Nation

Corker Burn Pit Registry Passes Senate Unanimously

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Sen. Udall in June with MSgt. Jessey Baca and his wife Maria of Albuquerque who detailed Jessey’s ailments believed caused by exposure to open burn pits. Courtesy/Tom Udall’s Office
 
U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M. and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., announced today that their bipartisan legislation to create a registry of service members and veterans who were exposed to toxic chemicals and fumes from open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan has passed the Senate.
 
The Burn Pit Open Registry Act was included as part of an omnibus veterans
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Council Adopts 2013 Federal Agenda

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In its final meeting together because three members leave office Dec. 31, the Los Alamos County Council voted 7-0 to adopt the 2013 Los Alamos County Federal Agenda. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
 
Staff Report
 
Los Alamos County Council voted unanamously to adopt the 2013 (FY 2014) Los Alamos County Federal Agenda. The County has many important relationships with the federal government. It regulates a variety of aspects of County functions.
 
The County must continuously work to understand, comply with, and provide input to federal laws and regulations that impact
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NNSA Tops $290 Million in Small Business Contract Obligations in FY 2012

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NNSA News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In recognition of its commitment to working with small business partners, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today announced that it provided more than $290 million in small business obligations for federal prime contracts in fiscal year 2012.

Nearly 80 percent of new federal award actions went to small businesses. NNSA’s Management & Operating (M&O) contractors provided an additional $1.65 billion to small businesses in FY 2012, equal to 49 percent of all money subcontracted by the M&Os.

“Small businesses are the heart of the Read More

NNSA Highlights Achievements and Improvements in 2012

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Courtesy/NNSA

NNSA News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As 2012 draws to a close, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has compiled a list of some of its most important accomplishments and improvements over the past year.

Thomas P. D’Agostino

The NNSA, in conjunction with its Management & Operating contractor partners, reached significant milestones in its nonproliferation and counterterrorism portfolios, made a host of significant achievements through its work with the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile, and maintained a constant focus on continuous improvement. Read More

What’s in a Number?

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Courtesy/NIST

NIST News

By Ken Voytek: 12–12-12, the Mayan calendar, your lucky number, or your birth number. We obsess about data. Well, maybe only I do. Maybe I should take up numerology.

The most recent BLS reports compiling data on manufacturing provides an interesting picture. Uncertainty seems to the word of the day given the broader economic and policy environment.

If you read the headlines as my colleague Mark Schmit does, you come away with one picture. It appears that job growth in manufacturing has stalled according to BLS data and has leveled off since the spring of this year. Read More

Obama Delivers Statement on Mass Shooting

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President Obama delivers a statement regarding the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, 2012. Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson

WHITE HOUSE News:

President Barack Obama made the following statement Dec. 14, from the White House Briefing Room on the shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.:

We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news I react not as a President, but as anybody else would — as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there’s not a parent in America

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Senator Bingaman`s Farewell Speech

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U.S. SENATE News:

Retiring Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico delivered a speech Thursday Dec. 13, reflecting on his 30-year tenure in the U.S. Senate and thanking those who supported him throughout the years. He wanted to share that speech with his constituents:

 

In 1981, in his first inaugural address, President Reagan said, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

I came to the Senate two years later in 1983 with the firm belief that in most cases his statement was wrong.

I believed then and I believe now that the federal government

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Luján Urges Congressional Leaders to Support Labs During Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

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  • Lujan Will Co-Chair New National Lab Caucus to Highlight Importance of Labs to National Competitiveness

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District sent a letter to Congressional leaders today urging them to resolve the fiscal cliff in a manner that prevents damaging funding cuts to the national laboratories, including Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.

In the letter, Luján highlights the important role these labs have played in providing cutting-edge research and innovation for applications ranging from national security to the Mars rover and Read More

NMOHVA Files Lawsuit Against Santa Fe National Forest Travel Management Decision

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NMOHVA News:

The New Mexico Off Highway Vehicle Alliance (NMOHVA) filed a lawsuit against the Santa Fe National Forest Dec. 11 in Federal District Court.

The lawsuit contests the Forest’s Travel Management decision signed by Forest Supervisor Maria T. Garcia June 12 and upheld by the Region 3 Appeal Deciding Officer Oct. 2.  

Filing a lawsuit is a major commitment of NMOHVA’s time and money. The NMOHVA Board thought long and hard about this and then voted unanimously to go ahead with legal action.

“NMOHVA filed this lawsuit on the behalf of our members but it really Read More

Udall and Lujan Garner New Committees

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., will begin serving on the Senate Committee on Appropriations in the new year, his office reported Wednesday.
 
“A seat on the Appropriations Committee is very meaningful for New Mexico,” Udall said. “From the labs, to the military bases and our public lands, we have a large federal presence in our state. I have no illusions about the difficult economic times and budgetary constraints our nation is facing, and I am eager to do my best and defend New Mexico through the appropriations process.”
 
Udall was an appropriator in the House of Representatives from
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