Debra Haaland

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I am honored to have a fierce woman from my district to deliver a historic opening prayer. Isleta Pueblo Chief Judge Verna Teller is the first Native American to deliver the opening prayer in the U.S. House. This is a special time in our country's history and, in honor of Native American Heritage Month, a time to reflect on the contributions of Native Americans to this country. Chief Judge Teller made her own history in New Mexico. She broke barriers when she was elected as the first woman Pueblo Governor. Because of the history of colonization, many Pueblos generally don't allow women to hold leadership positions, but that didn't stop Judge Teller from knowing her value as a Tribal leader. I am proud to stand with Chief Judge Teller to highlight the resilience of indigenous women and our perseverance to uplift our girls and our women in all of our communities.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2181.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, Du hino-meh. Idza dyu-qe-dza. Svwimi Hanu. My name is Debra Haaland. I am from the Turquoise Clan and an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo. I wish to acknowledge that we are on Indian land, and I humbly ask to speak on this important bill. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2181, the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act. First, Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleagues, Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Lujan, Senator Tom Udall, and Senator Martin Heinrich for their years of hard work on this important legislation. This proposal, sponsored by my good friend and fellow New Mexico Representative, Mr. Lujan, would protect the cultural resources at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, as well as New Mexico's clean air, from the impact of oil and gas extraction. This bill would withdraw land in a 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park to protect that site and the region's undiscovered resources from the impacts of further oil and gas extraction. Chaco Canyon and the greater Chaco region have been home to my people for centuries. As a 35th generation New Mexican and a descendant of the indigenous inhabitants of what is now the Southwest United States, I can say that there are few places more exceptional than the Chaco region. Over hundreds of years, my ancestors engineered and constructed massive multistory structures at Chaco Canyon that became the ceremonial, administrative, and economic center of the region. It is a certified International Dark Sky Park, where visitors can gaze at the same dark sky with myriad stars that my ancestors did over 1,000 years ago. These sites and the objects they contain tell the history of my people and connect us to our past. The Indian Pueblos and the Navajo Nation still have intimate connections with the greater Chaco region, recognizing the area as a spiritual place to be honored and respected. This Congress, the Natural Resources Committee has heard from the leaders of four Pueblo nations, the All Pueblo Council of Governors, elected leaders of the Navajo Nation, the National Congress of American Indians, senior officials in Tribal and Pueblo governments, and a plethora of Americans, all of whom support H.R. 2181. The entire New Mexico Congressional Delegation and the Governor of our State support H.R. 2181. This bill enjoys broad support on the ground and bipartisan support here in this Chamber because protecting indigenous cultural resources, protecting Chaco Canyon, should not be a partisan issue. This proposal is about respecting our history and protecting our culture. We owe it to Tribal communities, to the people of New Mexico, and to people the world over to permanently protect the Chaco region. Earlier this year, I traveled to the Chaco Culture National Historical Park with several of my colleagues. While in New Mexico, we had the opportunity to use infrared cameras to watch plumes of methane and pollution spewing from oil and gas operations, creating a toxic cloud the size of Delaware that hangs over the skies of northwestern New Mexico. Ninety percent of the Federal lands in this region are already open to oil and gas extraction, and New Mexicans are all too familiar with the toxic impacts it has on clean air, clean water, their health, and the health of their children. When you are out there watching the methane plumes and experiencing the dust, the noise, the light pollution and their impacts, it is easy to see why oil and gas extraction does not belong next to a sacred ancestral site of the Pueblo people. If you don't believe me, you can ask Interior Secretary Bernhardt. When he visited Chaco Canyon earlier this year with Senator Martin Heinrich, he definitely was struck by the significance of the park because he committed to a 1-year moratorium on drilling around Chaco Canyon to allow Congress to act on proposals like the one before us today. I thank the Secretary for his efforts, but 1 year is not enough protection for a site that holds centuries of history and culture. That is why I ask you all to support Chaco Canyon today, to support the Pueblo people, the Navajo Nation, and the people of New Mexico by voting in favor of H.R. 2181. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan).

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego).

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan).

