Delegation tours national labs, base

Trip aims to show reps importance of labs to national security

Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are hoping a tour by some of their peers of the state’s national labs and a military base this week will pay dividends down the road when it comes to funding security and defense projects.

U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Luján, Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small — all Democrats — are visiting Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and White Sands Missile Range with Bill Foster, D-Ill., and Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. The tour includes a visit to Trinity Site, the site of the first atomic bomb test, on July 16, 1945. The tour wraps up today.

“This tour is really important when it comes to the vote on the National Defense Authorization Act,” Haaland told the Journal. “It’s important for them to see what we’re doing for national security and defense in New Mexico.”

Also participating is Department of Energy’s Undersecretary for Nuclear Security and National Nuclear Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty.

“I think the tour is going pretty well,” Haaland said after they visited Los Alamos. “We had briefings on what they were doing. We talked about community partnerships and partnerships with Native American communities. We talked about workforce needs. … There are many job openings we hope can be filled by New Mexicans.”

She said outreach programs to get students involved with STEM activities were also discussed.

“Los Alamos and Sandia labs contribute to our nation,” Luján said in a release. “Visits like this one will ensure that everyone in Congress better understands the vital role that our labs play through their scientific discovery and innovation.”

He and Foster, the leaders of the tour, are co-chairs of the National Labs Caucus in Congress.

Torres Small said she was anxious to showcase the workforce of the men and women at White Sands Missile Range, which is in the 2nd Congressional District she represents.

“The work of Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs advance technology that keeps our country’s competitive edge on both of those fronts,” she said. “None of which would be possible without the ability to test their latest designs (at White Sands).”