Melanie Stansbury

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove).

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman).

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to ensure that the American people and every single New Mexican back home in my home State knows exactly what this bill is all about. H.R. 1 is not a bill to cut costs and unlock American energy. H.R. 1 is a blatant giveaway of public lands, public waters, and public minerals to the highest bidder. It guts environmental laws, it opens oil and gas leasing to mining and multinational companies, and it will send our communities and our laws back to the 19th century--the 19th century--to 1847 specifically, when we opened the West through the hardrock mining law to minerals claims and multinational corporations, who took advantage of our communities, who dumped tailings piles into our rivers and our streams, and who strip-mined sacred and ancestral lands of our indigenous communities. That is right. This bill would take us back before the automobile was invented, before we had electricity, before women had the right to vote in this country, and before New Mexico even became a territory of the United States when our communities, lands, and waters were stripped away from them and given to the highest bidder. So let me be clear: This legislation is not about lowering costs. It is not about lessening the burden at the pump. It is not about lowering costs for our families. These are just talking points that have been provided by fossil fuel and mining companies and by their allies across the aisle who see the opportunity to strip away environmental regulations and vast amounts of public resources, lands, and waters for private profit. In fact, this bill will increase the deficit, robbing our communities of more than a century of hard-fought environmental wins to protect our lands and waters. That is why House Democrats have a clear message today: Not on our watch. Let's be clear and talk exactly about what this bill is and does. My friends, Mr. Chairman, on the other side of the aisle want to claim that this bill will create jobs, that more drilling and mining will lower costs, and that it is going to somehow magically solve our global critical mineral shortage. Let me be clear, as somebody whose parents worked in the energy industry. My father was a welder in the oil and gas fields; my mother, a crane mechanic at a coal-fired power plant. As somebody who spent over two decades of my career working on natural resources issues, let me say it loud and clear: We cannot mine and drill our way to solve these problems. In fact, this bill not only does not help our communities but puts our Nation and our planet at risk. Scientists from across the world released a report just last week that made clear that if we do not take significant action right now to curb global emissions, we will cross a global tipping point and catastrophic global climate change. This bill would threaten our global planetary health. In fact, this legislation, which the President has already said he would veto, would open vast swaths of our land and our water to oil and gas drilling, to mining, not to lower costs, but to line the pockets of wealthy oil companies. In the name of streamlining, it would gut environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation that Richard Nixon signed; the Clean Water Act; the Clean Air Act. It would gut protections for our communities to be able to actually have a say in what happens in their own lands and waters. It would make it easier for large corporations to pollute and dump toxins without consequence. Finally, this legislation not only does not lower costs but raises the deficit by billions of dollars. So I ask the American people and I ask New Mexicans: Is this what you want Congress working on, a 175-page bill filled with thinly veiled corporate giveaways that gut our environmental laws, that cut our communities out, and that would line the pockets of private corporations? No. The American people want clean air. They want clean water. They want climate action. They want a planet that they can leave to their children. That is why Democrats and the President fought to pass the Inflation Reduction Act just a few months ago in this Chamber. That bill makes the largest investment in climate action ever in the history of this country and ever in the history of this planet. Our bill, the bill we passed to address the global climate crisis, will create millions of jobs. It will rebuild our infrastructure and our local economies. It will invest in our communities and the resilience of our ecosystems. It will reduce household costs like our friends across the aisle are trying to claim with this giveaway bill. Guess what? It reduces the deficit, all while putting us on a path to cutting carbon emissions in this country by 40 percent by 2030. Guess what else happened? Not a single Republican in this Chamber voted for that bill. Not one. Not one Member on the other side of the aisle voted to lower costs, voted for a clean energy future, voted to protect the environment, voted to protect our communities. We cannot drill and mine our way to a clean energy and climate secure future. Mr. Chairman, we cannot afford to pass H.R. 1. We cannot afford to send our communities back to the 19th century. We cannot afford to let private companies deforest and strip-mine our lands. We cannot afford to go back to a time when rivers were on fire, and companies dumped toxins into our groundwater with impunity. That is why I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this legislation because the path is clear. We must take climate action now and build a clean energy economy and leave a livable planet for our communities, for the future, and for our Nation.