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chair, I yield the gentleman from New Mexico an additional 30 seconds.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko).

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva).

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette).

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, H.R. 2181 is a broadly supported proposal to protect the cultural resources of Chaco Canyon. This bill has the support of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, the Navajo Nation, the entire New Mexico delegation, and the New Mexico Governor, not to mention any number of elected officials across our beautiful State. This proposal has been worked on for a very long time. Over many hours, weeks, and years, many voices have been heard. If we are serious about lifting up Tribal voices and responding to the priorities of Native American communities, we need to listen to the Tribal leaders who are asking us to protect Chaco Canyon. The people of New Mexico know the impacts oil and gas development can have on clean air, clean water, and the health of our children. Mr. Chair, 90 percent of the San Juan Basin is already available for oil and gas leasing. We can protect this sacred land because gas and oil doesn't need to take up every single inch of our State. This proposal is about protecting a small sacred area for Tribal communities that have a connection to this special place and still use this area for ceremonies to pray and to worship. There may be dissenting voices, as there always are when we make changes to land management policy, but we must listen to the elected leaders who represent these places. Quite frankly, the majority of New Mexicans support this legislation on this issue. The delegation, the Governor, and the elected Tribal leaders have spoken in a unified voice and asked us to protect Chaco Canyon. I thank Representative Lujan for his hard work. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 2181, and I invite anyone to come to New Mexico and visit this beautiful place and know for certain why it is that we are fighting so hard to protect it. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chair, I strongly oppose this amendment because it would allow Secretary Bernhardt to kill this bill, preventing protections for the important cultural sites at Chaco Canyon. In response to this amendment, I would point you to the text of H.R. 2181. The bill text states: ``Nothing in this act affects the mineral rights of an Indian Tribe or member of an Indian Tribe or trust land or allotment land.'' It could not be any clearer than that; yet we have had this debate in hearings, in markups, and even moments ago during debate and in amendments. I understand and appreciate the concerns of the Navajo allottees, and I appreciated when Ms. Hesuse came before our committee to share her concerns with us. It is important that we take these perspectives into consideration, which is why I appreciate Representative Lujan's effort to make explicitly clear that this bill will have no impact on the rights of allotted owners. But, at the same time, we need to listen to the voices of Native communities and their elected leaders, who are calling on us to protect Chaco Canyon. We have heard it already today, but this bill receives the complete support of the Navajo Nation and the All Pueblo Council of Governors, which represents 19 pueblos in New Mexico and 1 in Texas. These Tribal leaders want to see the Chaco landscape protected from oil and gas drilling. They don't want to see cultural sites damaged by pump jacks or to have the pollution of extraction intrude on these sacred sites. The restrictions in this proposal are not new. They have been informally in place for years under the Obama administration without any clear impact on any allottees. We need to act now to formalize these protections because the Trump administration and their energy dominance agenda threaten these important resources. Lease sales have been offered around Chaco Canyon three times since March of 2018. We must listen to the voices of Tribal communities and protect Chaco Canyon. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chair, we have heard this argument. We have hashed and rehashed it over and over again. Not only that, but my colleague, Mr. Lujan, said it very plainly: The allottees will not be hampered by H.R. 2181. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I strongly oppose this amendment because it would negate the withdrawal. It would prevent us from protecting Chaco Canyon. The gentleman's amendment would allow for new drilling to occur on lands within the withdrawal area, so long as certain standards are met. Essentially, this amendment would protect the status quo, a status quo opposed by the All Pueblo Council of Governors, the Navajo Nation, the entire New Mexico delegation, the governor, and even the administration. When Secretary Bernhardt visited Chaco last spring, he agreed to a 1- year moratorium because he knew that new drilling posed a threat to these sacred resources. Now this amendment seeks to overturn those temporary protections offered by the Trump administration and to prevent permanent protections from being enacted. That cannot stand. Furthermore, this amendment contains numerous drafting edits that would make it impossible to enact. It names the park site incorrectly. It refers to undefined terms. And its unclear wording would essentially allow anyone to drill in the withdrawal area. This is clearly not a good faith amendment, and it is clearly not an amendment intended to improve this proposal. It is simply an attempt to open these sacred lands with resources that extend beyond the park to extraction, because some of our colleagues cannot be satisfied until every acre of land in this country has an oil rig or an open pit mine. Ninety percent of this region is already open to leasing. Oil and gas are not under attack in New Mexico. This bill simply attempts to protect an area important to the Tribal communities who have connections to this land that go back thousands of years before this country even existed. We have to believe, as a House, that some places have value beyond what can be drilled from a hole in the ground. And believe it or not, some things in this world are more important than money. Is there nothing that matters more than industry profits? These are sacred lands, lands that connect us to the past and lands that native communities are asking us to protect. The bones of my ancestors are buried there in its hallowed ground. We need to listen to the voices of the people whose land it belongs to and who have had it since time immemorial. We need to lift up those voices and we need to protect Chaco Canyon. I encourage my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan).

