U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:
ALBUQUERQUE — July 15, U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves and White House CHIPS Coordinator Ryan Harper, along with U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M) to highlight a $24 million investment direct from the CHIPS and Science Act to boost New Mexico’s manufacturing economy and create more than 100 new manufacturing jobs.
SolAero by Rocket Lab, an Albuquerque-based manufacturing company, is leading the globe in producing state-of-the-art, radiation-resistant compound semiconductors. In partnership with the Department of Commerce, this historic investment of $24 million will bolster Rocket Lab’s presence in New Mexico and meet the growing demand for solar cells. As home to two world-class National Labs, leading research universities, and a strong workforce, New Mexico is a hub for advanced manufacturing.
“I was proud to help shape this legislation to invest $17.6 billion for the Department of Energy, investing in our National Labs, in addition to fostering the next generation of science and tech leaders,” Luján said. “And it’s all made possible through the leadership of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation and the Biden-Harris administration. New Mexico is leading the nation in driving innovation and promoting tech advancement and there is nowhere better than New Mexico to do this important work and meet the challenges of the future.”
In addition to support through the Department of Commerce, the CHIPS and Science Act authorized $17.6 billion for DOE Science and Innovation, including $16.5 billion based on an amendment Senator Luján authored to strengthen DOE’s research and development efforts in 10 key technology focus areas, including clean energy and energy efficiency, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and quantum information sciences.
In 2021, Luján led a bipartisan group of his colleagues to ensure the U.S. Department of Energy in addition to the Department of Commerce remains central to our nation’s science and technology competitiveness strategy. Luján secured historic authorization of funds for research and development at the DOE National Laboratories and significant funding to restore and modernize National Lab infrastructure.
Next, Luján traveled to Santo Domingo Pueblo with Deputy Secretary Graves to highlight a $13 million Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Award through the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The Senator and the Deputy Secretary were given a tour and demonstration of the Pueblo’s technology center to see their traditional village and the unique challenges Tribes in New Mexico face when connecting their citizens to the internet.
Luján then joined Deputy Secretary Graves for a roundtable event hosted at Santa Fe Community College on developing the workforce training systems in New Mexico. In August 2022, the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, the Regional Development Corporation, and Santa Fe Community College were awarded a $6.4 million American Rescue Plan Good Jobs Challenge grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The grant of $6.4 million will be used to create the Northern New Mexico Workforce Integration Network (WIN), which will expand the region’s health care and skilled trades workforce through training, apprenticeships, higher education, and job placement.
“This $6.4 million investment from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan for the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, the Regional Development Corporation, and Santa Fe Community College is a huge honor and I know will be put to good use,” Luján said. “This crucial investment will help expand health care and skilled trades opportunities in our state, in addition to supporting training, apprenticeships, education, and job placements across New Mexico.”
Luján has a long history of building up the New Mexico workforce pipeline by introducing and passing legislation in the Senate to get New Mexicans back to work. Most recently as a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Luján strongly backed a Committee package that invested heavily in the health care workforce by investing more federal dollars in the National Health Service Corps, the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program, the Rural Residency Planning and Development program, and more.