Debra Haaland

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to deliver my final remarks on the floor of the people's House. I am humbled to have spent the last 2 years in this Chamber, where I proudly served New Mexico, alongside my colleagues past and present in the New Mexico delegation. I am thankful to Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, in particular, for helping to build support for my confirmation, and to former Senator Tom Udall for his years of friendship and mentorship. I love New Mexico. Not only is it my home, where I raised my child, went to college, started a small business, and started organizing, it is my ancestral homeland. As a 35th-generation New Mexican, and not unlike the other families with roots in our State, I have a deep connection to the land, air, and water that sustains our communities. My ancestors settled there because they were drawn to the once-mighty Rio Grande and the sacred places that dot the sandstone mesas and granite mountains. That is why I made the most of my time in Congress. I spent every opportunity meeting with families, listening to small business owners, learning about our tech industry, connecting with brave servicemembers and veterans, and working to deliver for the people. When I was a little girl, none of this crossed my mind as a possibility for me. I wasn't one of the students picked out to apply to college. In fact, I didn't apply to college until I was 28. I was constantly struggling to make ends meet, and I raised my child as a single mom. Growing up, Native women rarely held Federal leadership positions, and now little girls everywhere will know that they can run for Congress and win and that this country holds promise for everyone. In fact, it is the unique experiences and struggles that make good leaders and why I became an organizer in the first place. I believe that it is the fact that I relied on food stamps to feed my family that makes me qualified to advocate for families like mine. It is the fact that I overcame addiction that makes me qualified to help people who are in their own struggles. It is the fact that I know what it is like to be indigenous that makes me qualified to advocate for our country to meet its trust responsibility. The beauty of this Chamber is that each Member of Congress brings their unique experiences to the table and advocates for the causes we know best. With Speaker Nancy Pelosi's brilliant leadership, House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raul Grijalva's wisdom, and House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith's guidance, and all the leadership here in the House, I had the opportunity to make a real difference for communities everywhere by addressing climate change; protecting voting rights; fighting for racial, environmental, and economic justice; and providing urgent COVID relief for millions of people. I am also thankful for the collaboration and mentorship of my colleagues across the aisle, including Representative Tom Cole and the dean of the House, Don Young, and my colleagues on the House Armed Services and Natural Resources Committees. We worked in a bipartisan way to address issues, including missing and murdered indigenous women and ensuring that our servicemen and - women and military families have the resources that they need. To my colleagues in the Tri-Caucus, thank you for embracing the issues facing Native Americans and working to address longstanding disparities in our communities. I am proud that, with the support of my colleagues, several of my bills became law: the Not Invisible Act; Rent the Camo, a pilot program for pregnant servicemembers in the 2021 NDAA; the PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act; provisions from my Military Housing Oversight and Servicemember Protection Act in the 2020 NDAA; the Native American Business Incubators Act; and the Veterans Affairs Tribal Advisory Committee Act. I thought I would have more time here, but we are called to service in different ways. Though I am excited to become the first Native American Cabinet Secretary in history, I am also sad to leave this Chamber. As a twice- elected Member of Congress, it has been both a pleasure and privilege to serve alongside you in our quest to improve the lives of the American people. I want each of you to know that I am grateful for the knowledge you shared with me, the friendship, and the work we accomplished together, and I will miss all of you dearly. I wouldn't be here today without my extraordinary staff in Albuquerque and here at the Capitol, the Natural Resources Committee staff, and the House Armed Services Committee staff. They all put in very long hours on behalf of our State and our country. My legislative accomplishments are also their accomplishments. Additionally, thanks to all of the staff who work right here on the floor, whose dedication and experience keep our Congress running. I am so grateful to all of you. To New Mexico, thank you. Thank you to the activists, supporters, families, and communities that make our State an incredible place to call home.