Teresa Leger Fernandez

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, every conspiracy theory we just heard has been debunked, not true, and distorted from the facts because this impeachment inquiry is political vengeance directed by a twice- impeached, four times indicted President and carried out by extreme MAGA Republicans. Republicans rejected my amendment to require the committees to hold at least one public hearing. Why? It is because 11 months and a mountain of evidence and documents gathered so far prove that President Biden respected the rule of law and fought corruption. Republicans want to continue a secret investigation so they can distort the facts. For example, Republicans tried to create a scandal about the $4,140 Hunter paid to his dad in 2018. What really happened? Joe Biden paid his son's truck payments while Hunter struggled with addiction. Hunter paid his dad back. A parent's love is never without pain. A parent doesn't stop loving a child struggling with addiction. Americans will see in those truck payments some of their own attempts to help their struggling kids. Shame on my colleagues for politicizing a parent's pain. Americans know what evidence of an impeachment looks like. The Capitol Police who were battered and beaten as Trump tried to overturn an election know what an impeachable offense feels like. This puppet show is more of the same attack on our democracy that we saw here.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I stand in opposition to the rule and to the measures underlying it. Today, we have an extreme Republican proposal that would make college more expensive and paying for it harder for hardworking families across America. College costs have soared in recent years. They have put higher education out of reach for too many. They have saddled families and students with excessive student debt. We are the only country in the world facing a dire student loan debt crisis. The Biden administration saw this problem and said that they promised they would try to address it. Nevertheless, every solution that they have come up with that would make it easier for my communities, the people in rural America, Latinos, women, and people who haven't gone to college before and choose to, for them, they have made it more expensive and harder. The latest action by the Biden administration makes sense. It is the SAVE student loan repayment plan, and it is already fulfilling its promise. It has saved thousands of dollars for 5.5 million American people who are enrolled in that program, including from New Mexico-- 7,500 in my own district. Mr. Speaker, the SAVE program ties your student loan payments to your income. This is vital for ``mi gente,'' the people of New Mexico, who often go into careers like education and public service that don't pay as well. This program helps people who are following their hearts into careers that aren't the highest paying so that when they pay their student debt, it will be tied to their income. Nonetheless, instead of addressing the debt crisis, my colleagues across the aisle want to gut the SAVE program and make college more expensive for the 5.5 million Americans using it now. This is outrageous.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, the Senate rejected this same Republican proposal last month. Let's address the student debt crisis at its roots. Let's get back to lowering costs for working families and putting people over politics. Republicans seem to always want to make it more costly and more expensive for people to get along. I am so pleased that Democrats don't and that they stand for the working family.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Los Alamos Public Schools in New Mexico, which is the 2023 College Board Advanced Placement Small District of the Year. Every year, the College Board honors three districts with an Advanced Placement District of the Year award. Each represents a small, medium, or large district and has achieved the most significant increases in AP Exam scores. They have also expanded access to Advanced Placement courses for a greater diversity of students. The College Board awarded Los Alamos Public Schools this distinction from over 12,000 school districts across the U.S. and Canada as the national leader among small-sized school districts. Advanced Placement courses provide avenues to higher education opportunities and unlock many doors for students. Los Alamos Public Schools had 40 percent or more of its graduating cohort take at least one Advanced Placement exam. Their scores demonstrate high-level achievement. This proves that our students have the potential to excel when offered challenging educational opportunities. The award is a great testament to the hard work and commitment of the administrators, educators, families, and students of Los Alamos. Los Alamos Public Schools is a wonderful example of the excellence and achievement that exemplify the great state of New Mexico. I commend the educational community whose dedication and work ethic paved the way for this well-deserved award.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, when I helped clients win asylum cases as a young law student, I heard the tragic stories of how they fled their countries, carrying with them fear and pain but little else. It is already very hard to win asylum. You must first show that you have a credible fear of being persecuted in your home country. Asylum seekers must later prove their claims in an administrative or court process. There are many things wrong with our immigration system, but showing credible fear is the right first step. Now, we are seeing major permanent proposed changes to our asylum law as a condition for emergency funding for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. I stand in strong support of this emergency aid. It is essential, but just as it was wrong to tie Israeli aid to gutting the IRS' ability to go after tax cheats, it is wrong to tie harmful, significant, and permanent changes to asylum law to passing essential aid for our allies. Instead, we need comprehensive immigration reform. We need to protect our Dreamers, and we need to support our allies. Our Latino communities, our asylum seekers, and our allies abroad deserve better.