Ms. STANSBURY

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

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment, which is, as the gentleman has described, a simple training requirement to ensure that this act is implemented correctly. Seems like a perfectly reasonable thing in and of itself; that is, it would be if the actual underlying bill that it seeks to modify was reasonable and not some sort of bizarre, Orwellian doublespeak designed to mislead the American people about what this bill is actually about. Nothing about this bill is reasonable. Nothing about this bill, the process of how it has been brought to the floor, and how it has misled the people of our country about what is happening is normal. It does not secure the freedom of speech or any other freedoms of the American people. It actually endangers them. In fact, it imperils our democracy by handcuffing the ability of law enforcement, national security, and intelligence officials to provide factual, critical information to social media companies and the public in order to prevent crimes or to ensure that election fraud tampering does not occur and that there is no foreign interference with our elections. This is not some unintended consequence of the bill; rather, it is the entire point of this bill, as my Republican colleagues have conceded. When we marked up this bill in the Oversight Committee, Chairman Comer produced two emails from a single FBI agent to Twitter that he said were ``the purpose of the bill.'' You might be asking, what terrible censorship was the FBI trying to achieve in those emails? When Democrats were finally provided with the email content, it was an email to Twitter from the FBI identifying fraudulent election tweets. In fact, the content identified that there were multiple tweets that were misleading about the time, place, or manner of voting in the upcoming election. This is the smoking gun that they are claiming is taking away our freedoms--that is right--election misinformation that was meant to deceive American voters, which the FBI flagged as part of their course of business. They would like to hamper the ability of our FBI and our law enforcement to be able to do their jobs. This is, of course, the same party that has engaged in voter suppression for countless decades, so we probably shouldn't be surprised. We know that the American people not only want us to protect their voting rights and their basic rights to express themselves, their freedoms as protected by the Bill of Rights and our Constitution, but we also want our public servants to be able to do their jobs and to do their jobs with integrity and ensure the integrity of our election system. Democrats sought to try to address some of the grave flaws in this bill and address the supposed intent of the bill by submitting 43 separate amendments for floor consideration. In fact, only one was made in order. Republicans, on the other hand, submitted 20 amendments, many like this one, ignoring the dangers of the underlying bill and not wanting to improve it to protect American freedoms but simply tinker around the edges to make it more enforceable. My question is, why are we voting on this amendment and not Congressman Torres' amendment to ensure the bill does not prohibit Federal officials from preventing and addressing cyberattacks? Why are we voting on this amendment and not Congressman Lynch's amendment to ensure the bill does not prohibit Federal officials from protecting our national security? Why are we voting on this amendment and not Congressman Goldman's amendment to ensure that the bill does not prohibit Federal officials from fighting foreign election interference, as occurred in the 2016 election? Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment and oppose this bill. It does nothing to improve a deeply dangerous bill. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I will take a moment to reiterate that this bill is not as it appears or the majority is proposing it appears to the American public. This bill is not about defending the basic right to free speech and our constitutional rights. This bill is about hamstringing the ability of Federal law enforcement, our national security staff, and others in the Federal Government from protecting our country from election interference. This amendment would make the enforcement of that bill stronger by requiring training to further censor and allow for interference in our elections. I am opposed to this amendment, and I rise in opposition to the bill. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, our inspectors general conduct vital work on behalf of the American people. They help to safeguard taxpayer dollars and government operations from waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement, and they investigate what occurs inside our Federal agencies. To ask them to waste their finite resources and staffing on an annual reporting requirement for a bill that actually threatens the freedom of the American people and the American public and electoral system is gravely antithetical to their missions and their purpose and is, itself, an act of waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. Nobody could act in good conscience to support this amendment. One of the most concerning aspects of this bill is that it creates a waiting period of at least 72 hours before law enforcement officials can take action to prevent or respond to most crimes or threats they identify, either on or involving social media platforms. Let's imagine that you are a Federal official, an FBI investigator, and you see information being shared online that indicates that a sexual assault is imminent, some sort of violence is about to occur, there is some sort of election fraud about to occur. Under this bill, you would have a decision to make. Do you write and file a lengthy report to Congress and then wait 72 hours until it is too late, or do you act immediately, knowing that you might be subject to a $50,000 fine or might be