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. This legislation, H.R. 2181, is absolutely necessary to protect the land of my ancestors and the land of New Mexico. We oppose this amendment. I encourage my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to this motion to recommit.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, this amendment is just another attempt to distract from the importance of this proposal, which is listening to Tribal voices by protecting the sacred sites of Chaco Canyon from oil and gas extraction. The bill would not impact New Mexico revenue streams in the slightest. The State has already withdrawn State lands in Chaco and opted to protect our indigenous lands, because they also recognize the value of our outdoor economy which requires a clean environment. The bill would not impact the New Mexico revenue streams in the slightest. This country is the largest producer of oil and gas in the world. We produce over 12 million barrels of crude oil a day, sending 3 million of those to other countries. Lack of access to oil and gas is not an issue in New Mexico, and this bill will in no way hinder the tremendous amount of energy extraction in the State. Between 2010 and 2018, oil production in New Mexico increased by nearly 400 percent, and the State is now the third largest producer in the Nation after Texas and North Dakota. In the San Juan Basin where Chaco Canyon is located, 90 percent of public land is already open to development. Must every inch of land be swallowed by oil and gas-sucking machinery? Thousands of sacred ancestral sites to the Pueblo people are sites where Indians are under threat unless we act. Tribes across New Mexico and this country have asked this body to protect Chaco Canyon. We shouldn't put the sacred sites of Chaco Canyon and our environment at risk on the impossible theory that we can become energy dominant or that we need to open every single acre to oil and gas development regardless of how special that land is. If we really want to lead in energy, we should take a larger role in renewable energy and low-carbon energy sources, and New Mexico can lead the way with our 300 days of sun per year and our abundance of wind. Unfortunately, the Trump administration prioritizes fossil fuels and believes the future lies in coal, oil, and gas. But the President is wrong, and Republicans are wrong. The world's power sources are changing, and no one stands to benefit more from U.S. leadership during this transition than American consumers. The only question that remains is whether this body will help lead our Nation in implementing a modern, clean energy agenda or whether we will remain stuck in the past, holding on to the 1950s like there is no future to believe in. Now is not the time to open our protected public lands up to unnecessary oil and gas extraction. Now is the time to protect these important places and to lift up the voices of communities on the ground. Some things are more important than money, and my ancestral homeland most definitely is. I urge my colleagues to oppose this motion to recommit and support this bill that would protect the sacred lands in New Mexico and that is Chaco Canyon. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the Pueblo of Laguna for hosting annual Village Feast Days. I speak in honor of the Pueblo of Laguna, our tribal members and traditions. With Laguna Village's Saint Joseph Feast Day, celebrated on the 19th day of March and September. With Seam Village's Feast Day celebrated on July 26th. With Mesita Village's Feast Day celebrated on August 15th. With Encinal Village's Feast Day celebrated on September 8th. With Paguate Village's Feast Day celebrated on September 25th. With Paraje Village's Feast Day celebrated on October 17th. Laguna Pueblo has six distinct villages, and they each celebrate respective feast days; expect for the September Saint Joseph's Feast day where all villages celebrate together. Pueblo Feast Days commemorate the Catholic Saints that were given to each New Mexico pueblo when the Franciscan Priests descended upon the Pueblos beginning in the late 1500s. The Pueblo of Laguna feast is among the largest of Pueblo feast days in the Southwestern United States where thousands of people travel across New Mexico and the United States to attend. The Pueblo is located approximately forty miles west of Albuquerque. The ancestors of the Pueblo of Laguna have occupied the region since at least 1300 A.D. When the Pueblo Indians migrated to the Rio Grande Valley from places such as Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde and Bears Eats. Laguna is Spanish for ``lago'' or ``lake'' which is in reference to a small lake that was once located within the Pueblo. The Keres language is the Indigenous language that members of Laguna