Melanie Stansbury

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 4371, or what the GOP is calling today the Kayla Hamilton Act. Let me begin by saying what should be clear to every Member of this body: The murder of Kayla Hamilton is a horrific and truly heartbreaking tragedy, and no family should ever have to endure such a loss. Nothing that we can do or say here will diminish the pain of those who loved her. Mr. Speaker, our responsibility as lawmakers in this Chamber is not only to grieve and stand with our communities but also to legislate wisely and honestly, and not to allow the tragedy of one family to become the tool for potential violence against other children. While the majority claims this legislation is about protecting children, this bill does not do that. In fact, it establishes a situation where children could be further incarcerated, abused, and traumatized by the hands of the United States Government, detained in immigration enforcement. If passed, this bill could not only require placing unaccompanied children in detention centers with little to no due process, in the exact kind of private prisons where we know horrific abuses are happening under this administration, or perhaps even, yes, the kinds of kids in cages that happened in the first Trump administration, which we will never forget. Not only will this bill not make it safer for children, but it could prohibit immigrant children from being reunified with their families here in the United States and would require government officials to conduct potentially invasive examinations of children as young as 12 years old. One would think that we could all agree that that is not okay, especially in the institutional setting of jails, where we know already that physical abuses are happening. This is a disgusting overreach of government authority. No government official should be allowed--more or less mandated under the law--to examine children's bodies in ways that could subject them to abuse, whether that is in this bill in government detention facilities, or whether the other bills that you all have been trying to pass this year that would possibly make it possible for children's bodies to be subjected to invasive examinations, including young girls and trans kids. None of this is okay. I have to say that if my colleagues are so truly concerned about child trafficking and the abuse of young women, then I say to you, tomorrow is the deadline for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires that the President, who threatened many of you not to vote for that bill, is required to release the files that show why the U.S. Government never prosecuted one of the most notorious sex traffickers of all time. Why are we not focused on that? If the House rules permitted, I would have offered a motion now to send this bill back to committee because this bill is dangerous for our children. My motion to recommit would also strike provisions that would allow Border Patrol and HHS to conduct physical examinations of children in detention centers. Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to include in the Record the text of this amendment, and I hope my colleagues across the aisle will have the moral compass to protect our children.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, it is undeniable that Letty Belin is somebody who will be remembered for her laugh, her kindness, and her compassion. Even when dealing with the most serious of subjects concerning the fate of our Nation's waters, Tribal water rights, the protection of lands and ecosystems, and their legal and policy arguments, it was her laughter, her love, and her kindness that shined through. The last time that I saw Letty was over a meandering cup of coffee, as they often were, on Stanford campus, where she was a twice-alum and where she contemplated the future of Western water as she often did. Letty Belin was most certainly one of the greatest legal and policy minds of our generation, working to protect the waters of the West, but Letty was also a dear friend and mentor to me and so many others who worked on Western water issues. She served as the lead counselor to two Deputy Cabinet Secretaries at the Department of the Interior; led the Environment Division at the New Mexico Attorney General's Office; spent decades practicing water, environmental, and Tribal law; and served on numerous boards. Above all else, she was a devoted parent to three children, loving grandmother, and friend who shared her deep love of wildlands, open spaces, and traveling the world. Mr. Speaker, it is with the greatest sadness that I rise this morning to honor the life of Letty Belin and her passing just a few weeks ago. I became close friends with Letty during her time at the Department of the Interior, where she served as counsel to Deputy Secretaries David Hayes and Mike Connor and as the chair of the Indian Water Rights Working Group. At the Department of the Interior, she championed the negotiation of water settlements to protect the water rights of 15 Tribal nations, which most certainly must be a historical record for what are often difficult, decades-long cases. In fact, so exemplary was her work that President Obama himself honored her with a special award for her negotiations involving the water rights of the Navajo and Hopi Nations. Letty certainly was no stranger to resolving difficult issues and, in fact, led on the legal and policy work that transformed water law in New Mexico during my lifetime to ensure that stream flows for our rivers and streams would remain. In fact, for any New Mexican who sat along a river grateful to see its waters flow, especially during a time of drought, it was Letty who created the legal framework to sustain those waters. This is perhaps one of her most enduring legacies, which she led after Attorney General Tom Udall, later Senator Udall, hired her to lead a brand-new Environment Division at the AG's Office in the 1990s. As Senator Udall shared with me just yesterday, Letty was uniquely superb at finding those commonsense solutions that people could support while still pushing for what needed to happen. It was through this lens that she also helped to protect the Middle Rio Grande River through a legal challenge under the Endangered Species Act. Where some saw only a small, endangered minnow, Letty saw the opportunity to save a vital habitat that supports two-thirds of New Mexico's species. In the process, her work helped save these species from extinction and brought a renewed urgency to protecting our beloved Rio Grande. It is that same commitment that she brought to her work in the Bay Delta in California. In fact, decades later, after her years of work as an environmental attorney, as a State and Federal civil servant, she would bring that same creativity and can-do spirit to her work on behalf of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. Mr. Speaker, it is with the greatest sadness that I honor Letty's legacy. The impact that she has had on this country is immeasurable. From her roots in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to her career defending the water resources and lands of the West, her lifetime of service continues to influence decisions and communities across the country today. Whether hiking through the hills, floating a river, or traveling the world, Letty leaves behind a legacy of friendship, wisdom, and extraordinary accomplishments. I, like so many, am forever grateful for her mentorship and friendship and join those who are honoring her memory and mourning her loss. It is with the deepest condolences and prayers, Mr. Speaker, that I send my love to her family, to her community, and to everyone who called her friend, mentor, sister, mom, and grandma.