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), my colleague on the Committee on Rules, for yielding, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, once again, House Republicans are spending a week on legislation that fails to solve many of the very real issues facing our constituents. Last week, when I was in my district, my constituents shared with me their aspirations, their worries, and their vision for how to make our communities thrive for generations. Veterans from Hobbs described how hard it is to travel for access to healthcare and other services-- services that they have earned. Seniors from Hobbs described the concern about paying their bills on a fixed income and the need to reduce costs. The Lovington mayor led us on a tour of the wastewater plant as he described the need to invest in water infrastructure in rural communities and thanked us for doing that and promoting such investment. In Taos, New Mexico, ranchers and farmers working with the New Mexico Acequia Association, which for those of you who don't know, is a centuries-old system of providing irrigation to farmers and ranchers in New Mexico. They talked to me about their concerns about growing their business amid the climate crisis that we are seeing and the drought conditions. These are real challenges that our constituents want us to fix, challenges that Congress has the ability and responsibility to address. Does this rule make in order any bills to help address veterans' need to access healthcare? Does it make in order any bills to help seniors pay their bills? Does it help our rural communities access rural clean water systems? Does it help our farmers keep their heritage and grow our foods? Nope. It doesn't. What are we doing this week? We have a bill that prevents the use of Federal lands to provide temporary shelters for certain noncitizens, including migrants who are legally applying for asylum. It is a bill that fails to address the humanitarian crisis or security needs at our border. Our colleagues across the aisle have consistently repeated harmful theories, like the invasion theory, where they seek to demonize the communities I represent and from which I come. Their talking points simply inflame the issue rather than looking to solve it. This is just more of the same from a majority that is unable to govern effectively. Instead, we should pass legislation that actually improves our immigration system and acknowledges and upholds the dignity of immigrant communities. There are real solutions to deal with the border. The Republican majority just doesn't want us to vote on them on this floor. For example, the Dream and Promise Act has vast support from Americans, but will we see Republicans put it on the floor? Nope. The Farmer Workforce Modernization Act that has bipartisan support would help agricultural communities and help farmworkers, but will we see Republicans put it on the floor? Nope. We could move these bills, if only Republicans would stop blocking them. We will also consider today a resolution to reverse a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule. That rule would require lenders to collect and report information about the small business credit applications they receive, including geographic and demographic data, lending decisions, and the price of credit. We know that many rural small businesses struggle with access to financial resources. It is important to know whether or not the banks, especially the big banks, are serving them. Americans, the middle class, and small businesses want somebody on their side because they know the big banks and corporations aren't. That is why Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Despite the strong public support, Republicans continue to attack the Bureau. The Democrats are on the side of small businesses when we stand up for the Bureau and its work. We should support initiatives to bring capital to entrepreneurs and innovators, especially in rural America. A lot of that work happens because of credit unions, I might add. I support efforts to address the credit unions' concerns about the smaller entities. A CRA, though, as proposed by the Republicans, is an overly broad and blunt tool that prevents an agency from promulgating any regulation in an area that it addresses. This CRA that they have put forward would tie the hands of the Bureau. It would prevent them from rulemaking regarding data for small businesses, women-and minority-owned businesses. We need access to this data to make sure that small businesses, women- and minority-owned businesses, rural businesses have access to capital. Investing in these small businesses is how we grow the middle class, and that is what Democrats are focused on. How do we grow the middle class. Lastly, H.R. 5961 would freeze certain Iranian funds involved in the 2023 hostage deal between the U.S. and Iran. We must acknowledge, and do acknowledge, that Iran is dangerous and a state sponsor of terrorism. We cannot allow the terror to continue. I must remind my Republican colleagues that the Rules Committee already reported a rule for this bill. Their own party blocked the House from voting on this bill when they voted down the rule on the floor. This week we should be debating a bill with aid for our allies, including Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and others around the world, but I guess we are not. I guess we should not be surprised with this rule. This is just a continuation of the chaos and closed process that has been a hallmark of this Republican-led House. We have seen over 40 closed rules on the floor that have blocked two-thirds of bipartisan amendments, including