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Jose Hernandez, a beloved letter carrier and local hero who was killed on the job in 2019, while trying to resolve an argument along his route. Residents who live along his route remember Jose as the type of letter carrier who would go above and beyond the call of duty. His shocking death was devastating for our community, and more than a year later, we continue to mourn the loss. To honor his legacy, I introduced a bill to rename his old workplace in his honor. Jose Hernandez has served proudly in the Army. He has four beautiful children and a loving wife, Nikki. He served the Albuquerque area U.S. Postal Service for 12 years. Our letter carriers and postal workers shouldn't have to worry about their safety when they go to work. Those who will see Jose's name on the Five Points Post Office will remember him as the hero that he was who went above and beyond his duty. For these reasons and many more, I am thankful first for the entire New Mexico delegation for their support, and for Chairwoman Maloney's and Chairman Raskin's swift work to move my bill that will name the post office at 1050 Sunset Road Southwest in Albuquerque to the floor, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 813 honoring Mr. Hernandez.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Technical Sergeant Patricia Salazar, who retired from the New Mexico Air National Guard on December 2, 2018 as a Master Sergeant after 25 years of distinguished service. Throughout her accomplished career, Technical Sergeant Salazar played many valuable roles in defense of our state and our nation. A native of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Technical Sergeant Salazar graduated from St. Michael's High School in 1980. She received an athletic scholarship from the College of Santa Fe and graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology. She went on to receive a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration from California State University, Long Beach in 1986. After completing her graduate degree, Technical Sergeant Salazar returned to her home state and attended New Mexico State Police Training Academy. She then enlisted in the United States Air Force and completed her training in 1993. Technical Sergeant Salazar began her tenure with the New Mexico Air National Guard's 150th Security Forces Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, she helped develop and initiate emergency evacuation plans for senior Pentagon leadership. In 2003, she transitioned to the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1209th Medical Detachment. From 2009 to 2011, Technical Sergeant Salazar was stationed in Kosovo and supervised a team of field medics during deployment and field operations. In 2012, she returned to Kirtland to serve with the New Mexico Air National Guard's 150th Special Operations Wing. My predecessor, Representative Lujan Grisham, had the pleasure of meeting Technical Sergeant Salazar in 2017 when she worked with the Air Force to ensure that her father, Staff Sergeant Joe Salazar, received the medals he earned while serving our nation in World War II. He served with the 497th Bombardment Group of the Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1945, earning several honors including a Bronze Star. Mr. Salazar was also a role model for his daughter when she enlisted and during her service overseas. Madam Speaker, I want to salute Technical Sergeant Patricia Salazar for her 25 years of service to New Mexico and the United States. It is hard-working, service-minded individuals like her who continue to make our state and our nation so great. I wish her the best of luck.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleague, Congressman Ted Lieu, to honor his constituent and life-long education champion, Harley Frankel. We join his friends and family in celebrating his retirement from College Match, Harley's non-profit that assists low-income students with applying to and excelling in college. After a career in public service, Harley founded College Match in 2003 after witnessing the steep hurdles his son faced while applying to college. As a first-generation college student himself, Harley realized that the grueling and time-consuming application process presented far more consequential barriers to students in overcrowded schools who often lack built-in support, financial safety nets, and adequate college guidance. Following this realization, College Match was born, accommodating 40 students in just its first year. The program has ballooned to nearly 600 students accepted annually, each receiving one- on-one guidance from trained college counselors, SAT prep, tutoring, assistance with college applications and essays, and college campus visits. In the past 6 years, 95 percent of College Match's students have been admitted to a U.S. News and World Report Top 50 college or university, and 70 percent were admitted to a Top 25 school. Harley's students have deemed him their ``fairy godfather''--a reliably approachable, friendly, and caring figure determined to help put them on the college path they deserve but would otherwise be out of reach. Harley's powerful impact on students across Los Angeles makes me think of my own academic career and the tremendous challenges I faced completing my undergraduate, and later my law degree as a single mother. No one ever told me to go to college, let alone guided me through the intimidating college application process. The education I received changed my life and put me on the path to serving in Congress. Every student determined to succeed should have that opportunity, regardless of their background or financial limitations, and Harley's work has helped to make that happen. A born change maker, Harley's tangible impact on his students will last lifetimes. Even more profound is his organization's direct challenging of the unfair obstacles that prevent some of our country's brightest minds from reaching their full potential. It is an honor to witness the monumental work College Match is leading. Congressman Lieu and I thank Harley for his life's commitment to uplifting our future leaders.