Joint Economic Committee

Ranking Member-Designate

Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

About Ranking Member-Designate Heinrich

Click here for Ranking Member-Designate Heinrich's personal office website.


U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich is a United States Senator for New Mexico. Elected in 2012, Heinrich serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources, Armed Services, Intelligence, and Joint Economic Committees. He is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on National Parks and a member of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. 
 
With a background in engineering, Heinrich brings a unique perspective on how to create the jobs of the future, and protect the vital missions at New Mexico’s national labs and military installations. He is a strong advocate for middle-class families, a longtime friend and staunch ally of Indian Country, and a champion for New Mexico’s treasured public lands and burgeoning clean energy economy.  
 
An avid sportsman, Heinrich is a lead proponent of preserving New Mexico’s public lands and wildlife. He worked with communities across the state to designate the Río Grande del Norte and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monuments. Heinrich also helped lead the effort to designate the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Area, establish the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Los Alamos, and transition the Valles Caldera National Preserve to National Park Service management in order to increase public access.  
 
In the Senate, Heinrich cosponsored legislation to raise the federal minimum wage, close the gender wage gap, reduce the burden of student loan debt, ensure all same-sex couples are treated equally under federal law, and prevent violence against women. Representing a border state with a remarkable spirit rooted in its diversity, Heinrich is a leading voice for fixing our nation’s broken immigration system, while increasing investments in smart border security.
 
On the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Heinrich introduced legislation to boost technology transfer and foster collaboration between New Mexico’s national laboratories, local businesses, and research institutions. As a member of this committee, he’s fought to combat the devastating effects of climate change and modernize our nation’s electrical grid. Heinrich played an integral role in securing an agreement between the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of the Interior on the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project.  
 
Heinrich is also a leader in protecting American constitutional liberties. He was an original cosponsor of the USA FREEDOM Act, a bill that was signed into law in June 2015 to end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans' phone and other records, and to ensure more accountability and transparency with respect to government surveillance activities. As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Heinrich strongly supported the release of the committee's report on the CIA's detention and interrogation program and supports a series of reforms to prevent the future use of torture.
 
Serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Heinrich remains deeply committed to ensuring our men and women in uniform have the resources and support they need to keep our nation safe and to fulfill the promises we've made to those who serve. New Mexico is home to several military installations – Kirtland Air Force Base, Holloman Air Force Base, Cannon Air Force Base, Fort Bliss, and White Sands Missile Range – and two major national laboratories – Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories – and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. New Mexico plays a pivotal role in our national security, and Heinrich is a strong advocate for our personnel and missions.
 
Heinrich is a member of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, Senate Climate Action Task Force, Senate Democratic Hispanic Task Force, National Service Congressional Caucus, and Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus.
 
Prior to being elected to the U.S. Senate, Heinrich served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 
As a House member, he voted to cut taxes for the middle class, worked to make college more affordable,
improved benefits for veterans, opposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and championed the
DREAM Act as an original cosponsor. Heinrich authored the HEARTH Act to remove barriers to homeownership for Native families and led the effort in Congress to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Heinrich also fought to secure language in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010 that prohibited the retirement of the 150th Fighter Wing from Kirtland Air Force Base, which helped preserve 1,000 jobs.
 
Before he was elected to Congress, Heinrich served four years as an Albuquerque City Councilor and was elected by his peers as City Council President. During his time on City Council, Heinrich championed successful efforts to raise the city minimum wage, crack down on crime, support small local businesses, make Albuquerque a leader in energy and water conservation, and fought for campaign finance reform. He also served as New Mexico’s Natural Resources Trustee, working to restore the state’s natural environment and the services these resources provide.
 
After completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Missouri, he and his wife, Julie, moved to Albuquerque where he began his career as a contractor at Phillips Laboratories, which is now Air Force Research Labs. Heinrich later served in AmeriCorps for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and was the Executive Director of the Cottonwood Gulch Foundation. He also led the Coalition for New Mexico Wilderness and founded a small public affairs consulting firm.
 
Heinrich’s strong, just, and principled leadership is driven by his working-class upbringing, his wife, Julie, his two young sons, and the great people of New Mexico.

Joint Economic Committee
Democratic

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