Melanie Stansbury

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 72.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda).

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Magaziner).

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon).

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for her extraordinary words and for sharing her story with us tonight. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Grijalva).

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight during