U.S. SENATE News:

ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) will tour Chispas Farm in Albuquerque’s South Valley Friday, and discuss investing in agriculture as a climate solution.

Heinrich will be joined by Casey Holland who runs Chispas Farm, a four-acre community-focused farm on occupied Tiwa land, as well as other farmers and stakeholders in the area.

Heinrich recently introduced the Agriculture Resilience Act, sweeping bicameral legislation that empowers farmers with the tools and resources needed to improve soil health, sequester carbon, reduce emissions, enhance their resilience, and tap into new market opportunities.

Last week, Sen. Heinrich, along with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), led 30 of their colleagues in a letter urging Senate and House leadership to support an historic, long-term investment in farmers, ranchers, and rural communities as a part of upcoming infrastructure and climate change legislation.

“President Biden’s American Jobs Plan seeks to position American agriculture ‘to lead the shift to net-zero emissions while providing new economic opportunities for farmers’. We agree that now is the moment to be ambitious on this front. Specifically, we request that this infrastructure and climate package include $200 billion over the next decade for new and existing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation, research, renewable energy, tree planting, and food systems initiatives, in addition to robust funding for rural development programs including investments in USDA rural water, broadband, business, and electric programs,” wrote the lawmakers.