barred from Federal service for 10 years because you reported something that has been tagged as censored speech under this bill and amendment? Thanks to the excellent bipartisan work of Congresswoman Houlahan and Congresswoman Mace, we could have been considering a very different kind of amendment here on the floor today, one that would have made sure that this bill still allowed enforcement officials to act immediately in this exact case. My Republican colleagues would not allow this amendment to come to the floor today, choosing, instead, to waste our time and the time and resources of our Federal agencies on this amendment. They choose a do- nothing, wasteful reporting requirement over a bipartisan amendment that would protect the safety, in many instances, even the lives, of women and Americans across the country. It is outrageous. I believe that this bill and this amendment are dangerous, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, in closing, I will note one final time that this bill and its proposition are deeply dangerous. It proposes to actually address free speech and censorship when, in fact, it would hamstring our Federal officials. This amendment adds dangerous changes to the bill that would make it even more difficult for our Federal officials to do their job. I am opposed to the amendment, and I am strongly opposed to the bill itself. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Chair, I think we have well established that not only the premise of this bill, but many of the requirements in it, are dangerous for our Federal law enforcement, dangerous to our constitutional rights, dangerous to the American people, and dangerous to our national security and our electoral system. Yet, the way it is being proposed to the American people is that it will defend their rights and their rights to speak freely under the First Amendment. During our markup of this bill, we talked about gaslighting. Gaslighting is the act of when somebody in authority actually makes you believe you are crazy because the truth of what is occurring is actually the opposite. This bill is a dangerous gaslighting of the American people. We will not stand for it. It is dangerous to our democracy. It is dangerous to our elections, and it is dangerous for the people of this country. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud daughter of New Mexico, as a water resources professional, and as a defender of the most basic element that we need to survive, which is water. In New Mexico, water is life, water is sacred, water is culture, and water is fundamental to everything that we do and everything that we are. For years, our State and our country and our communities have ridden the roller coaster of regulatory rollbacks on the Clean Water Act, but I never could have imagined that in the year 2023, we would be voting on a bill to gut the rule that protects our streams and rivers and our right to have clean water. In 2023, just weeks ago, a train derailment in East Palestine sent toxic smoke into the atmosphere, and people were afraid to turn on their taps and drink the water. The American people want clean water. Yet, here we are, weeks later, being forced to take a vote on a bill that would gut a fundamental rule in how the Clean Water Act actually saves our lives. Water is the most basic element for how we survive as a species. The Clean Water Act was passed because rivers were on fire. In fact, in some of the districts of our Members--who are actually sponsoring this bill--toxic waste and sewage was filling the waterways of these very districts, where children were being poisoned by toxins that were being put in the rivers. Yet, here we are voting for a measure that would leave massive swaths of our waterways exposed, particularly in New Mexico. We are talking about raw sewage, farm waste, and chemicals being dumped in our arroyos and our wetlands. Let me ask the American people: Is this what you want this body to be working on, gutting the most basic foundation of the protection of our public health and our environment? No, the American people want clean water. They want us to protect our streams and rivers. They want us to protect our farmers and ranchers. They want us to protect their families and their children. We cannot go back decades, as this measure would take us back, and we cannot gut this fundamental, underlying environmental law that protects the health and safety of our communities. So wherever you live, whoever you represent, whatever you fight for, know what this bill is actually about. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote with clean water and vote against this measure.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today after a historic election in New Mexico and across the United States in which voters voted to not only uphold our democracy, our basic rights, but the continued fight to serve our communities. That includes the passage of Constitutional Amendment 1 to invest in New Mexico's children and ensure that every single child across our State has access to early childhood education and care. Last week, New Mexicans showed up across the State in every city, in every county, in every community. From Mescalero to Mountainair, from Albuquerque to Anton Chico, from Sandia Pueblo to Santa Rosa, and from Rio Rancho to Roswell and Ruidoso, over 70 percent of New Mexicans voted to invest in early childhood education and care. New Mexicans believe in our people, they believe in our communities, and they believe that every single child should have what they need to thrive. But we have one more hurdle to cross to make this a reality, and that sits with our body here in Congress. Because of antiquated laws that were put on the books over a century ago, we must provide concurrence so that our communities are able to tap these funds and make historic investments in our kids. Today, I urge every single Member of this body to hear our voices, to hear the voices of New Mexicans and our children. New Mexicans want our kids to be able to access the resources they need. They are ready to lead the Nation. Mr. Speaker, I urge this body to pass this concurring language now without delay and invest in New Mexico, our children, and our future. {time} 1515

