My Record On Bases And Labs

New Mexico's National Labs are on the cutting-edge of innovation that will have significant impacts on science, medicine, and technologies -- research that should be shared with the world. I introduced theIMPACT for Energy Act to encourage the commercialization of technologies developed at our National Labs to help spur new advancements in these critical fields.
Secured robust funding for environmental cleanup at Los Alamos National Labs.
I've written and championed the DOE National Labs Jobs ACCESS Act to expand training programs for technician positions at National Labs, including Los Alamos National Labs and Sandia National Labs.
The Department of Defense must work as good neighbors to our New Mexicans. Along with my congressional colleagues, I've demanded the DOD allocate funds to clean up PFAS contamination around New Mexico's Air Force Bases.

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