Teresa Leger Fernandez

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. 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. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1619) to clarify the status of gaming conducted by the Catawba Indian Nation, and for other purposes.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2088) to take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and for other purposes, as amended.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I am grateful for this bipartisan legislation. I also think it gives us a path forward on what we might need to do for all Tribes who encounter this issue, but for now I am very much in support of S. 108 and urge my colleagues to support the legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, S. 108, introduced by Senator Rubio of Florida, will allow the Seminole Tribe of Florida to lease, sell, convey, warrant, or transfer its real property that is not held in trust by the United States. The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Tribe with its Tribal headquarters located in Hollywood, Florida. It is one of three federally recognized Seminole entities, and many of its enrolled members reside on its six reservations in Florida. In recent decades, a large portion of the Tribe's economic development strategy has been its investment in commercial real estate properties. So far the Tribe owns one of the largest cattle operations in the U.S., along with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino franchise and its 74 international properties. To manage the Tribe's growing portfolio, the Tribal Council established a commercial real estate investment fund to help create generational stability for the Seminole Tribe. Ultimately, the Tribe's hope is to establish a State-chartered subsidiary entity to act as a holding company for certain properties owned by the Tribe. Unfortunately, the Tribe has been unable to move forward with this project due to concerns raised by lenders and proposed title insurance companies about the Indian Nonintercourse Act. The act prohibits any ``purchase, grant, lease, or other conveyance of lands, or of any title or claim thereto, from an Indian nation or Tribe of Indians'' unless authorized by Congress. At least two title insurance companies approached by the Tribe have interpreted the act to apply to real estate owned by a State-chartered subsidiary entity of the Tribe. As such, the title companies will not insure the mortgage without an exemption from the act, which in turn effectively kills any ability to finance an acquisition. S. 108 will, therefore, provide relief from the Indian Nonintercourse Act by clarifying that the Seminole Tribe of Florida has the authority to lease, sell, convey, warrant, or otherwise transfer their interests in property not held in trust by the Federal Government without further approval from the Federal Government. This bipartisan effort is led in the House by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto), who is the sponsor of the House companion bill. I congratulate him on his strong advocacy to get this legislation to the President's desk. S. 108 will allow the Seminole Tribe the ability to continue its economic development, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. 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. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, this bill, once again, demonstrates that there is strong bipartisan support for our Native American tribes and indigenous communities. I thank Ranking Member Westerman as well as Ranking Member Don Young on the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States. The other thing this bill does, as has been highlighted by Chairman Grijalva, is it comes out of collaboration and conversation with everybody on the ground, the local communities, the States, the county, the Tribe. The people of southern Arizona are asking us to take action, and that is what we must do today. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Build Back Better agenda. I would note that it is a women's agenda, Build Back Better. It is because we will be investing in those things that all women need to succeed in life because we began with our children. The Build Back Better bill would expand and continue the child tax credit, which began under the American Rescue Plan. We cannot tell those families who finally received the child tax credit that the clock has struck midnight and they can no longer receive it. We must continue this tax credit so that all children in all families receive that benefit. The Build Back Better agenda also makes sure that we provide pre-K so that there is universal pre-K. We know the biggest benefit we can provide our children is ensuring that everybody has quality pre-K education. When doing so, we must ensure that we pay the teachers of our children what they deserve and give them the respect they need. In that sense, we will also be investing in our workforce development so that we can have the qualified workers who will be able to care for our children, who will be able to teach our children. The workforce development and workforce innovation investments in this bill are very needed. I come from a State where we will need to transition away from oil and gas. In order to ensure a just transition for energy communities, we must ensure that there are new jobs for those workers. Build Back Better will allow the creation of new jobs, both for plugging abandoned wells and for addressing the legacy pollution that we have seen that needs to be cleaned up. Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support the Build Back Better agenda. It is good for our families. It is good for our women. It is good for our planet.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to stand in support of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act. I want to start by, of course, thanking Congresswoman McBath for her work to reauthorize this bill and wisely using this moment to strengthen protections for our communities with bipartisan support. Domestic violence, unfortunately, impacts every community in the United States. It impacts every community in New Mexico. In fact, over 540,000 New Mexicans experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. It is so sad that children witness this violence in too many cases and are, themselves, victims. Our Native American and Latino communities are the most impacted. While Native people, especially Native women, have the highest need for medical and legal services, the current law does not provide them with equitable funding or resources. This bill takes the steps to fix these inequities. It authorizes a Tribal domestic violence hotline, discretionary resource centers on Alaska Native populations, and direct funding for Tribal coalitions. These changes will provide much-needed help to our communities so that we may properly respond to their needs. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Build Back Better Agenda