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as we debate the NDAA to highlight the important wins for New Mexico, even as we are investigating reports of unlawful strikes in the Caribbean. I applaud the bipartisan work that produced some major wins for my district and for New Mexico, including a long-overdue 3.8 percent pay raise for all military personnel, authorization of funding for Kirtland Air Force Base, and language which I am most grateful for to hold the Department of Defense accountable for cleaning up munitions and unexploded ordnance on Tribal lands, including in Isleta Pueblo. It also authorizes funding to stand with our allies in Europe against Russian aggression and strengthens our critical partnerships with allies in the Indo-Pacific. While I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the great work in achieving these wins, we will continue to hold this administration accountable.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more that we need a fix to healthcare now--not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, but today. Put your cards on the table, my friends. We want to see your fix to healthcare. We are ready to pass an extension of the ACA, and the people of this country cannot wait. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rule on the floor. There is so much going on in this rule: the NDAA, the INVEST Act, a bunch of so-called permitting bills that will gut environmental protections. But I rise, in particular, to advocate for an amendment that I submitted to this package to stop the President from bulldozing more public buildings, including further changes to the White House that they are planning right now. The President has already bulldozed the East Wing of the White House, a public treasure visited by millions, to build a private ballroom for himself and his billionaire friends. There were no hearings, no public input, and no regard for the law. Now the White House is quietly soliciting bids to repaint another White House building and to demolish four more historic Federal buildings here in Washington, D.C. They are shopping our shared heritage to the highest bidder. Yes, those bidders just happen to be some of the President's personal friends and campaign donors. This is corruption happening in broad daylight, right in front of our eyes. Mr. Speaker, these Federal properties belong to the American people, not to Trump's real estate empire. My amendment, which is based on the bill that I will file in the coming days, is urgent. It stops the President and any Federal official from unilaterally demolishing, selling, remodeling, or giving away the buildings that we own as the American people. It restores enforcement and accountability that existing laws already provide but that this administration is ignoring, and it increases the penalties to ensure accountability. Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court is on the verge of overturning 80 years of precedent, stripping away independent agencies of the power to say ``no'' to a President. When that happens, the guardrails will disappear. Mr. Speaker, we will stand here on the House floor and say to the executive branch: In the people's House, you do not have this authority. You do not have it now. You did not have it then. We will make sure that the law is clear. We are reaffirming the separation of powers before the Supreme Court attempts to dismantle it, and we cannot wait another day. We know the bulldozers are coming. Mr. Speaker, I urge every Member who believes in coequal power on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' to this amendment. Stand up for the Constitution, stand up for our shared history, and stand up for the American people.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, it is always instructive to come down here to the floor and listen to the debate. I think it speaks for itself. I rise today in opposition to the bills that are before us and in strong defense of the Department of Education, our students, and kids across America. As a public school student myself, I can say unequivocally that these bills are fundamentally unserious and designed to distract from the fact that the Trump administration is currently dismantling the Department of Education right before our very eyes. They have laid off thousands of employees, shuttered offices, carved up programs and transferred them to other agencies, declassified educators from getting student loans, threatened schools and universities, and given their friends contracts to not only rewrite educational curricula but to even rewrite American history itself. Let me remind my colleagues: This is the agency that was born out of the civil rights movement, the agency that ensures kids with disabilities have opportunities and ensures that all kids, no matter who they are or where they live, have access to education. Before the Department of Education, millions of children all across this country were denied access to schools and educational opportunities. Federal programs were duplicative and wasteful, and States regularly violated the basic civil rights of students. If our colleagues want to stand with students, want to stand with schools, and want to stand with educators, then we should be fighting to protect our schools, fighting to protect them from an administration that is trying to dismantle education as we speak. My colleagues should be fighting to address housing, food, and healthcare and to fix our broken economy. That is why, Mr. Speaker, I am here today to stand to oppose these bills and to stand with every public school and every kid across America who is fighting for a fair shot. That is what we were elected to do.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give an ode, perhaps a eulogy, to the downfall of DOGE and to the people's movement that brought about its demise. As we say good-bye to the departing, we take solace in knowing that our democracy endures in our people and our communities. The centralized Department of Government Efficiency, imagined in the insane mind of Elon Musk and empowered by those around him, which wreaked havoc on the vital programs that sustain our communities appears to no longer exist. In fact, the Director of OPM said just a couple of weeks ago: It doesn't exist. Even Musk himself downplayed his involvement this weekend, calling it merely a very interesting side quest. While the administration claims DOGE is now integrated into the agencies themselves, its existence as a formal priority appears to finally be dead. Even in Congress, the future of the DOGE Subcommittee, created by once eager and enthusiastic GOP allies on the Oversight Committee, is uncertain. The explosive breakup of Musk and Trump just a few months ago, and now the sudden pending retirement of the