blocking half of all Republican amendments. Republican leadership clearly hasn't made good on their promise to make the legislative process more open, inclusive, and accommodating. This year, Republicans will have wasted nearly a month on internal politics just to elect a Speaker--time that could have been spent lowering costs for seniors and helping those veterans I mentioned earlier, time that could have been spent helping our farmers and ranchers, time that could have been spent helping to grow our middle class. As Republicans continue to press forward legislation that seeks to further destroy and divide, House Democrats are working to improve the lives of everyday people. House Democrats are committed to putting people over politics, to do what is right for everyday Americans; lowering costs, growing the middle class, and defending fundamental freedoms. As we have all year, House Democrats continue to extend the hand of partnership to get things done for the American people, including passing legislation that invests in working families and keeping our Nation safe. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this rule and a ``no'' vote on the underlying bills. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This entire Congress, Republicans have tended to use titles for their bills that are extremely misleading. For example, today's rule includes the so-called Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act. Interestingly, though, this bill does not actually secure the border. In fact, it does not include any resources for States to deal with migrants who are awaiting processing. How is that protecting our communities? Let's invest where we need to address this issue. Instead of addressing real problems at the border, Republicans are bringing up this unnecessary legislation to attack vulnerable migrants under the guise of protecting public lands. Remember, this is a public lands bill. It came out of the Natural Resources Committee. If they really cared about protecting public lands, they wouldn't have passed an Interior appropriations bill out of their committee that cuts nearly a billion dollars from the Federal land management agencies that are tasked with protecting these public lands. The concern really isn't about protecting public lands, and it is not really about addressing the real immigration concerns. If they were really, truly interested in that, they would work with us to address the root causes of migration. The most effective way to control the number of asylum-seekers arriving at our ports of entry is to help them stay in their home countries. They talk about that in some of their bills, but look at what they say and what they do. Let's focus on what they actually do. They have put forward appropriations bills that actually cut funding for customs and border officers. They cut CBP funding. They cut money for fentanyl interdiction. That is what they actually do. They may have bills with fancy titles and all this talk, but what happens when it comes to what they are funding? They are not funding with the necessary resources to address these issues. For example, the last time we were in the Rules Committee, they were cutting funding for the FBI, DEA, and law enforcement agencies that we need to work on these issues. They are not supporting the kind of cutting-edge inspection machines that we need to detect fentanyl at our southwestern border ports of entry, like in the President's national security supplemental request. I asked them if they were going to support the national security supplemental request with those provisions in it, if they were going to support the Democratic amendments in the border package earlier this year that would have made that bill better. It is not a great bill. They focus on that wall. They are fixated on that wall. It is not what we need. We have seen report after report that it does not work. They just keep using migrants to score political points. This is the third bill we have seen this year, but none of them are true solutions. If they were serious about solving the issues at our border, they would work with us on comprehensive legislation instead of these things that do absolutely nothing to fix the problem. The problem isn't in New York City. It is their failure to work with us on legislation that would solve the issue. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a letter of support for proposed section 1071, CFPB rule, which highlights the benefits of collecting lending demographic data for small farmers and farmers of color.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This letter tells us a lot about how Democrats see the issues in rural America, how Democrats see the issues affecting our small businesses, our women-owned businesses, and our minority-owned businesses. It is one of wanting to make sure that the playing field is level, that there is transparency and fairness at the same time that we use the market to build up thriving communities. This is a letter that comes from ranchers, farmers, cooperatives, our rural areas. It is signed by dozens of organizations, and they read that the section 1071 rule is profarmer. Young, beginning, and small farmers have consistently demanded more transparent and fair markets. Having accurate and public data will help farmers and consumers make better-informed financial decisions. For some reason, the Republicans don't want to make sure that we have access to this data. What are they hiding? If big banks aren't serving our rural farmers, let's find that out. This isn't just about that. This is about promarket. They say section 1071 is promarket. The data required by section 1071 will help lenders identify unmet credit needs and expand new markets. This is important if we are going to grow the middle class. Once again, I was a small business owner. I had a woman-owned business. I went and sought credit. I filled out those forms. It wasn't that hard. I wrote down that, yes, I am a woman-owned business, and, yes, I am a minority-owned business. I am a Latina. I am proud of it. I am from a State capital, by the way, the oldest State capital in the United States, which is very pro-immigrant because we know of the economic benefits it provides. We know that having access to this information is good for our small businesses. It is good for rural America. Therefore, we are very much in support of this rule, despite the fact that, once again, Republicans want to hammer and beat up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau despite the great work it does for our consumers, the great work it does for our small businesses, the great work it does for Americans, which is why they support it the way they do. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of a measure that clearly states that the people's House will keep its solemn promise to American seniors and workers. We will protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare and fight against any cuts to these crucial programs that so many of our constituents depend on. Reaffirming our promise is more important than ever. Republicans on the Budget Committee today, as we speak, are holding a hearing about fiscal commissions that could slash Social Security and Medicare. We cannot allow that to happen. The top candidates for President in the Republican Party are also calling for cuts to Social Security. The House must stand against that. Democrats in the House will stand against that. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Lee) to discuss our proposal.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, actually the debate around Social Security, similar to the debate about the Consumer Protection Bureau and its regulations, does highlight the policies that the Democrats and Republicans pursue and who are the beneficiaries of those policies. Let's look at Social Security and what the Republican Budget Committee is looking at. They are looking at raising the retirement age. Who actually pays for that? When you raise the retirement age, it is going to be the janitors, nurses, educators, and the people doing the hard work in our manufacturing plants that are going to be required to work longer. They are going to be the ones who are going to have a hard time because they don't have additional savings like the wealthy. Right? The wealthy aren't going to care about whether you raise the age to 67, 68, or 72 because they have the assets and they are not relying on Social Security. It is our workers who have paid into Social Security who have earned it and deserve it. They deserve to receive the benefits that we promised them when they started working and paying into the system. What can we do to make sure that Social Security is solvent in the future? Well, Democrats have a bill that we introduced last year, and we supported it this year. You make sure everybody pays--no matter how much money you make--into the system. Right now we know that the wealthy stop paying into the system at about $147,000. Why doesn't everybody pay Social Security taxes on all their earnings? Why aren't the wealthy paying their fair share? That is a policy difference. It is the policy distinctions that we are focused on. Once again, Democrats are standing with working Americans who are not earning $200,000, $300,000, $400,000, or $1 million a year. We say you should pay your fair share of your Social Security taxes rather than doing what they want to do, which is gut benefits. When you raise the Social Security age, you are gutting the benefits. That is an example of the distinction of when you are standing with working Americans and when your policies that you support are increasing the middle class instead of standing with the wealthy. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I think we need to remember why we faced inflation in the first place. We need to remember that this country and the world faced down a pandemic that threatened to destroy our economy. Let's go back to those dark days when we moved from the Trump Presidency to the Biden Presidency. Our businesses were closed. Our Main Streets were going to fall apart. Our city, local, and State governments were worried about whether they would be able to keep people on the payroll. The Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan, and we did rescue the economy indeed. I go to my working-class district because my entire district is like that. That is my family. I come from those roots. I speak to those people on a regular basis. Every town I go into, I look at the number of loans, the PPP, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, and they are open now. Those communities are thriving because of the work we did. That was not the reason we saw inflation. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Review.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, this is an article titled: ``How Much Have Record Corporate Profits Contributed to Recent Inflation?'' Firms raised markups to 2021 in anticipation of future cost pressures contributing to about 60 percent. Every American knows that record profits added to inflation. They just keep on trying to blame it on the fact that we kept our small businesses open. That is not the case. We made sure that people did not get thrown out of their homes. It is the big corporations that they protect with their policies, and they want to make sure that they can cheat on their taxes. They bring that up every little while. He brought up issues with regard to Israel. Well, you know, they didn't allow a clean bill to come to the floor because they wanted to make sure that tax cheats could continue cheating on their taxes. They wanted to cut that funding. We know that those kinds of things hurt America. We know that part of the reason for inflation was because of Putin's war, Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and what happened to the markets from that. On that side of the