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, had I been present on October 20, 2021 during Roll Call vote No. 322 for H.R. 3635, the Strengthening America's Strategic National Stockpile Act of 2021, I would have voted YEA.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to talk about the importance of this historic moment indeed, this historic moment of where we will be investing--investing in our children, investing in our planet, investing in our future. We are talking about the Build Back Better agenda. I want to begin by talking about my district, which is made up of beautifully diverse rural communities. My district is the size of Pennsylvania, but my communities in this district are rich in culture and rich in love. You know what? They have also been historically left behind with little investments made to improve their lives and to allow them to thrive. New Mexican values are rooted in caring for each other. We know that we invest in what we care about. We know we invest in what we believe in. Well, we must invest in addressing the climate crisis because, in my district, we know that agua es vida, water is life. Our farmers and ranchers are depending on us to act and preserve their water resources. Communities along our rivers, along our acequias, need us to pass a Build Back Better plan that tackles the crisis head-on so that we can preserve the water flowing from our mountains and cascading along our streams for decades to come--to feed our ranchers, to feed our farmers, and to quench our thirst. In these same communities, people often come back home to care for their loved ones, their parents and grandparents. I have heard their stories. We asked them: Why did you come back? It is because there was nobody else available to care for my grandmother. There was nobody else to care for my tia. And we know that that care is a full-time job on its own. What does it take to go to work in rural America? It is more than just roads and bridges. It is comprehensive paid family and medical care. It is investments in long-term care and affordable childcare. In my State, 53 percent of people live in a childcare desert. Seventy-one percent of rural families live in areas without enough licensed childcare providers. We can change that. The Build Back Better plan must invest in our rural communities. We are talking about empowering rural regions, including our Tribal nations, with the resources to grow their economies, expanding access to affordable healthcare, lowering prescription drug prices, and making housing affordable. We can do this for our communities now. We can make this happen. We made progress with the American Rescue Plan, but we cannot stop there. We must build back better. It is not good enough to go back to where we were, because we know that where we were wasn't good enough. So we need to make sure that the child tax credit does not run out. We cannot kick our children out who came out of poverty. Fifty percent of the children in poverty in my State came out, and I am not willing to tell them: I am sorry, the clock struck 12, and you must go back into living in poverty. No. We must include an expansion extension of the child tax credit in the Build Back Better Act. Mr. Speaker, those children who were living in poverty are coming out. We also need to make sure that those children in rural America get their early pre-K that they need, and that is what Build Back Better will do. So the question I ask is simple: Do we want to keep an economy that serves only the wealthiest people and corporations? Or do we finally give our families a fair shot to truly thrive? As I said, we invest in the things we believe in. Well, we believe in our youngest children. We believe in our workers. We believe in the promise that lies in each of our communities. I am glad to be on the floor with my Progressive Caucus colleagues this evening to shine the light on the brilliance of the Build Back Better agenda. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I want to just touch on a few points. The gentlewoman mentioned the need for immigration. I would point out that when we pass our comprehensive immigration reform, we would have a $1.4 trillion benefit to our economy. We need immigrants to help care for us. They help feed us. They are part of our communities, and the Build Back Better Act, as the House is looking at it, includes immigration reform. Today, I was also reminded, during the remarks on something else, what today is. Today is sadly, and I say sadly, today is Latina Equal Pay Day. I have introduced a resolution to acknowledge that it is Latina Equal Pay Day, and what that tells us is that it has taken this long, into the fall, into October, before a Latina earns the same as a White man. That is simply wrong. And the other thing we know is that Latinas in the recession, the shecession, that was caused by that pandemic, 20 percent unemployment, the childcare that my colleagues are talking about, that would help those women get back to work. That would help them when we make sure that they are also paid what they deserve for the work they do, taking care of our children, putting food on our plates, and just taking care of those we love. I yield to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), somebody who I have always looked up to and learned much from.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman so much for her words. I do think it is important to remember what it actually means for a family. In New Mexico, the average cost of infant care is $8,617. That makes New Mexico one of 33 States and D.C. where infant care is more expensive than college. The Build Back Better plan will limit that to 7 percent of your income. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) on Build Back Better and what we have been fighting for and why we must get this done.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I would also note that when we adjust for the climate, we are also creating jobs. We anticipate there will be 763,000 green jobs available to our communities when we pass Build Back Better and address the climate crisis. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Newman).