subcommittee chairwoman over the Epstein files and GOP threats and lies, leave the DOGE congressional arm uncertain and rudderless, but perhaps with the opportunity to be repurposed. Services for the departed will not be held. In lieu of flowers, please, America, continue to organize and fight for our democracy. As we reflect on DOGE's short but destructive life, we remember how it laid waste to vital programs despite its lofty promises of cost- cutting and efficiency. Unfettered by the rule of law and driven by unchecked hubris, DOGE unleashed chaos, illegally dismantled agencies, conducted mass firings, canceled contracts, and mined the sensitive data of millions of American people. The speed with which DOGE brought destruction to lifesaving agencies was matched only by the ferocity of the public outcry. Americans refused to sit idly by while children went hungry, while services for veterans, families, and elders were slashed without cause. In fact, in unison people across the political spectrum stood up to say: Hands off our data, hands off Social Security, and hands off the vital programs that keep our families alive in this country, and they showed Elon Musk the door. Millions marched, attended townhalls, wrote letters, made calls, and demanded that Congress stop DOGE's disastrous work. When the hypocrisy of this so-called efficiency agency was exposed in the President's big, ugly bill, even Trump and Musk split up, and ultimately the Chairwoman herself announced her departure from this body in the wake of broken promises and threats by the administration. The administration, while claiming to pursue savings, was cutting services for the most vulnerable not to reduce the debt, but ultimately, as has been shown, to fund tax breaks and giveaways to billionaires and those with the most. Even in its final moments, DOGE found comfort in self-dealing and everyday grift. As it dismantled agencies and fired workers, it seized opportunities to privatize public assets and laid the groundwork for billions in private contracts and self-dealing for the ages. Despite the Trump administration's claims that DOGE is still alive, and even its own X page dismissing the news as fake, we all know the truth: DOGE as the grifting scam it was imagined is dead, and its demise is a victory for the American people. Not only is its formal office gone, but its downfall demonstrated the strength of our unity. Americans rejected DOGE because they recognize a dirty deal when they see one. Now, let us be clear: We want to address the national debt, root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and build a government and programs that can serve everyone, but when the fraudsters themselves claim to have the fix, the American people see right through it. Yet, DOGE's end does not mark the end of our work. We know that the time to organize is now, that we must stay focused and resist the barrage of distractions designed to sap our resolve, that we must continue to mobilize like our democracy depends on it because it does, and we must continue to do this work every single day. This is not a time for despair. It is a time for action because the American people are strong. We are resilient, and we are ready for the fight ahead.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, Chaco Canyon is sacred ground. It is the ancestral homeland and living landscape to both Pueblo and Dine people. It is a World Heritage Site, a place of ancient ruins, kivas, and sacred lands as far as the eye can see. It is a place that is a mere 50 miles south of the San Juan River where I was born. I rise today in solidarity with Tribal leaders from across New Mexico to say that it is time to protect Chaco Canyon and these sacred lands. Before our very eyes, the Trump administration is trying to open these sacred lands to oil and gas drilling that would irrevocably destroy them. Can my colleagues imagine? This is one of the most sacred sites, not just in New Mexico but in North America. It is a place that Secretary Deb Haaland worked to set aside in 2023 and a place which the New Mexico delegation is seeking to permanently protect. As Pueblo leaders tell us, Chaco holds the footprints of our ancestors. Countless generations have carried forward their teachings and traditions. As Navajo leaders have said, it is a landscape deeply embedded in our way of life and which protects the living community, youth, elders, and our culture. Even as Tribal leaders are saying no, this administration is forging ahead to open these lands to desecration of sites that could never be recovered. Madam Speaker, we call on this administration to stop. These sites are sacred. We call on the American people to join us in this fight. We must protect Chaco Canyon, and Chaco Canyon is not for sale.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, Chaco Canyon is sacred, the ancestral homeland, and a living landscape and home to the Pueblo and Dine people. It is a World Heritage Site and a landscape of ancient ruins, kivas, and sacred lands as far as the eye can see, which is why I stand here tonight in solidarity with Tribal leaders from across New Mexico to say protect Chaco Canyon, protect it from the attacks of a Trump administration that is trying to open these lands once again to oil and gas drilling. Can you imagine, one of our most sacred sites, which Secretary Haaland protected in 2023, which the New Mexico delegation is trying to permanently withdraw, a place the Pueblo leaders say holds the footprints of their ancestors and countless generations; Navajo leaders who say that it is deeply embedded in our way of life, the living community, and our very culture. However, this administration has forged ahead to open these lands to the irreparable desecration of drilling on this sacred site. I call on the administration and the American people to join us in this fight to protect Chaco Canyon.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, Free D.C. To my colleagues across the aisle, I appreciate the debate, but I have to say I thought we were going to try to fix healthcare, to address costs, try to fix the economy, and get the country back on track. Isn't that what the promise at the end of the shutdown was when we came back into session? Yet, here we are, 1 week after the end of the shutdown, after a truly harrowing several days dealing with the Epstein petition, and what are you guys putting on the floor to eat up precious floor time as we are headed into the holidays? We are debating bills to micromanage D.C. affairs, bills to open public land and Tribal sacred sites to oil and gas drilling, and a ridiculous political resolution that I heard your own Members last night on the floor talking about. They called it stupid and kind of crazy. Those are their words, not mine, but I don't disagree, so don't get me wrong. After 54 days of the House of Representatives being shut down, all you guys really seem to have time to do is run bills like this? What I find particularly offensive is that in a week that we should be working to address the healthcare crisis in a bipartisan manner, you are trying to pass bills today that would undo local police reforms that our Nation's Capital put into place after George Floyd's murder to ensure that the people of this city