Ben Ray Luján has represented New Mexico in the United States Senate since January 2021. He previously served as U.S. Representative for New Mexico’s Third Congressional District and House Assistant Speaker in the 116th Congress.
Senator Luján sits on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; the Committee on Indian Affairs; and the Committee on the Budget.
Senator Luján grew up in Nambé, a small farming community north of Santa Fe, bordered by the Nambé and Pojoaque Pueblos. It was there that he learned New Mexico values, including hard work, dedication, and perseverance, from his family and community.
Growing up on a small farm in Nambé, New Mexico, Ben understands that our farmers, dairy producers, and ranchers are the backbone of our state’s economy and have a long, storied history dating back hundreds of years.
Ben has always stood up and fought for New Mexico’s agricultural producers by serving on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry Committee and has introduced several bills during his time in Congress to safeguard their livelihoods.
Civil liberties are the bedrock of a fair and just society. From fighting for LGBTQ+ rights to closing the gender wage gap, to protecting the sacred right to vote, to reforming our broken immigration system, to standing up for victims of sexual assault, Ben is an advocate for all.
Ben has been longtime champion of climate action and environmental justice. He most recently had bipartisan legislation signed into law to plug all documented abandoned and orphaned oil and gas wells, a major source of methane emissions. As a member of the House, Ben developed bold, comprehensive legislation to put the United States power sector on a path to net-zero carbon emissions to combat the climate crisis and grow the economy. This visionary plan earned praise from climate experts, environmental advocates, and labor groups. Prior to his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Ben served as the Chairman of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
Ben sees schools as centers of the community that provide wraparound services, including mental and behavioral health services, to improve student, educator and family well-being. He understands the importance of strengthening federal investments in New Mexico’s early education, K-12, and higher education institutions.
As Head Start program participant himself, Ben has made expanding early childhood education a top priority so that every child has access to quality and affordable learning.
Ben also believes Congress needs to invest in our public schools and provide well-rounded education to English Learners, students with disabilities, Hispanic, Native American and other students. Educators and school leaders are critical to achieving these goals, and he is working to ensure a diverse, well-paid, and well-resourced teacher workforce is there to get the job done.
Ben is fighting for increased and equitable funding to support institutions of higher education to better serve their goals of educating the next generation of leaders. He also understands that college affordability and student loan debt is a major concern for new students and graduates alike and is working to provide relief to student borrowers.
Ben believes that access to quality and affordable health care is a human right. Throughout his career in public service, he has been a fierce advocate for expanding health care accessibility, especially to those who have been historically underserved. Ben believes that no family should have to forgo care because the cost of care or where they live. He is committed to fighting for a health care system the works for everyone.
In New Mexico and across America, immigrants enrich the fabric of our communities. They serve in our military, work in our hospitals, care for our children, and help harvest our world famous chile. However, our immigration system is broken and Ben believes our families, businesses, and economy suffer because our current system cannot effectively address the challenges that confront it on a daily basis. Ben wants to ensure fair treatment of all, regardless of immigration status and will continue to work with his colleagues to create an immigration system that supports that mindset. Ben has advocated for protections for DACA recipients, TPS holders, farm workers, essential workers, asylees, and refugees.
New Mexico’s 23 Tribes and Pueblos have a long and storied history that runs deep in the state. Ben will continue to advocate for education, water access, housing, infrastructure, public safety, and cultural preservation.
With respect and admiration for all of communities and tribes that have lived on New Mexican soil for hundreds of years, Ben has and always will defend and protect tribal sovereignty.
As member of the Commerce Committee, Ben has acted to hold online tech platforms and corporations accountable. Ben is working to enhance protections for everyday Americans’ privacy and personal data. Tech companies have become engrained in everyone’s day to day life, and Ben believes that these corporations shouldn’t profit from creating harmful online environments for their customers.
Since being sworn-in, Ben has made great strides forward in expanding access to broadband in New Mexico and across the country. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill included several key amendments that will provide affordable broadband for over 700,000 New Mexicans, and construct essential broadband infrastructure in rural and Tribal areas in the state. He has long fought for funding to connect more of our students to the internet, helping better prepare them for the future. A strong champion for 100% broadband connectivity, Ben was named chair of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband. This Congress, he has introduced legislation to help close the homework gap by equipping school buses with Wi-Fi technology and improve financing options for broadband deployment. While there is still a lot of work to be done, Ben will continue to advocate for expanding broadband until everyone in New Mexico and across the nation has access to affordable, resilient, and secure broadband.
Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories are critical to New Mexico’s innovation economy and national gems of scientific discovery and technical capability—from combatting climate change, to discovering the origins of our universe, to supporting our national security needs. As COVID-19 continues to disrupt to the supply chain, our National Labs are harnessing their assets to address the bottleneck. Supporting the workforce employed by the labs and funding for their work is crucial and a top priority for Ben. In order to continue to further innovation across every industry, our labs need modern, up-to-date infrastructure and ample resources.
Ben knows the importance of being able to travel safely. Fixing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure and improving road safety is a top priority of Ben’s. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and many other pieces of legislation, Ben has secured millions of dollars to upgrade New Mexico’s roads, bridges, airports, public transportation systems, waterways, and more.
Serving the nation’s veterans and their families is a sacred responsibility and one Ben does not take lightly. He is committed to working with the Department of Veterans Affairs, state and local offices handling veterans care, and Veteran Service Organizations to ensure our veterans have access to quality and timely health care, more opportunities for employment and education, and are given the respect and gratitude they deserve when accessing government programs.