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, as one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the daughter of two veterans, I am proud that my bill with Representative Mike Gallagher, the Department of Veterans Affairs Tribal Advisory Committee Act, will be included in this package. All veterans deserve the best care that our country can give, but there are gaps in services for Native American veterans. The advisory committee established by this bill will ensure that we look at and remedy the specific barriers Native American veterans face so they will have access to the same care that other veterans have. For these reasons and many more, I am thankful for the inclusion of my bill today and look forward to seeing its implementation by President-elect Biden.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3682, the Land Grant-Mercedes Traditional Use Recognition and Consultation Act. I would like to begin by congratulating the author of the bill, my good friend and colleague, Representative Ben Ray Lujan, and thank him for having me as an original cosponsor. His hard work and dedication to moving this bill forward are what got it to the House floor today. And the testimony from Representative Lujan from beside an acequia during our virtual hearing on the bill helped our colleagues to understand how important this legislation is to our constituents. We will absolutely miss Representative Lujan when he begins service on the other side of the Capitol in the Senate, but we look forward to continuing to work with him on these and other issues that are important for New Mexico and our country. In our home State of New Mexico, land grants and acequias have long played a critical role in our traditional way of life, practicing traditional methods of stewardship over our land and water. But for more than a century, these communities have fought for recognition, consultation, and access to their historic communal lands, which are necessary to sustain their land-based heritage and agricultural economies. At the hearing I chaired on this bill, we heard from Arturo Archuleta of the New Mexico Land Grant Council about the unique connection between traditional communities and the lands they manage, and the challenges they face because some of the lands that formerly belonged to them are now Federal lands. He noted that as the climate change continues to impact watersheds and forested uplands, the protection of traditional uses must be included in the conversations about the management of public lands for land grant communities to survive. These are the same messages I have heard when I have visited land grant communities in my district. The bill we consider today will provide enhanced access and consultation between Federal land management agencies and land grants and acequias, which is an essential part for maintaining their way of life, and I am proud to support it.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, in closing, I would just like to say it again: Technological innovation has long been seen as an important part of our efforts to take on climate change and increase access to energy, and my amendment will strengthen our investment in innovation. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer this amendment with my cosponsors, Representatives Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez, in order to speed us along the path to a renewable energy future. Our amendment increases the authorization levels for solar, wind, geothermal and water-based energy research and development programs by 50 percent over the levels currently in the bill for each of the 5 years the bill covers. The amendment also adds an overall authorization level for research, development, deployment, and commercial application activities within DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. For each of the 5 years in the bill, those authorization levels are 110 percent of the funding levels for the carbon pollution reduction R&D activities in the bill. Technological innovation has long been seen as an important part of our efforts to take on climate change, increase access to energy, and reduce air pollution. Increasing the efficiency of solar cells of wind turbines, developing new marine hydrokinetic generation technologies and lighter electric motors, and improving the storage capacity and lifetime of batteries are just some of the innovations that will help us get to a 100 percent clean energy system. But according to the International Energy Agency's Global Status of Clean Energy Innovation Report for 2020, research and development spending on clean energy by its member countries has been relatively flat since 2012, after a doubling spurt between 2000 and 2012. Despite that doubling, IEA member country public spending on R&D remains below the levels it was in the 1980s. Private sector spending has fluctuated with economic cycles--while there have been some growth years, the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the 2014 oil price crash led to slowdowns in corporate clean energy R&D, and the share of global early stage venture capital investment going into clean energy has halved since 2012. And now, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic negative impact on private sector funding for clean energy innovation, which is likely to cause setbacks in the timeline for developing and improving clean energy technologies. The pandemic will also hurt demonstration projects and early adoption of technologies that provide essential opportunities for us to ``learn by doing'' and figure out how to overcome practical obstacles to widespread deployment of new technologies. The timing is extremely unfortunate because, as the IEA report makes clear, we need to be accelerating clean energy innovation to give the world the best chance to achieve our climate goals, and without strong sustained investment, our chances of success are dwindling. Madam Speaker, that is why our amendment is so important. With climate change accelerating, we can't afford to wait. We need to develop and deploy renewable energy widely soon, and to do that, the Federal Government needs to invest in R&D and in deployment and the technology maturation needed to enable widespread adoption of renewables and their integration into our energy system. This clean energy investment will be good for our planet and good for taxpayers. Public renewable energy R&D in the United States has delivered a 27 percent return on investment since 1975, with the benefit-to-cost ratio of 33-1. By making these investments, we are sending the message that renewable energy is our future, and we are committing to making that a reality. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join us in sending that message by voting for our amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 490 the B-47 Ridge Designation Act. One of our priorities on the House Natural Resources Committee this Congress has been to enhance public lands access for veterans and servicemembers and that includes allowing our public lands to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. This bill would designate an unnamed mountain range near Emigrant Peak in the State of Montana as ``B-47 Ridge'' and allow the installation of a commemorative plaque at the site. The name and plaque would memorialize the tragic end to a routine training flight on the night of July 23, 1962. Four U.S. Air Force servicemembers lost their lives when their B-47 strategic bomber crashed at 8,500 feet. Debris from the crash can still be seen on the ridge today. This bill appropriately honors the memory and sacrifice of Captain Faulconer, Lieutenant Lloyd Sawyers, Lieutenant David Sutton, and Lieutenant Hixenbaugh. I urge its immediate adoption, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 490) to designate a mountain ridge in the State of Montana as ``B-47 Ridge''.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1702) to waive the application fee for any special use permit for veterans demonstrations and special events at war memorials on Federal land, and for other purposes, as amended.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 139, the Springfield Race Riot Study Act, introduced by Representative Rodney Davis of Illinois. In August 1908, Springfield, Illinois, was the site of a multiday riot, with violence directed at the African-American community. The mob shot innocent people, burned almost 50 homes, looted and destroyed two dozen stores, and mutilated and lynched two elderly Black men who were merely innocent bystanders. All of this violence came about because two other African-American men were wrongly accused; one accused of attacking a White woman who, not long after the riots, admitted that her attacker was a White man; and one accused on slight evidence of attacking a White girl and of murdering her father. In part, as a response to the riot, the NAACP was formed in 1909 to work to end segregation, discrimination, and ensure African Americans are provided their constitutional rights. This was the one bright light that emerged out of that dark moment in our history, and it is an origin story that certainly resonates today as the Nation continues to grapple with race relations and social justice. This bill will authorize the National Park Service to conduct a full, special resource study to determine the most appropriate method to preserve, interpret, and protect the resources associated with the riot and the founding of the NAACP. I want to thank Representative Davis for his efforts on this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to support its adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, S. 832, introduced by Senator Merkley of Oregon, will nullify the supplemental treaty of 1865 between the United States and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of Indians of Middle Oregon. The Warm Springs Confederated Tribe signed a treaty with the United States in 1855 in which they relinquished millions of acres of their land but reserved the Warm Springs Reservation for their exclusive use, as well as off-reservation fishing, hunting, and gathering rights. After the treaty's signing, the Tribes maintained their accustomed practice of traveling regularly to the Columbia River to harvest salmon. However, non-Indian settlers in the area convinced the Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs to pursue efforts to keep the Tribes away. As a result, in 1865, a small number of Warm Springs members were fraudulently made to sign a supplemental treaty that claimed to strip the Tribe's off-reservation rights and to prohibit their members from leaving the reservation without a written permit issued by the Federal Indian agent. Both the Indians of the Warm Springs Reservation and the United States Government recognized that this was a deceptive action and have consistently ignored the 1865 agreement while also reaffirming the Tribes' off-reservation treaty rights. Passage of S. 832 will finally officially correct this historic injustice and nullify the 1865 treaty. Madam Speaker, I thank and congratulate Senator Merkley for his work on moving this bill through the Senate. I also want to thank our colleague from Oregon, Representative Greg Walden, for his work on the House version of the legislation. Madam Speaker, I urge quick adoption of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4957) to amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, as amended.

Ms. HAALAND

Ms. HAALAND. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.