aisle, we have the Putin protectors who are fighting back and do not want to provide any resources to Ukraine. So, the majority should not start talking to me about inflation when the majority's policies are continuing to add to those problems. You might know, Mr. Speaker, that neither this Congress nor this Presidency controls interest rates. That is the Federal Reserve. We do not control that. The President does not control that. I would love to see interest rates come down because they do impact jobs. The fact that we had the lowest job growth of the Biden administration tells you--oh, my God, you had to compare it just to the Biden administration because the job growth has been phenomenal under this administration. It has been phenomenal based on the policies of what we did in the last Congress. We have added so many jobs. We are seeing that the Inflation Reduction Act is bringing down inflation. Inflation is lower now than it was 1 year ago. Fact-check that. Yes, indeed, we have brought down inflation. We are creating good manufacturing jobs. In New Mexico, we are creating manufacturing jobs. We are now manufacturing wind turbines. We are manufacturing solar facilities. We are manufacturing more now in New Mexico than we have done in the past. Those are the kinds of things that are being created with the policies that Democrats supported and were signed into law last Congress. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, let me respond to the comment about not talking about interest rates. The gentleman talked about mortgage rates, and mortgage rates are tied to the Federal Reserve. So, once again, understanding how our economy works and which agency and entity has control over that is very important. I also want to talk about the idea of who is trusted. He mentioned some polls with regard to who is trusted on the economy. The reality is that we are right now in the people's House. We are the Representatives who are closest to the people and who are out there meeting with them. This is what the Founders intended. When the Founders created the House of Representatives, they wanted to make sure that we were a miniature of America and that we were in constant communication. I know that that is what we do. I know that is what my colleagues do and what I do. We go out and talk with them. We listen to their stories and bring them back. We decide, based on what we hear, what we are going to prioritize. I like the fact that Democrats, that my party, those of us on this side of the aisle, go out to listen and come back and push for policies that are going to lower costs, like the Inflation Reduction Act did where we lowered the cost of prescription drugs and where we made sure that nobody is going to pay more than $35 a month for insulin. People have been asking for that. For the first time, we are going to negotiate with Big Pharma to bring down those costs where there is going to be a $2,000 out-of- pocket limit for prescription drugs. These are important ways in which we are lowering costs. We are lowering costs by making sure that we are providing homeowners and renters with the ability to lower their energy costs, whether that is putting in renewable energy facilities and solar panels or insulating homes. Those are the kinds of things that my colleagues across the aisle, my good friends, might not understand, like how important it is to insulate your house. I am from where it is cold, so getting those insulation credits is important. It lowers costs. Because of this work that we have done, I know that there is an aggregated poll out that points to the fact that Democrat incumbents are trusted in the House at a rate that is so further beyond our Republicans. They are underwater by 14 points. Their own constituents know that they are not fighting for their economic benefit. Nevertheless, what we have seen this year is chaos and dysfunction take over the House under Republican leadership. While Democrats have been ready to put people over politics and deliver for America through bipartisan legislation, our colleagues across the aisle continue to introduce bills like we are considering today that focus more on culture wars and nonsolutions. Today, we have an immigration bill that does not address the root causes of migration, offer solutions for our broken systems, or provide any resources to help the U.S. citizenship or immigration system or Customs and Border Patrol address an increase in migrants. In this bill, they might talk about a lot of things, but that is not what this bill does. This bill does not address any of those key issues. Instead, it restricts the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture's ability to manage their lands. These agencies are in charge of managing our public lands, and we need to let them do their job. We have a bill that fails to help our small businesses even when we know that SBA low-interest loans have helped thousands of entrepreneurs grow their businesses and the economy. Instead, they would seek to make those Federal loans less transparent and would cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to address disparities in lending. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Hobbs High School Career and Technical Education Center (CTECFI) located at Hobbs High School. The Hobbs High School CTECH program is one of the premier technical education high school programs in the entire nation. In 2023 alone, CTECH received numerous awards, including being named one of the top 10 high schools in the entire Nation for NC3 certification. The program prepares the next generation of highly-skilled workers in an array of industries and fields, including transportation, manufacturing, construction and architecture, energy, information technology, culinary, and hospitality. Educators and community members alike should be proud of their school and the CTECH program, not only for these accomplishments but also for the lasting impact that the program will have on their community and New Mexico as a whole. Serving students since 2022, this program will create opportunities for countless New Mexicans to secure good-paying and high-demand jobs far into the future. These students will build our economy, they will build vibrant communities, they will build families that I hope stay in our beloved New Mexico. Thank you to the wonderful staff, administrators, and teachers who have made this program such a gem in our beloved state. Yet another example of how small places can do big things and a nod to the innovation and drive of our beloved New Mexico communities.