Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – The United States Senate today approved a package of bill introduced by U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, which contains a Bingaman-authored measure that would transfer about 130 acres of surplus Department of Energy (DOE) land to the Lovelace Foundation.

The foundation runs Lovelace Institute, a former Cold War-era DOE nuclear site that specialized in researching the health effects of radiation.  Lovelace has expanded beyond its Cold War mission and now performs important testing research for the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.

“The Lovelace Foundation would put this land to good use this land that is no longer in use by the Department of Energy,” said Bingaman.

Lovelace will assume responsibility for monitoring and maintaining the land, which has been environmentally remediated.  The move will save taxpayers millions of dollars. 

The bill also gives the Air Force possession of the “Coronado Club,” a DOE facility that Kirtland plans to turn into a conference center.

The package must now be cleared by the House of Representatives before it can be signed into law.