speak. The Pueblo of Laguna feast days are times for members of the Pueblo of Laguna to celebrate our culture, heritage, art and traditions by members gathering on the pueblo village plaza for traditions by members gathering on the pueblo village plaza for traditional dances and opening our homes to visitors to share in traditional food. Feast days are open to the public, where visitors are given the opportunity to understand the Laguna peoples' traditions by observing ceremonial dances, cultural activities and purchasing arts and crafts. The importance of understanding all native cultures cannot be understated. Diverse cultural understanding is in furtherance of a better-informed people and nation. Knowledge of Native American culture tears down racial and cultural barriers and promotes an inclusive society. An inclusive society is necessary to national progress and the prosperity of the people of the United States. Inclusion allows people to come together in support of each other, promoting the well being of all people regardless of cultural and racial background. Madam Speaker, today I request to honor the Pueblo of Laguna for hosting their annual Feast Days which are essential to the future of our community and the overall strength and resilience of all Native American people. I thank and honor the Pueblo of Laguna for their hard work and dedication to protecting their culture and traditions, which will stand for generations to come.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, on October 15th, I missed Roll Call votes 556 and 557. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Aye'' on Roll Call 556 on the bill H.R. 2385, legislation to create a grant program to support the Veterans Legacy Program and ensure that our veterans are not forgotten. I also would have voted ``Aye'' on Roll Call 557 on H.R. 95, the Homeless Veteran Families Act. As a cosponsor of the bill and the daughter of two military veterans, I strongly believe that we owe it to those who served our country to ensure that they and their families have a safe place to live.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chair, as a 35th-generation American, I rise in support of H.R. 1146. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was set aside to protect its unique wildlife, wilderness, and resources. It sustains the Gwich'in Tribe and has for centuries. It is why they call it ``the sacred place where life begins.'' Oil and gas drilling puts at risk the Porcupine caribou herd, which has sustained tribes for centuries and centuries. It also threatens wolves, polar bears, and migratory birds that live in the refuge. It will release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the effects of global warming, which have affected Alaska far more than any State in this country. Republicans slipped this drilling provision into their tax cut bill last Congress. I might add that no tribes had an opportunity to voice their opinions on any of that. Now, this administration is rushing ahead without adequate environmental review or Tribal consultation. Americans want a smart approach to sustainable energy development, not a careless rush to sell off one of our most iconic and sacred places for shortsighted, destructive fossil fuel production. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to stand with the Gwich'in, speak up for the animals that live in the refuge, and support this important legislation.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment. As a 35th-generation American, it is well known that I am deeply committed to ensuring proper consultation with Indian Tribes about Federal policies and laws that impact them. But this amendment isn't really about Tribal consultation. If it were, Republicans would have insisted on this provision before the Arctic Refuge was added to the tax bill and opened up for drilling. And they would also be insisting on consultation with all Tribes, including the Gwich'in people, who get sustenance from the Porcupine caribou herd that will be directly impacted by drilling on the coastal plain. Just because certain Alaska Natives don't ``live there'' doesn't mean they don't have ancestral ties to the land. And, in fact, this land is imperative to their present and future existence. The real purpose of this amendment is to delay protecting the refuge until this administration is able to give it away to oil and gas companies, when it will be too late. If we stop the leasing process first, I would fully support a thorough consultation with the Inupiat and Gwich'in people and would look for ways to improve the quality of life of the people of Kaktovik without drilling the Arctic Refuge. We can't drill first and ask questions later, because there is no going back. Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.