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Stephanie Sherrodd on her recent selection to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) while serving employees of Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico's First Congressional District. Stephanie has an impressive 24 years of experience in the credit union industry, rising from her work as a marketing intern to the highest levels of credit unions. She has previously served as President/CEO for Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU) from 2012 to 2021, helping to grow the organization to assets of over $4 billion with 345,000 members. Prior to being named CEO at Texas Dow Employees Credit Union Stephanie served as Vice President of Retail Delivery, Vice President of Diversified Services and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Stephanie is also a proud graduate of her home state's University of Wyoming, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Marketing as well as an MBA. Stephanie is currently serving as the President and CEO of Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union. She was recently named to the Credit Union Executive Society Hall of Fame and has also served as a board member of the Texas Bowl, National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations, University of Houston Board of Visitors, and as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Community Depository Institution Advisory Council. She has been recognized by Texas Diversity Magazine with the Houston Power 50 Award and was named a Greater Houston Women's Chamber Breakthrough Woman. Stephanie has been married to her husband Kevin for 28 years and is a mom to two sons, a Texas A&M Aggie, and a high school senior. She is an active cyclist, runner and outdoor enthusiast as well as a devoted friend who leads with her core values of courage and grace. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Stephanie Sherrodd and wishing her the best of luck in her new role on the NAFCU Board of Directors. I look forward to working with her in this regard.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act as wildfires have been burning across my home State of New Mexico and our life-giving Rio Grande has dried for the first time in decades in significant stretches of the river. This bill is vital to supporting our communities as they are responding to the impacts and working to build a more resilient future. This year, communities across our State have been battling unprecedented wildfires that have devastated homes and livelihoods and taken the lives of four first responders just a couple of weeks ago from Bernalillo County in my home district, exacerbated by a millennial drought and the impacts of global climate change. But we are New Mexicans, and we are resilient. This bill, which includes our wildfire legislation and three of my water bills, is crucial to the future of our State. That is why I am so incredibly grateful for the leadership of this body, to Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, my good friend Representative Joe Neguse, and our amazing committee chairman, Mr. Grijalva, for their incredible leadership in meeting this moment and putting together a comprehensive package to address drought and wildfire across our country. These bills will empower our communities, our Tribes, and our Pueblos, who have depended on these life-giving waters since time immemorial, our acequias and our land grants, who have depended on these lands and waters for generations, and empower our communities with the tools, resources, and science to meet the moment. My bipartisan Water Data Act will help unlock the power of big data and science to help transform water management across the United States. Our Rio Grande Water Security Act will help to create a framework for collaboration and innovation to keep water in our precious river. The WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act will help to lower barriers so that our Tribes and Pueblos can access vital funding for water security projects. Our Hermits Peak bill will help to make our communities that have been devastated by wildfires whole again. Madam Chair, we must pass the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, and we must pass it to prevent more devastating fires. We must pass it to ensure that our life-giving rivers do not continue to run dry. We must pass this legislation so that our communities have the tools and the resources that they need to remain resilient. Madam Chair, the time to act is now, and the time to support our communities is now.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the brilliant and boundless minds of our scientists, our innovators, and our young people in New Mexico and across the United States. There is a lot to say about the CHIPS bill that is so crucial for our economy, our national security, and for innovation in our country. But today I want to celebrate our innovators and talk about the crucial importance of passing this bill. This bill has particular meaning for me as it includes my very first piece of legislation that I filed upon taking office last year which is the bipartisan Partnerships for Energy Security and Innovation Act. I thank the chairwoman, her staff, and the leadership for making it possible and our State's very own Senator Ben Ray Lujan who has led this legislation for years. This bill leans into our State's economic strengths and will take our STEM economy to new heights. It will help to create a nonprofit foundation associated with the Department of Energy to harness the knowledge and innovation of our national labs, our universities, our Tribal colleges, and our HBCUs and Hispanic-serving institutions to solve our challenges at the highest levels. Mr. Speaker, I thank, again, the leadership and say: Let's get this bill across the finish line, and let's build it in America.