are safe and that the justice system is fair for them. If it is not clear, I am a hard ``no'' on these bills, not just because I believe they represent congressional overreach and abuse of power, but because they will harm the people of our Nation's Capital. Also, and I think this is where the conversation needs to be had, if we actually want to address public safety and help communities across this country that elected us to do this work, we need to be addressing real solutions. We need to be addressing the addiction crisis; investing in behavioral health and addiction recovery programs; investing in diversion and community-based programs that help people who are hurting and living on the edge get back on their feet; investing in our children and pipelines for young people to have lives that they can only dream of; fixing a broken system that makes it difficult for people who are living on the edge to survive; raising wages; lowering the costs of housing, food, energy, and healthcare; and, yes, fixing the broken healthcare system that you all said you were going to come back to address. These are the systems that are broken and that are hurting our people, especially in New Mexico. It is not just the cost of healthcare that is going up, but our hospitals, clinics, and providers who are struggling to make sure that they can stay afloat, especially after the big, ugly bill gutted and promised to take $1.5 trillion out of the public healthcare system. It is why I have been working to champion bipartisan healthcare and health solutions, like bills to invest in urban, rural, and Tribal healthcare; to invest congressional funds into building clinics; to sponsor legislation to address the fentanyl crisis; to recruit and train more nurses and healthcare professionals; to recruit more counselors to fix the Medicaid and Medicare system; to expand telehealth and broadband; and, yes, to finally put this country on a track to universal healthcare. I believe that healthcare is a human right. I believe that access to food, water, shelter, and safety is a human right. I believe that justice, freedom, and access to the criminal justice system are human rights. I believe that basic dignity is a human right. That is why I implore my colleagues to stop with these divisive political tactics every day and these bills attacking our communities and focus on the issues that matter and that the American people are asking us to do. That is why we were elected. Real lives are on the line, so let's get back to work on real issues. Stop attacking Washington, D.C. Stop attacking our public lands. Stop attacking the basic dignity and human decency of our communities.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to stand with truth and justice, to stand with every survivor of sexual assault, and to demand the release of the Epstein files now. I say to the one man on planet Earth who has the power to do so, Mr. President, it is time to release the files. Today, we vote on a resolution to release these files, but we have already subpoenaed them, and the President has refused to comply, engaged in a monthslong coverup right before our very eyes, threatening and pressuring Members of Congress, and even calling his own allies traitors, and this legislation a hostile act. Well, Mr. President, the irony is not lost on us that such desperate attempts to evade accountability are at the heart of the matter itself, as the Epstein case is, at its core--its dirty, rotten core--about rich and powerful men who abuse the system to avoid accountability and who engaged in unspeakable crimes and believed that they could do anything to any woman or any little girl and get away with it because they knew their friends in powerful places would protect them or they could simply buy their way out of the justice system. Well, we are here today to stand up with the survivors and say: Time is up. We demand accountability. Now, it is also not lost on me that I am standing in this Chamber, in this seat of power from which wars have been launched and the fates of millions have hung, a Chamber where in the nearly 250 years of this great Nation, only 3 percent of the people who have ever stood here on this floor have been women. That is why we must stand up, why we must demand accountability, why we are not saying ``pretty please.'' We are engaged in a criminal investigation of criminal behavior in a justice system that has failed women and girls who were raped and who were abused and of the powerful people who never were held to account. We are not, Mr. President, as you have asked us, just going to move on. We will continue to pursue justice to the end. Let me tell you about this investigation, about the evidence that has come in just in the last week from documents produced by the Epstein estate, including over 1,600 mentions of you, Mr. President. There are emails, court documents, and statements about a lawsuit by a woman accusing Donald Trump of rape at Jeffrey Epstein's house, whether it happened or not. There is a sexual assault suit against Epstein in which Donald Trump appears to have been subpoenaed, served, and deposed. There are sworn statements and court documents from a 16-year- old who was recruited at Mar-a-Lago and then raped and groomed, not only by Jeffrey Epstein, but his rich and powerful friends. There were statements from Epstein himself, who said Trump knew about the girls. In fact, Trump, by his own admission, knew that Epstein and Maxwell were recruiting young girls from Mar-a-Lago. There were also statements that Trump was at Epstein's house, including with girls, in which Epstein bragged about having pictures and passing a woman to Trump, and noted that Trump spent hours with one of the victims and was the ``dog that hasn't barked.'' These files also include financial transactions between Epstein and Trump. There are discussions of financial affairs, potential money laundering, including in real estate deals. There was also an admission by Jeffrey Epstein himself that he was facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years in Federal prison, yet the DOJ failed to prosecute him. There are statements by Epstein that he believes that Donald Trump was involved in the case. I say to the American people: There is a mountain of evidence in front of your very eyes. Believe your eyes. It is right there in front of us. Mr. President, let me say this to you: You can run, but you cannot hide because the survivors know what happened. To every woman and little girl who has wept or felt shame or believed that you were alone or that the system had failed you, to every parent who has feared the absolute worst, and to every survivor who believed the system was rigged against them, know that you are not alone. We see you. We are fighting for you, and we will not stop.