{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lujan-nm-delegation-secure-key-funding-to-rebuild-roads-outside-of-wipp-in-carlsbad/", "Luj\u00e1n, NM Delegation Secure Key Funding to Rebuild Roads Outside of WIPP in Carlsbad", "2026-09-29", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "NM", "Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n", "L000570", "www.lujan.senate.gov", "lujan", "https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list", "scraper", "$10 million in federal funding will help improve driver safety and nuclear waste containment\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) secured $10 million in federal funding to repair the US 285 Relief Route, a critical road for freight trucks transporting nuclear materials to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad.\n\n\u201cWIPP is critical to our national security, and it is vital that we have the infrastructure needed to support its operations and safely manage the disposal of nuclear waste,\u201d said Senator Luj\u00e1n. \u201cI\u2019m proud to have worked to bring this $10 million in federal funding home to rebuild the roads around WIPP that workers and the Carlsbad community rely on. I look forward to continuing my work to deliver for communities in every corner of New Mexico.\u201d\n\n\u201cWIPP serves a critical role for nuclear waste storage in our state and for our nation,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cThis funding is much needed to ensure the safety and improvement of transportation of volatile materials to the facility. We cannot accept any shortcuts or funding shortfalls with a mission this sensitive, and this important. I am proud to have secured this funding working with Senator Heinrich despite the ongoing challenges releasing these funds from the Department of Energy.\u201d\n\n\u201cLast appropriations cycle, I fought like hell to secure this funding \u2013 to get New Mexico more of the funding we deserve for our role in maintaining the nation\u2019s only deep geologic repository for radioactive defense waste. I am extremely proud to have succeeded in delivering this $10 million to help rebuild the roads to, from, and around WIPP and strengthen the infrastructure that workers and the Carlsbad community rely on every day,\u201d said Heinrich. \u201cBut our work isn\u2019t done. I\u2019ll keep fighting to increase the federal government\u2019s support of road and infrastructure improvements in New Mexico, including through my WIPP Economic Assistance Assurance Act.\u201d\n\nWIPP, located near Carlsbad, New Mexico, is the nation\u2019s only deep geologic repository for the disposal of transuranic waste generated by the United States\u2019 nuclear weapons program. Since opening in 1999, WIPP has played a critical role in supporting the national defense mission by managing legacy nuclear materials and supporting national security-related cleanup efforts across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-30T10:57:52Z", "2026-09-30T10:59:04Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lujan-nm-delegation-secure-key-funding-to-rebuild-roads-outside-of-wipp-in-carlsbad/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0779770091176033, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}