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman so much for bringing to light and describing those individuals for whom we are working today, but it is they who are us. We are part of their communities and they have been telling us these stories and we are responding now because now is the time for us to act. I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan), who cosponsored the resolution I spoke of earlier for the Latina Equal Pay Day. We care for each other. That is why we look after each other.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Representative for her courage. She has raised the issues of environmental injustice since the day I met her. I know she raised them and she leads them in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and she has now described what it means on the ground, what it means in terms of jobs, but also what it means in terms of the life that you live, the air that you breathe. Because we know that in our communities, our communities of color suffer from higher rates of asthma. And when something like COVID comes about that ravages the lungs when they have already been damaged, it hurts. And that is why we saw the level of death and despair in the communities of color, in the Native American communities and the Latino communities. I would also point out that climate change is costly. When they don't want to spend $3.7 trillion, or $2.5 trillion, let's remember that failure to address climate change will lead to world instability. It is estimated that we would lose $23 trillion, a $23 trillion impact on our economy, our world economy by failing to address this. I don't want to pass over the impact in terms of the creating jobs for the people in our community, for the people in America. We know that we are now coming back. The pandemic is hard. We are still pushing out of it. Today we heard some great jobs numbers. 290,000 is below what they had projected so we are feeling good. We know that the pandemic is something that we are working on, that this President has done such a great job working with Congress on that. But still, it is estimated that the Build Back Better agenda would create 4 million jobs. That is 1.1 million caregiving jobs. That is not just a number. That is somebody that you are going to take your baby to. And you know that what we are going to do is make sure that that caregiver has the kind of training that she needs or he needs to provide the best quality care; that because we are providing assistance, that their caregiver is going to be receiving the kind of pay that she or he deserves because they are providing the most valuable thing to you. They are caring for the most precious resource, our children. And that is what Build Back Better will do. It will also create 556,000 manufacturing jobs, and those are going to be jobs with prevailing wages, good-paying jobs. That is what we need. When we talk about needing to bring manufacturing back, let's grow it here. And if you are for manufacturing in America, you have got to be for the Build Back Better Act, because that is going to create a half billion jobs. That is a lot of jobs. But what does that job mean? It means that there is somebody who is going to go to work, who has a family, or wants to start a family, and is going to be able to buy a home. But we know that buying a home is hard. So the Build Back Better Act is going to provide assistance for those first-time home buyers. Because we know that the hardest thing for buying a home is having that down payment, and we have down payment assistance in the Build Back Better Act. That is what we are going to be bringing. We have looked at what are the different levers of our economy that make a difference that are infrastructure, that help a community thrive, not just survive. That is what is in the Build Back Better Act, because we want our communities to thrive, not just survive. Construction jobs, 312,000 construction jobs, doing the things that we need in America, building those bridges, building those health clinics, building those schools and those businesses. Because it takes all of that; it takes an investment in us. And we do pay for it. There is not a dime--this is not about debt, because it is all paid for and it is paid for first by going after those who fail to pay their taxes, even when due. So, tax cheats, yes, we are going to make you pay your taxes, because that is only fair. We are going to make those corporations who have paid less in taxes than my child's schoolteacher, we are going to make them pay their fair share. Not a single family that is earning less than $450,000 a year--so if you are earning half a million dollars a year, then you will see a small increase in your taxes. But if any of you are outside listening to this and saying, what will it do to my tax burden? If you are earning less than a half a million dollars a year, you are going to be just fine. In fact, you are going to have a tax refund, because we have the child tax credit in there. We are lowering taxes for working families and middle-class families. We know that when we invest in creating jobs that pay fair wages, that include benefits like healthcare, paid family and medical leave, and retirement, we will help more people get those jobs and keep those jobs. Because when they are able to go home and help somebody they love who is ill in their family, then they don't have to leave that job. That is what we should be caring about. So when is the time to get this done? As I say in my Nuevo Mexico, ahora es cuando; it is time now to get this done. Because that is right, that is good for our communities, it is good for America, it is good for our women, and it is good for our planet. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, New Mexico is a border state with Texas. Because of the extreme abortion ban, our Texas hermanas are driving hours to receive abortion care in New Mexico. We are receiving women's rights refugees with open arms, hearts, and open clinics. To deputize complete strangers to interfere with a woman's health choice is constitutionally, medically, and morally wrong. Many minority, LGBTQ, and low-income women can't afford to travel and access quality healthcare. Let's pass the Women's Health Protection Act so that we can protect women's freedom in every State.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, had I been present on September 22, 2021 during the Roll Call No. 269 vote, the Dean of Pennsylvania Part C Amendment No. 5 to H.R. 4350, I would have voted YEA.

Mrs. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Mrs. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I stand today in support of the Women's Health Protection Act. New Mexico is a border State with Texas. Because of the draconian Texas abortion ban, Texas women are driving hours to receive reproductive healthcare in New Mexico. We are receiving women's rights refugees, our Texas sisters, with open arms, open hearts, and open clinics. New Mexico knows that a woman's freedom to make difficult health decisions belongs to her alone. In contrast, Texas politicians deputized complete strangers to interfere with her health choices. Texas' abortion ban falls most heavily on minority, LGBTQ, and low- income communities who can't afford to travel or access quality healthcare. I trust in the wisdom of my House colleagues, who, in passing the Women's Health Protection Act, are standing with the women of this country in every State.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, everyone knows the first atomic bomb was exploded at the Trinity Site in New Mexico. In fact, between 1945 and 1992, the United States Government conducted more than 200 aboveground nuclear tests. These tests exposed nearby communities and the people living and working in those communities to radiation. As a result of the exposure, tens of thousands of downwinders contracted cancers and other diseases. In 1999, in recognition of this exposure, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to provide a one-time payment to many of these individuals in addition to the uranium miners, millers, and transporters. Unfortunately, downwinders in many States, including my beautiful State of New Mexico, were not included and left to deal with the health effects of these explosions, like the very first bomb, on their own. I recently met with Tina Cordova and members of the Tularosa Basin Downwinder Coalition. They told me the stories of their loved ones who died as a result of these tests. They have fought for so long for the government to simply recognize them and their pain. We do hear their voices, we see their pain, and now we must act. It is not just New Mexicans that have suffered, it is people from Washington to the Dakotas to Texas, and all the way to Guam. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support amendment No. 241, and provide an apology to individuals in New Mexico, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nevada, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, who were exposed to radiation during the government's nuclear testing. Identical language was included in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Acts for both 2019 and 2020. It is past time for Congress to begin to acknowledge the harm nuclear testing caused to these communities by passing this amendment. Our government owes these communities a formal apology. Let's do that. My amendment is supported by Members on both sides of the aisle, and I urge my colleagues to vote for it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, precisely because of the importance of those atomic tests and the impact on the people of New Mexico, which we all recognize was the very first test of an atomic bomb, and the importance that it played in our history, and the ending of World War II. What we are asking for, at the very least, is an apology not for the bomb, but for the impact; the impact that it had on those lives of those people in those communities who are people that I know. They are grandparents and children, they are my neighbors. And I believe, that at the very least, we must apologize to those who we left out of RECA for the impact that they suffered with regards to their health. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor David Roybal's incredible contributions to our beloved New Mexico. His passion for life, for family, for the land, and for members of his community is everything that we cherish and stand for in our great state. David turns 80 years old today--still working the land and still giving back, as he has done his entire life. David was born and raised in Chupadero, New Mexico, and comes from a family that believed and practiced service and selflessness. David's grandfather- served in the Army, David's father served in World War II, and David followed in their footsteps and served in Vietnam. David, his father, and his father before him all received the Purple Heart. David gathers Purple Heart veterans together still and is a leader among these wounded warriors. While David served as a firefighter for 25 years, he worked with his neighbors in the acequias. He knows the profound significance that these irrigation systems bring to our agriculture, culture, economy, and heritage. In fact, David became Mayordomo in 1970. He worked and managed the lifeblood of our communities for 40 years. He worked because of his endless spirit to help others and improve the place he called home--never even expecting to be paid for his work. David embodies community. With everything he does, he promotes love, respect, selflessness, tradition, and kindness. There is no more perfect example of this than David's leadership in managing the acequia that brings so much value to every single member of the beautiful valley they call home. Happy Birthday, David. As I often say: agua es vida y acequia es comunidad. You are the life of our community. But it doesn't start and end with only water. Thank you for your lifelong commitment to breathing so many different kinds of life into our beloved communities.

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the life of Jeffrey Mitchell. Elected officials, business leaders, community advocates, and New Mexicans from all walks of life looked to Jeff's leadership and broad expertise to build a better New Mexico. Jeff was an economist and the Director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research (BBER) at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. As head of BBER, Dr. Mitchell oversaw the economic forecasting for the entire state. He directed economic analysis and projections that assisted private businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and cities, and towns. His regular presentations were followed closely by CEOs, political leaders, and community advocates. Jeff brought sharp insights, expert research, keen wit, and deep compassion to his leadership and policy roles. He believed firmly that economic analysis and community development should benefit the greater society and foster a broadly shared prosperity. Jeff was also a community builder. He actively worked with nonprofits to promote renewable energy and sustainable development and was a policy advisor to 1000 Friends of New Mexico. He co-founded SHARE New Mexico, a comprehensive, web-based resource directory that ensures everyone similarly dedicated to improving our communities has the information they need. As an economist, he used numbers and math to perform his work, but most importantly he relied on his love for our beloved communities to guide it. Jeff's passion for life and discovery cannot be distinguished from his professional accomplishments. As a young adult, Jeff hitchhiked across the United States and Central America with a book of philosophy in his backpack, curious to learn about these great lands and their peoples. He was a humanitarian from an early age, and he started his career working on housing and energy projects for low-income communities. He was a Fulbright scholar in Venezuela and traveled through every corner of New Mexico and the world, working and learning. It was that never-ending sense of curiosity that helped make Jeff's career--and life--so full. Jeff especially loved the arts and cultures of New Mexico and was the lead author of a groundbreaking report that found that they contributed $5.6 billion to the state's economy and nearly 10 percent of its jobs. His work on this issue even helped inform legislation I introduced--the Creative Economy Revitalization Act--to create jobs and support our creative workers through the pandemic. Jeff will be deeply missed by his friends, loved ones, and family. He left us too soon, and we will always remember him. Jeff's work, wisdom, and curious spirit will echo throughout New Mexico and across our country for generations to come. It is my honor to enshrine his contributions to our state, culture, and economy in history.