Bill To Create White Sands National Park Heads To Trump For Signature

By KRWG

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) voted for the final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.  Here is a statement from Senator Heinrich’s office:

Heinrich, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Ranking Member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, authored a number of provisions in the bill to strengthen New Mexico’s military installations, national laboratories, economic development, and leadership in the future of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, directed energy, and space. The NDAA also included language Heinrich authored to designate White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico and complete a land exchange between the Army and the National Park Service.

“This bill makes major investments to ensure our Armed Forces are equipped with the most modern technology so we can stay ahead of our adversaries” said Heinrich. “New Mexico is the Center of Excellence for small satellites and for directed energy weapons, and this bill increases funding and streamlines authorities to bolster those missions. I am proud to have authorized funding for military construction projects that will modernize infrastructure at Holloman Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range, and Kirtland Air Force Base. This bill also makes major reforms to fix the military housing crisis and takes meaningful action on contamination at dairies outside Cannon Air Force Base. These provisions, among many others, help New Mexico families, benefit our economy, and further New Mexico’s strong position as a leader in national security for years to come.”

As the co-founder of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, Heinrich added, “I am also proud to have incorporated language from the Armed Forces Digital Advantage Act to modernize defense workforces with digital engineers, specialized in computer science, and to have increased funding for the future of Artificial Intelligence.”

The NDAA sets the Department of Defense spending levels and policies for the upcoming fiscal year and authorizes funding for the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons programs at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, as well as the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup programs including the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The Senate will soon vote on a number of appropriations bills that set the funding levels for agencies.