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Hobbs High School Boys Soccer team. On Saturday November 11, the Hobbs High School Eagles won the New Mexico AAAAA State Soccer championship. The championship was their first in 26 years. This capped off an amazing unbeaten season with 23 wins and a national ranking. The state final against Atrisco Heritage Academy was a thrilling game. It couldn't have been closer. The game was tied after both regular gameplay and overtime--but our Eagles prevailed 3-2 in penalty kicks. Congratulations to first-year coach Reyes Marquez and the entire Eagles team for a stellar season. I include in the Record the names of every member of the Hobbs High School Boys Soccer team: Fabian Astorga, Jordan Barron, Juan Caamano, Juan Camacho, Diego Castanon, Zander Castillo, Joshua Chavez, Josue Davila, Azael De La Cruz, Franklin Ferrufino Lagos, Eliud Hernandez, Humberto Hernandez, Jorge Martinez, Andrik Morales, Raul Morales, Omari Patton, Brandon Rodriguez, Domnique Salas, Adrian Sanchez, Alexis Sanchez, and Nathan Villalobos. Let's also not forget the incredible work of Coach Reyes Marquez, Assistant Coach Esteban Sotelo, Assistant Coach Chris Middleton, Assistant Coach Melvon Anders, Assistant Coach Louie Vega, Manager Haskel Nguyen, and Athletic Programs Director Brenda Wilson for their mentorship and the program they have created. The Eagles should be proud of their accomplishments. This is the first state championship for any school in Southern New Mexico in the AAAAA classification since 2013. Their hard work and perseverance should be commended and applauded. I often say, small places can do big things. And the Eagles have proven how much our beloved rural communities can achieve once again. Go Eagles.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, indeed, today we have yet another extreme Republican appropriations bill that focuses more on tax breaks for wealthy tax cheats than keeping our communities safe. When asked what bothers them most about taxes, nearly two-thirds of Americans said they feel that the wealthy and corporations are not paying their fair share. Instead of making sure the IRS has the tools it needs to go after wealthy tax cheats, this bill slashes its budget by $22 billion. For every dollar cut from IRS law enforcement, we tend to lose $2 in tax revenue. Republicans are clearly bad at budgeting when they are giving away revenue. But wait, there is more. Republicans like to say they are the party of law and order, but this bill also cuts the FBI's law enforcement work by $400 million. Cutting the FBI's budget would hurt our rural communities. FBI agents can bring in technology and tools that help solve crimes that a small police force, like in my district, just don't have. How can we expect to interdict fentanyl in our rural areas or to go after criminal cartels when we are cutting the FBI and cutting the Department of Justice, which would prosecute those despicable traffickers of death and despair? Republicans are clearly bad at making sure criminals are investigated, charged, tried, and sent to prison. But wait, that is not all. While Democrats are putting people over politics and growing the middle class, the extreme Republican appropriations bills are blockading the road to the middle class. This appropriations bill cuts the pathway to prosperity when it cuts economic development programming to 51 percent below last year's levels. In New Mexico, these cuts would jeopardize local and Tribal economic development projects helping us grow jobs and businesses after the closure of coal mines and coal plants. These cuts would take economic funding down to a level not seen since 2014. Extreme Republicans are clearly looking backward. My focus in Congress must be toward a future of hope, prosperity, and opportunity. At the Rules Committee yesterday, Republicans told me they didn't have a choice but to make these cuts. That is not true. Remember, they are choosing to give up billions of dollars of tax revenue owed by wealthy tax cheats. Republicans built the deficit. In 2017, 2003, and 2001, Republicans chose tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations. Their choices tell us their priorities. Mr. Speaker, I have no other choice but to urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule, and if we ever see it on the floor, vote ``no'' on this bill.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana, Mrs. Houchin, for the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, after wasting weeks as Republicans tried to get their house in order, we have just 10 days left to fund the government or we shut down. My colleagues across the aisle might say that the House has already passed 7 of 12 funding bills, but they know those bills are so extreme that they won't get the necessary Democratic or Republican votes in the Senate and don't have any chance of becoming law. We are reviewing another extreme bill today, H.R. 4664, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024. Let's start with the numbers. The bill is 58 percent below last year's level. If any of you had a business or just balanced your housing budget, what would happen if you cut almost 60 percent from what you had to spend from one year to the next? Your business or your household would fail. If a budget reflects your values, this