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to say: Welcome back to the House of Representatives. This is our first full week back after the shutdown and the 54 days of lockout that we experienced here in this Chamber, after a completely wasteful, avoidable, and painful shutdown that not only harmed families, workers, and our communities but cost our country billions of dollars. It did not result, ultimately, in the fight to end the attacks on our healthcare. Mr. Speaker, rather than coming back this week after our shutdown, the longest shutdown in history, to address the real issues that were at the heart of this debate--lowering healthcare costs, addressing the healthcare cliff, addressing the cost of food, and addressing the cost of housing--what are we doing here this week? We are attacking our public lands and opening them up for oil and gas drilling. This week, our colleagues across the aisle, fresh from their multiweek vacation, have come with a whole slew of special asks by special interests from the oil and gas industry. We have H.J. Res. 130, the Congressional Review Act, to reverse a resource management plan that was developed with Tribal consultation and public benefit to open the door to coal development in an area where communities have been abundantly clear that they do not want these attacks on these public lands because of the threats it poses to climate change, public health, and to their future. Why are they ignoring what these communities have already said? Yet, here we are voting on legislation this week that would repeal community-based strategies to protect our public lands. All three of the CRA measures that are scheduled to be voted on this week are literally put forward to open some of our Nation's most sacred and treasured places. This includes opening protected areas in the Arctic that are not only important to protect for ecological reasons and wildlife but for cultural reasons. These are areas that our colleagues know that Tribal communities have fought for generations to protect. These are areas that our colleagues know are sensitive. These are areas that we know during the first Trump administration, when they tried to sell them off to the lowest bidder, the oil and gas industry didn't even want to drill there. Yet, here they are trying to reverse the protections that have been put in place to protect not only these important lands in the Arctic, but these sacred lands. Mr. Speaker, these bills not only impact these lands but are part of a larger pattern that we see in this administration of revoking previous protections that have been put in place to respect not only the ecological importance of lands but also sacred places. In fact, during the shutdown, Tribes in my district received notice that the administration was considering repealing the protections for Chaco Canyon. Mr. Speaker, you should understand what Chaco Canyon is. It is a global World Heritage Site. It is a sacred site. It is a place generations of Pueblo and Dine Navajo people have come to pray. It is a place where on a cold morning standing on top of the mesa overlooking Pueblo Bonito, you can see the ancient cities, kivas, and sacred sites not just below but that stretch out across a landscape as far as the eye can see. It is a place where you can walk in the footsteps of people who built these structures and you understand why it is sacred. It is the ancestral homeland of the Pueblo people. It is a place today where religious leaders and community leaders continue to come for their religious practices. It is a place that we have fought to protect for generations. Yet in the middle of the longest government shutdown, as Tribes could not even get basic programs and services to operate, could not figure out if their grants and their programs were able to continue to operate, could not get access to lands that were important to them, this administration had the gall to send a letter to our Tribes saying that they were going to revoke protections. Mr. Speaker, I am here to say we will fight back, and we will defeat this effort.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, it is like the changing of the seasons. There is a consistent pattern across our economy year after year. Democrats rescue and build an economy that empowers workers, that invests in American-made jobs, that invests in our infrastructure and our people just as we did in passing the largest bills in generations over the last several Congresses: the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, which not only invested millions of dollars in communities all across the United States but created countless jobs and opportunities for our people. Just like that, a President like the current President comes in, just as he has done twice, and drives up the deficit, borrows against our children's futures, and takes American taxpayer dollars to give billionaires permanent tax credits. Unemployment rises, families fall behind, and the damage is done. Then we are called upon to pick up the pieces once again, put people back to work, and restore stability to our economy. If you are wondering what season we are in now, all you have to do is take a look at the headlines: ``Grocery inflation highest since 2022 as Trump tariffs pile on.'' Or this one: ``Poorer Americans hit hardest as tariffs fuel price rises.'' Mr. Speaker, it is a cold winter for families across America under Trump's America, under his failing economic plan, and tariffs that are not even legal and which this House of Representatives, under the GOP, voted yesterday on a rule with language to abrogate their constitutional authority to rein him in. I watched them flip the votes on the floor as they gave away our constitutional authority to hurt American workers. Long-term unemployment is reaching heights we haven't even seen since the beginning of the pandemic. Grocery prices are more expensive than they have ever been. Inflation is forcing Americans to live on credit cards. Housing is so expensive that young people can't even move into their own homes. People can't access the most basic healthcare in this country right now. That is Trump's economy. As we take stock of where this economy stands today, I think it is pretty damn clear why Donald Trump went bankrupt six times. He is literally bankrupting this country and the hardworking people that are its backbone. The livelihoods of our communities are on the line, not poker chips in one of his Atlantic City casinos. These are farmers, ranchers, working people, families whose lives hang in the balance. In New Mexico, our farmers are being crushed under the weight of these tariffs, losing export markets, watching the USDA programs, that once purchased homegrown, healthy foods to put into our schools and food banks, dry up. Here is another headline: ``Farmageddon. Many U.S. farmers are warning that they are at a breaking point,'' a breaking point, just like our families, farmers who depend on reliable markets. When the President imposes tariffs on our allies, depending on which way the wind is blowing on any given day, he forces hardworking people in this country into financial ruin. The result is only the largest corporations and the rich get richer, driving the prices up, driving small farmers out, consolidating our food system, and pushing the American Dream, just basic dignity, further out of reach for our people. For me, this is personal, Mr. Speaker, because I grew up in a working family where people in my family worked multiple jobs and still struggled to get by, where we didn't have access to healthcare, where we didn't always have access to reliable housing. Mr. Speaker, this is personal. In New Mexico, there are thousands of families who are struggling just to make it to