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, it is hard to believe that in the year 2022, I rise to defend the right to access contraception. That is right, contraception. Why? Because we have a renegade Supreme Court that has overturned a half century of settled law, stripping away our fundamental reproductive rights, and made it clear that they plan to not stop there. In fact, Justice Thomas' concurring opinion in Dobbs makes it clear that the Supreme Court has its sights on overturning longstanding precedents that guarantee the right to access contraception and protect the right to same-sex marriage, which we just voted on. These are basic human rights: the right to marry, the right to love who you love, the right to control your own body, the right to control your own health, the right to control your own family decisions, and your right to protect your own privacy. Let me say it loud, and let me say it clear: We will not go back. My great-grandmother was born in this country before she had the right to vote. My mother was a machine operator and entrepreneur. I stand here today as your Congresswoman and your committed Congresswoman to say we will not go back. These are our bodies, our rights, and we will continue to fight to protect them.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Tony Q. Chan's incredible contributions to our beloved New Mexico community. This Saturday, July 17th, Dr. Chan and his family will celebrate his 90th birthday. Over the more than 60 years that he has called New Mexico his home, Dr. Chan spent 40 of those years operating his optometry practice with an unmatched commitment to his patients and our community. Dr. Chan was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Mississippi, where he met his beautiful wife, Carolyn. After attending the Illinois College of Optometry, where he earned his BS and Doctor of Optometry, he headed out west. Dr. Chan first moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1959 when he broke barriers to become our state's first Asian American optometrist. Dr. Chan did not stop there. In addition to opening his first practice, he eventually became President of the Heights Lion's Club, the Executive Association of Greater Albuquerque, and the New Mexico Optometric Association. He was also the first Asian American Trustee for the American Optometric Association. During his time at the American Optometrist Association, he served on the Minority Recruitment Committee, where he helped recruit women and minorities to become optometrists. Throughout his life, Dr. Chan received a variety of accolades from organizations across the United States, including the Spirit of America Award from the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, the Alumnus of the Year award from the Illinois College of Optometry, and he was inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame in 2020. Happy Birthday to Dr. Chan. I thank him for his lifelong service caring for the health and well-being of the people of New Mexico. His love of community shines through everything he does, and I am honored to serve Dr. Chan in Congress and celebrate 90 years of his achievements.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge this body to pass urgent legislation to help feed our children. If we do not act, millions of children across the United States and across New Mexico will lose access to vital school meals--breakfast and lunches that are helping to address an epidemic of food insecurity that is impacting every single corner of our State and our country. Food insecurity has many faces. Like so many children from New Mexico, I was a school lunch kid. I qualified for 100 percent free and reduced-price lunch throughout my entire childhood. In fact, one in four children in New Mexico are facing food insecurity and hunger, and for many of these kids, school meals are the only reliable meal of the day. In New Mexico food is the center of our cultures, of our families, of our ways of life, and yet, so many of our families are struggling every single day to put food on the table. For every family food insecurity looks different. It may mean skipping meals, not being able to buy groceries every week, relying on school lunches in order to feed children, and getting help from a local food pantry and a local food bank. In many cases, we know the pandemic has caused our families to struggle even more, made the situation worse, intensified food and hunger insecurity across our Nation, and that is why the work of this body here in Congress to expand funding for nutrition programs to extend these waivers and include school meals for every child in America is quite literally a lifeline for our families and for our children. If Congress, and especially the Senate, do not act, millions of children across America will actually lose access to school meals that have carried them through the pandemic. This comes as our Nation is grappling with disruptions to supply chains, inflation, rising costs, and putting stresses on families across our country. In exactly one month--days from now--our country will be facing a hunger cliff as Federal waivers for school meals are set to expire and children will lose access to 95 million meals across the country this summer. I have worked on food and hunger issues across my entire public policy career. In New Mexico, we are working every day to reimagine our food systems, to lift up our State's diverse and crucial food and agriculture traditions and support our families who are struggling. As a State legislator, I was deeply proud to partner with our Governor and my colleagues in the State house and hunger advocates and agricultural entities across the State to address food insecurity and to pass a bill to end school meal copays. Here in Congress, I am proud to continue this work alongside antihunger champions like yourself, Madam Speaker, and as part of the Hunger Caucus led by Chairman McGovern. I am also proud to cosponsor H.R. 3115, the Universal School Meals Program Act, which would address this crisis permanently by providing three locally sourced meals a day to every school child in America. The time to act is now. Our kids are counting on us. During the pandemic, Congress made a game-changing decision--to feed all children without barriers, without bureaucratic obstacles. This is about the dignity and well-being of our families and meeting the most basic needs of our children. We have the opportunity to chart a new path forward for our country. Will we decide to be a nation that lets our kids go hungry or will we decide to be a nation where no child should ever have to experience food insecurity again? This is the choice facing this body, and this, Madam Speaker, is why we must extend school meals.