extreme Republican bill values the wealthy, the well-connected, the fraudsters, and the scammers. A family putting their baby to bed tonight knows cribs are safe. The babies aren't being strangled because of the work of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which recently turned 50. What are Republicans doing in this bill to this well-honored and respected Commission? They are cutting their funding by 10 percent, so big corporations can put profit over safety. Right now a small business entrepreneur in a rural community or an affordable housing developer in an urban neighborhood that the big banks ignore can secure financing from a community development financial institution. What is H.R. 4664 doing about those great affordable housing opportunities? They are cutting the CDFI funding by $45 million. They are cutting the Small Business Administration's entrepreneurship program by $72 million. They are destroying opportunities that could be created in small places that big banks just don't care about. We want to grow the middle class and lower costs for Americans, but this bill would do the opposite by slashing the budgets of the agencies that protect consumers. American consumers can sometimes feel helpless against the robocalls, the credit card and bank fees, and the financial scammers. Well, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau helped those consumers get $19 billion back when they went after those scammers, when they went after those excessive fees. However, this bill would weaken this agency, an agency that was born out of the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession, a crisis that I will remind everybody occurred on Republicans' watch and brought great suffering to families and businesses. This bill also undermines oversight of Wall Street when it cuts the SEC by $149 million. Remember the SEC? It also came into existence, but this time during the Great Depression. In each financial crisis we have mentioned, Democratic Congresses and Presidents stood with small businesses and working families against greed. Yes, the greed of Wall Street and the greed of payday lenders. This bill tells us that extreme Republicans are okay with dangerous or defective products making their way into homes. Indeed, last night, one Republican Member said we should just get rid of the Consumer Product Safety Commission or just let them make recommendations, maybe Congress will act. It is ridiculous to get rid of this important consumer product safety agency. Finally, this bill rescinds $10.2 billion from funding we gave to the IRS last year. Then it cuts more funds for the IRS to modernize or protect itself from cybersecurity threats. Why would you want to make the IRS vulnerable to cybersecurity threats? To add insult, the bill would keep the IRS from developing a program so Americans can file their taxes for free. Really? You want to make sure for-profit companies can charge taxpayers to file their taxes? How cynical is that? At a time when Americans are worried about fentanyl killing their loved ones, this bill cuts funding for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. At a time when Americans are worried about terrorism, this bill cuts funding for the National Security Council and Homeland Security Advisory Council. While this bill cuts funding for CDFI, Democrats are fighting to grow the middle class by making housing more affordable. While Republicans cut funding to the SBA, we are putting people over politics by supporting small businesses. Democrats, as we have been saying for the last 3 years, put people over politics. Unfortunately, this weekend the Republican Speaker of the House stated he would not put people over politics. Well, today's appropriations bill actually proves that. I will end where I started. There are just 11 days to fund the government. We need spending bills that are bipartisan, that address the real needs of American taxpayers instead of just protecting the wealthy and well off. House Democrats want to work in a bipartisan manner to get things done for the American people, but we will not stand for the extreme culture wars, the attacks on reproductive healthcare, and the draconian cuts House Republicans keep putting up for a vote in these appropriations bills. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Americans know that the climate catastrophe is wreaking havoc on our economy. I come from a State where we lost billions due to wildfires that were caused by many factors, but this repeats itself over and over again. Across America, there is no place that is safe from the climate catastrophe: the flooding, the hurricanes, the fires, the drought, and those cost money. They cost our farmers money. They cost our ranchers money, our cities, our towns, our governments, and so yes, we must address that. In fact, this administration was elected precisely because he said he would address that. We need to emphasize that. To pretend that there isn't an economic cost is to put your head in the sand. Madam Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), my wonderful colleague representing the District of Columbia, which is a Democratically elected city, and we should respect it as such.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of a resolution which clearly states that it is the people's House's duty to keep our promise to American workers and seniors to protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare and to fight against any cuts to these vital programs. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record along with any extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), an esteemed Member who I look forward to hearing his viewpoints on the importance of addressing the urgent needs that Americans have told us about such as how do we lower costs, how do we make sure that we bring into line Americans' dreams with Americans' realities.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).