the end of the month. I will say that, despite the darkness, New Mexico is leading the way and showing what it looks like to lead with integrity and invest in an economy that will make it possible for families to thrive. In fact, in just a couple of weeks, on October 1, our State legislature will convene in the wake of Republicans' disastrous big, ugly bill, which will gut healthcare and food assistance programs, to actually shore up the programs that will save and support thousands of lives in our State. They will invest in food and healthcare programs and fix the public broadcasting funding that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle blew a hole through when the majority passed the rescissions package. Perhaps the most consequential legislation and policies that New Mexico has announced in the last several weeks are that we are now officially the first State in the Nation ever in the history of this country to guarantee universal free childcare. That is going to put over $12,500 back into the pockets of every working family in New Mexico. That is real money. That is money for putting a roof over your head. That is money for putting food on the table. That is money to go back to school. That is what it looks like when you invest in working families. In addition to that, New Mexico is the only State in the Nation that guarantees free college. Whether you want to go to trade school or get a higher education degree in graduate school, in New Mexico, you are going to do it without debt because we understand that the future of our country, economy, and communities depends on investing in people, not taking away the vital programs that support them. Every day, I am working on behalf of our communities to invest in early childhood education, entrepreneurial programs, bringing millions of dollars home for infrastructure, youth programs, healthcare, behavioral health, and clinics back in New Mexico because we know that that is how you deliver for real working people. Mr. Speaker, the seasons may change, but we know this cycle is going to go on. Families in New Mexico and across the Nation are going to continue to pay the price for your billion-dollar tax breaks. Americans literally cannot afford this economy. They can't afford this administration or the GOP's leadership here in this House. That is why we are here to speak up, speak out, fight back, and stop the damaging programs that are eviscerating our economy and harming our communities. We know the season will change, and we know we will come back and invest in hardworking American families. Until then, we call upon our States, Tribal, and local leaders to do what they can. They should know that we are here in the fight for real Americans.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to stand union strong with our workers across America and in solidarity with my sister from New Jersey, Representative McIver. We stand union strong, labor strong, America strong, and worker strong. Mr. Speaker, I think it is notable, as we stand on this floor tonight, that there is not a single Republican here to stand with our workers. Let's be honest: When my colleagues across the aisle say that they stand for American manufacturing and American jobs, they don't mean that they stand with American workers. They are there to stand with the corporations and the people who line their pockets off of the sweat of the hardworking men and women who actually do the work in this country. Unfortunately, as I look around this floor this evening, I don't see a single one of them standing in solidarity. Under this administration, we have seen an unprecedented attack on our unions and worker protections. Protections that keep our workers safe from injury, illness, and death on the job, all to shield employers from accountability and to increase their profits. Instead of standing with workers, they weakened rules on overtime, rolled back safety standards, and gutted protections for wage theft. If you want any indication where the current President stands on the Department of Labor and American workers, all you have to do is walk down the street and you will see a three-story picture, not of the American worker on the front of the Department of Labor, but of Donald Trump's face, who spent American taxpayer, hard-earned dollars to put his face on the Department of Labor, which is the United States agency that is supposed to demand protections for our workers. Now, for me this isn't just political. It is personal because I grew up in a labor family. My mother was a factory seamstress. In fact, she sewed 79,000 pockets on jeans and tried to organize a garment workers union at her factory and was fired for trying to demand fair wages for factory seamstresses like herself and thousands of women and people across the country who work every day for this country. She was fired for daring to demand better conditions and higher pay, but it is her grit and her determination and her belief in the dignity of workers that I carry with me into this Chamber every day because even upon her firing for trying to organize as a factory worker, my mother became one of the first women operating engineers to work on heavy equipment in the State of New Mexico. That is the spirit I see all across our State. Just last week, we stood in solidarity with striking workers and our Teamsters local at the Creamland Dairy fighting for fair wages and safe conditions. That solidarity has resulted in a fair wage and a new labor contract for those workers. At the University of New Mexico, we stood with graduate students who were holding work-ins as they demand a fair contract. We stood with SEIU and our residents in our medical schools who are demanding fair pay. We are standing with our teachers who are demanding fair pay. And we stood with the Wells Fargo workers in Albuquerque who made history in becoming the first unionized branch ever in the history of this country. It was that solidarity, when we stood with 80,000 flight attendants stuck in endless negotiations, which helped us to get fair wages and a new contract for our flight attendants. That is what it means to stand for workers. It is not just speeches and pictures on buildings, but it is action in standing with our unions and standing for fair pay because, Mr. Speaker, the theme here is simple: Workers just want a fair shot and they want dignity. Unfortunately, under this administration, the rug is being pulled out from under their feet. It is shameful, dangerous, and it flies in the face of everything that this country was built on because let us not forget that unions built this country. It is unions that gave us the weekend. It is unions that gave us the 5-day workweek. It is unions that gave us overtime pay. It is unions that gave us safe workplaces. It is unions that gave us fair wages. Every worker in America benefits from the courage of organized labor and every man and woman who has stood for their fellow workers. Mr. Speaker, I will end with this. I know where I stand. I stand with my mother and the countless generations that come before us of workers across the United States and in my home State who stood with the American worker. We will always stand for unions, we will always stand for labor, and we will always stand for the American worker.