WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement on his meetings this week with Governor Doug Burgum and Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for U.S. Secretary of Interior and U.S. Secretary of Energy:

"This week, I had productive conversations with Governor Burgum and Mr. Wright to discuss potential areas for bipartisan cooperation in bringing energy costs down, safeguarding America's public lands, and slowing the effects of climate change.

"I appreciated meeting with Governor Burgum. We discussed our shared priorities and potential areas for bipartisan cooperation in celebrating our nation's public lands legacy and fulfilling our trust responsibility to Tribal Nations. I will continue to fight hard to keep public lands in public hands, push for water management policies that reflect the realities of long-term aridification in New Mexico and the West due to climate change, and combat any effort to rescind national monuments or sell off public lands to private interests.

"In my conversation with Mr. Wright, we discussed continued investment in the National Labs in New Mexico and across the country to bolster innovation and entrepreneurship and strengthen our economic and national security. We strongly agreed that DOE must help speed the expansion of interregional transmission infrastructure to meet our nation's skyrocketing demand for clean power. I also expressed my strong concerns about the Trump Administration's plan to claw back programs in order to undo our progress in building a cleaner, healthier and more affordable energy future, and the many jobs that go with it. Most importantly, Mr. Wright committed to upholding the law and implementing Congress' vision to usher in a new era of American energy dominance driven by next generation advanced energy technologies.

"Evaluating all presidential nominees is a responsibility I take very seriously. I will consider every nomination carefully as I carry out my constitutional duty and I look forward to hearing more from both of them during their confirmation hearings."

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