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank our brave firefighters and first responders who are on the front lines, saving lives as wildfires burn across the beautiful State of New Mexico. This week began with 20 wildfires burning across 16 counties of our State, causing thousands of New Mexicans to evacuate their homes. We mourn the lives that have been lost and stand in solidarity with the many families who have been forced to leave, in many cases, lands on which they have lived on for generations. As we lift up our firefighters and first responders, I thank our Governor, Governor Lujan Grisham, for her leadership in the face of these devastating fires. Her quick response has saved lives, and I want to echo her call for additional support to coordinate emergency response across the State. These wildfires show us why our votes in this body are so important, as we are sending more than $5.5 billion to prevent and fight wildfires through the bipartisan infrastructure law and other bills we have passed. As wildfires continue to burn across our State, we stand ready to support our Governor, local officials, firefighters, and everyone helping out. Together, as New Mexicans, we stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity and in support of our communities.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening as the proud daughter of New Mexico to discuss the transformative impacts of the American Rescue Plan for our State on this beautiful St. Patrick's Day during Women's History Month to highlight the impacts the American Rescue Plan has had for our working families, our kids, and for our entire Nation. It has been a difficult year--a difficult several years--as our communities have experienced the impacts of the pandemic and the economic struggles that have come with it. When we think back to even a year ago, last year at this time, we were unable to gather safely, unemployment was at an all-time high, so many of our families were struggling, and businesses closed. One year ago, this body passed the American Rescue Plan. One year later, people are still struggling in our country, and supply chains and our economy are still recovering, but so much has changed. Our economy is growing at a faster rate than at any point since the 1980s. More jobs have been created in 1 year than ever in our Nation's history. Wages are up and more small businesses are opening up across the country than ever before. Because the American Rescue Plan changed the way in which families put food on the table, provide for their families so that our parents, and women in particular, can return to work and has helped our schools stay open and our families and small businesses stay afloat. Let's get to the heart of the matter today, which is how this particular piece of legislation has transformed the lives of so many New Mexicans and how our communities have benefitted from these historic policies. The people of New Mexico, especially our women, are strong, resilient centers of our families, and the roots of our communities. Our women carry us, nurture us, and work hard every day so that we can succeed-- like the women in my own life, my own mother, my sister, and the trailblazing women who came before us and support us every day in our communities. But the challenges and burdens of this pandemic in the past 2 years have fallen unequally and disproportionately on women who have exited the workforce in unprecedented numbers, and on our kids who are resilient, yet still struggling. As families struggle to make ends meet, keep a roof over their heads, and put food on the table, women have had to dig deep and find creative solutions. These burdens have fallen disproportionately, in particular, on our Latina and Hispano women, on our indigenous women, our Black women, and women struggling economically every day to make ends meet. There are countless stories of struggle and resilience and survival in our communities and the impacts of the American Rescue Plan. One from New Mexico's First Congressional District is that of April Trujillo and her four boys in Albuquerque. After losing her husband in September of 2020, Derrick Trujillo, a small business owner, who owned a small carpet cleaning business, their family struggled in a way that they had never done so before. They were ultimately able to keep a roof over their heads and keep food on the table because of the transformative impacts of the child tax credit and rental assistance programs provided by the American Rescue Plan. It is by no means a stretch to say that these programs helped to catch this family as they faced potentially becoming homeless at one of the most difficult moments in their life. That is exactly what this American Rescue Plan was designed to do and why we must put these transformational investments in childcare, in the child tax credit, in housing, in food assistance, and our community well-being, and continue them into the future. They catch families like the Trujillo family when they need it most. It will help to lift up Americans who are facing economic struggles and create opportunities for families for generations to come. As we celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the American Rescue Plan and celebrate the passage of the historic infrastructure package a few months ago, and crucial budget legislation just this last week, these bills have had a transformational impact on our economy, on jobs, and families across the country, and we acknowledge that the work is not over. We must extend the child tax credit. We must expand programs to tackle housing and hunger. We must invest in a universal childcare system and caring for our elders. We must tackle drought and climate change. We must stand with Ukraine and global democracy. This is the work ahead and we stand together united to get it done.