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, violence is never the answer, but neither is silence. We must reject political violence in all of its forms and push back against all who would seek to stoke further violence, division, and fear amongst us. In fact, the very foundation of our democracy is built on the idea that the voices of our people are our most powerful tool, exercised at the ballot box, the debate podium, and in our communities. That is how we come together as a nation to form a more perfect Union. Indeed, the very concept of democracy was forged in that crucible, that a government by the people and for the people is exercised through the fellowship of debate. Let us join in that fellowship to see our fellow Americans as brothers and sisters, as neighbors and friends, even when we disagree. Yet, let this not become a moment to silence debate or silence dissent or silence the truth or those of conscience who work to hold our leaders accountable and right the wrongs of an unjust world. That is how history will remember us: those who stood, those who spoke, and those who fought to protect our democracy and bend the arc of history toward justice.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I remind us that we are here to talk about the National Defense Authorization Act and to stand with our servicemembers who proudly signed up to serve this great Nation. We will continue to stand with our servicemembers. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition today to this amendment and in defense of our Nation's servicemembers. Our ranking member and the chairman have negotiated a bipartisan NDAA, which invests in military pay raises, quality of life, and many important aspects for military readiness. We should be focused on that in the National Defense Authorization Act, not another amendment bullying trans people. If you ever needed proof that trans folks live rent free in the minds of my GOP colleagues, then look no further than this amendment because there are literally no known and out transgender people serving in our academies right now because of the transgender military ban. So what is this amendment all about? The GOP obsession with bullying trans people is weird. It is invasive. It is abusive. It is discriminatory, and it is dangerous to our military readiness. I want to remind my colleagues that words have power. You are standing in one of the most powerful institutions not only in the United States but in the world, and my colleagues are using this platform to bully a population that is vulnerable here in the United States. I have to say: If my colleagues across the aisle are so genuinely concerned about the well-being of women who are serving in the military and sexual violence, how about actually addressing that and the 45 percent of women who have reported that they have been sexually harassed just last year alone? Dare I say: If my Republican colleagues are concerned about sexual violence and deviance, how about they release the Epstein files? How about that? This amendment reflects a sustained, targeted, villainization of the trans community and the LGBTQ+ community that continues day after day on this floor. The trans community represents only about 1 percent of the population, as we understand it, but you wouldn't actually think that listening to this Chamber because they are spending time that we should be talking about military readiness and our national security to bully trans people at our service academies. This has nothing to do with service to this great Nation or our national security. I say to my colleagues: Let's get back to work on behalf of the American people and defeat this disgusting and hateful amendment. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a grateful but sad heart to honor the life of U.S. Senator Fred Harris, a tireless champion for justice, democracy, and the people of New Mexico and Oklahoma. Senator Harris fought for Native American and civil rights, returned sacred lands to our Tribes, and helped advance the Great Society programs that have lifted millions out of poverty. His impact goes far beyond his time in the Senate. He created the Fred Harris fellowship that has brought hundreds of UNM students to Washington, D.C., to give them firsthand experience in public service. He was a mentor, an educator, a dear friend, and a hero to so many in our State and across the Nation. While we grieve his passing, his legacy will live on in the countless people whose lives he has touched and who continue to fight for justice he dedicated his life to and the legacy this United States leaves behind.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I am proud to represent a district with among the highest proportion of Active-Duty servicemembers and veterans in the United States, men and women who put their lives on the line every day and embody New Mexico's tradition of service and sacrifice, because service is a part of who we are. As written, there is so much important bipartisan work in this bill. It puts our soldiers and their families first. It delivers a 3.8 percent pay raise across the board, increases food allowances, strengthens education for military kids, expands access to dental care under TRICARE, and invests in modernizing our military to keep America safe. It includes report language, which I am so grateful, on a bipartisan basis that the committee worked with us to help clean up unexploded ordinance in Tribal lands in New Mexico. This is the best of what America has to offer; true bipartisan work. Mr. Speaker, so that is why I say to my colleagues across the aisle: Please don't blow up this bill. Our troops need this bill. Don't add poison pill riders that undermine our national security, that weaken our military, and make our Nation less safe just to appease a small fraction of their base. We know that there are culture amendments that are teed up for later today that undermine support for Ukraine, that undermine environmental protections, and, yes, that undermine the readiness of our force by continuing to attack both women and LGBTQ+ servicemembers. That is the worst of our country. I ask my colleagues across the aisle to do what is right for our military, for our country, and for our national security, and to preserve the base bill.