Rep. Vasquez Condemns Administration’s $135M Cuts to New Mexico Energy Modernization Projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On October 7, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) condemned the administration’s decision to cut $135 million in Department of Energy funding for projects in New Mexico, including $56 million in canceled investment for oil and gas modernization efforts in New Mexico’s second district. He was joined by 164 other House members. 

Nationally, over $7.5 billion in Department of Energy project funding was canceled across 16 Democratic-leaning states at the direction of the administration amidst shutdown negotiations. Rep. Vasquez sent a letter to Department of Energy Secretary Wright demanding that these funds be restored. This politically motivated, retaliatory action negatively impacts America’s energy independence and economy. 

“The administration just cut $56 million in funding for oil and gas modernization projects in my district,” said Vasquez. “New Mexicans want innovation and lower utility prices, not political retribution.”

The letter noted the negative impact of these cuts on the American economy and consumer, stating, “The projects that the Department of Energy (DOE) has unilaterally decided to cancel were driving down costs for all our constituents—regardless of their political affiliation. Household electric bills have already increased 10% nationally since January 2025 and are poised to spike even further.”

All four projects cut in Rep. Vasquez’s district were housed at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro. Working in partnership with the oil and gas industry, these projects focused on developing advanced carbon capture technologies and retrofitting aging rigs and processing facilities to reduce methane leaks in the field. New Mexico was already seeing the benefits of this kind of innovation, with oil and gas producers in the state making the cleanest barrel of oil in the nation thanks to groundbreaking research made possible by federal investments in New Mexico’s universities and scientific community.

“By cutting these projects, the administration has hamstrung our state’s ability to modernize oil and gas development in places like the Four Corners and the Permian Basins,” added Vasquez. 

These projects in NM-02 included:

• $42.7M: Four Corners Carbon Storage Hub: CarbonSAFE Phase III Project
• $1.4M: Engineering Highly-Scalable and Efficient Sorption Materials for Direct Air Capture
• $5.98M: Advanced Retrofit Technologies for Methane (ART-CH4) Emission Mitigation from Compressor Stations: Multiple Field Deployments and Demonstrations
• $5.9M: Methane Emission Mitigation by Field Deployment of Innovative Controlled Combustion Technology

Hear more from Rep. Vasquez on these funding cuts by listening to his recent segment on KRWG public radio here. 

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