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, the history of New Mexico and our rural communities predate the founding of our great Nation. Our communities carry rich traditions and ways of life, from our tribal communities, to our land grants, to our farmers and ranchers and small towns that dot the plains, mountains, and river valleys of our beautiful State. They are diverse, resilient, vibrant, and full of grit and determination. For far too long, our rural communities have been left behind in critical infrastructure, which is why I am deeply proud that our bipartisan infrastructure bill is already delivering for New Mexico, investing millions in rural roads, bridges, and airports, broadband, our electric grid, and life-giving water, creating thousands of jobs, and supporting rural economic development across our State, because our rural communities are the backbone of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I am proud that we are working together to invest in infrastructure, to invest in jobs, and the well-being of our future and our communities.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, I want to take a moment this evening to dedicate my remarks to my dear friends Jon Baran, Caitie Padilla, and their beautiful daughter, Sophie. This week, we celebrated the signing of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Now, it is time to pass the other half of the President's agenda to ensure that our families and our communities can build a brighter, more just, more equitable, and more sustainable future. As a proud daughter of New Mexico, I represent the strong, beautiful, resilient people of New Mexico's First Congressional District. Over the pandemic, we have used every ounce of our grit, our determination, and our heart to get by. Yet, so many families are still struggling. That is why we must pass the Build Back Better Act and why it is a must-pass bill for New Mexico. We must invest in healthcare and community well-being. We must invest in universal pre-K. We must invest in childcare and caring for our elders.

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, we must invest in addressing global climate change because that is our charge. Our communities are counting on us, and that is why we must deliver this bill tonight.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I was absent for the vote on en bloc No. 6 to H.R. 4502. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 245.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues to continue calling attention to the survival of our planet and our future generations, the well-being of our communities, and the critical importance of passing legislation across the board that reflects our values, which are embodied in the Green New Deal. The science is clear. We must urgently address climate change now. We must address our greenhouse gas footprint and the causes of climate change now. We must mitigate the impacts of climate change now. And we must support and center and empower and invest in our communities now. That is what the Green New Deal is all about, building a world that is more just, more equitable, and more climate-resilient for future generations, for our children, for our parents, and for everyone across our communities. To do so, we have to invest in our communities, critical infrastructure, and all the things that will make it possible for our communities to thrive. The time is now to be decisive, to be brave in our policymaking, to be bold in our investments, and to lean into the science. We must do so now in the budget reconciliation and infrastructure packages that this body is working to pass right now. This is especially critical for my home State of New Mexico, where we are already experiencing the impacts of extreme drought, catastrophic fires, heat waves, and an uncertain future, and where our communities are already struggling daily to make a living. Our families are struggling to put food on the table and struggling to support people across our community. It is absolutely critical that we support and center our communities in this conversation and that we invest in the resilient infrastructure that will make it possible for us to live resiliently: our electric grid, broadband infrastructure, drinking water, irrigation infrastructure, and green infrastructure, and to lean into our clean energy future. We must also invest in the infrastructure of our communities, our care economy, because that is the infrastructure of our economy and the well-being of our people, our schools, and our families. We must do all of this through the lens of social, racial, and economic justice, investing in good paying jobs, lifting up the voices of and listening to the people in our communities and ensuring that their livelihoods and well- being are at the center of these conversations. That is why we need bold action now in the budget, in reconciliation, and in the infrastructure package to ensure that we are investing in things that are not only shovel-ready but shovel worthy and worthy of our communities and their future. The time for action is now. We need climate action now, and I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with my colleagues here in the House and in the Senate to ensure that we are making good on our commitment to our future.