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I am always amazed, disturbed, and sometimes can't believe what I hear on this floor. We are sitting here today as a government shutdown is looming. Survivors of the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates are here on this campus sharing their harrowing and heartbreaking stories. A court has just ordered that Trump's illegal tariffs have been put in place and are harming Americans and violating the law, and the President is deploying our brave men and women who serve in the National Guard to occupy American cities. What is the GOP's agenda for this week, crammed into this one resolution that we are here to debate? There is one fake appropriations bill that they know will never pass, three resolutions to undermine protections for the environment, one resolution snuck in during the dark of night to reconvene the January 6 commission to try to rewrite history, and one resolution designed to provide Donald Trump and the White House cover in one of the largest Epstein coverups that we have seen. This isn't about protecting people. We have a bipartisan discharge petition right there at the Clerk's desk. If my colleagues would like to see the files released, the two of you who are in this Chamber right now could literally walk down there and sign that petition right now. But you don't want the files released. You want it controlled by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee because, if you did, you would sign that petition right there that would release those unredacted files. Mr. Speaker, let's also be clear. Donald Trump issued a statement today that said to all of you, you Republicans here in this Chamber, that if you sign that discharge petition, he will count it as a hostile act. That is right. The United States President is threatening members of his own party in this Chamber from signing a petition that would release the full, unredacted Epstein files. Mr. Speaker, my question is: What are they hiding? Who are they protecting, and why are our colleagues failing to have a backbone not only to stand up for the survivors but to stand up for the American people?

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride and a bit of sadness that I rise today to say goodbye for now and thank you to my dear friend, and one of Congress' greatest champions for our public lands, Mr. David Brooks, who officially retires this week. Over the last 38 years, David has served as an exceptional leader in the United States Senate and House, serving over the last 36\1/2\ years as counsel to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He is the longest tenured ENR counsel in history, working for eight different Senate chairs and ranking members and one House Member. During this time, David has worked on bills protecting nearly 25 million acres of public lands, 25 million acres of wilderness, national parks, monuments, wild and scenic rivers, heritage areas, national recreation areas, and trails. He helped to write, negotiate, and pass one of the largest conservation bills in modern history with the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act. He helped to create permanent and mandatory funding for The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has protected public lands across the country. During his service, he helped craft 10 of the largest and most significant public land and water packages in decades, including helping to pass hundreds of individual bills and creating nearly 50 new national park units and 17 million acres of new national wilderness. As counsel to two New Mexico Senators, he also helped to protect the Valles Caldera, Organ Mountains, and Columbine-Hondo Wilderness and many other efforts to protect the lands and waters of our State. As you can see, Madam Speaker, the impact of David's work speaks for itself. To any American who has stood in wonderment and awe of our Nation's public lands and most special places, behind the ever- contested efforts to protect these lands, year in and year out, has stood the humble and steadfast work of David Brooks. For those of us who know David as I do, Madam Speaker, as a mentor, as a friend, and as a teacher, you know more than anything he would hate this speech. In fact, I am amazed that he is even here today in this Chamber to be recognized for his service. That is because the David we know and love has spent his entire career at his desk writing and negotiating bills, meeting constituents, working with Members, mentoring staff, and, yes, spinning the occasional tale or two. For anyone who has visited that hub, or tornado, of activity, you know what I am talking about. David's office has always been a meeting place for debate, big ideas, tough conversations, and getting things done. For those of us who have had the pleasure of working directly with David, we know him as a kind and wise teacher, mentor, and guide. This too will be his legacy of his time here in Congress, and for that we are forever grateful. He will also be known as a true Tucsonan, who never lost his connection and roots to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. A hometown hero in his own right, David began his political career in high school volunteering for another Tucson icon, the great Congressman Raul Grijalva, cutting his teeth as a high school volunteer for one of Mr. Grijalva's school board campaigns in which Congressman Grijalva became the city's first Chicano school board members in history. After graduating from the University of Arizona, David came to Washington in 1987 to work for the great Congressman Morris K. Udall where he worked in the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, now known as the House Natural Resources Committee. Like Mo Udall and Raul Grijalva, whom he worked for, two of our greatest public lands champions, David leaves the Hill with exceptional service and an unmatched record in protecting our Nation's public lands. If it is not already clear, Tucson has a lot to be proud of, which is why we are so grateful that some of Mr. Grijalva's former staff, staff from the House Natural Resources and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and conservation organizations working across the country, have joined us here today. We certainly know that John and Carol, his parents back home, and his wife, Celeste, and son, Ben, who are here with us today, are deeply proud as well. Above all else, we are going to miss David Brooks and his constant presence on the Hill. For so many of us David has been a rock, a friend, and a person whose loyalty, kindness, and decency stands out in a place where it is hard to come by. David Brooks is a one of a kind, an American classic, and a Tucson hero. We congratulate him on his new retirement.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to say hands off our Social Security because Social Security is not a luxury. It is not a handout. It is a sacred trust, a promise that we make to Americans that the hard-earned money that they pay into the system will be there when they need it--our seniors, our children who have lost a parent, people in our communities who live with disabilities. It is the lifeline that sustains our communities, our seniors. It is a promise that they can live their lives with dignity. I am here today with my dear colleague, Congressman John Larson, to not only say hands off our Social Security but also to introduce a bill with that name. This bill will protect Social Security from an administration that is trying to systematically dismantle it. It will protect benefits. It will stop the privatization of benefits. It will stop staffing cuts and closures, protect privacy and data, and protect the proud men and women who go to work every day to serve our seniors at the Social Security Administration. Mr. Speaker, these are the American people's benefits, and we are fighting to ensure that not only are they here today and tomorrow but for future generations to come. That is why I am so proud to be in this fight with my dear colleague, the man, the legend, the Congressman who has fought for Social Security for so many years, Ranking Member John Larson of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), the ranking member.