Reps. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich, both Democrats, took to the floor of the House Wednesday to voice their opposition to the Republican spending bill. Both opposed cuts to the national labs that they say are key to the country’s defense.

Rep. Steve Pearce, the sole Republican in New Mexico’s congressional delegation, said he is proposing amendments for further cuts.

“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are focused on defunding the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery program instead of protecting critically important jobs at the National Nuclear Security Administration,” Heinrich said in his floor speech.

Heinrich said that last year Sandia National Laboratories, a major employer in his district, “hired a little over 700 people, 203 of these new hires graduated from a New Mexico university.”

“Arbitrary cuts to New Mexico’s national labs that are contained in this bill will hinder their ability to promote U.S. competitiveness and job creation,” Luján said in his speech. “We are ending our ability to win the race before we can even begin.”

Both Democratic second-term representatives also voiced concern over proposed cuts to the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

“Only a fraction of the annual receipts deposited in the LWCF account are appropriated, despite a surplus of over $17 billion,” Luján said.

Heinrich said the LWCF is “a proven economic multiplier that has yielded four dollars in economic activity around national parks for every dollar in federal investment.”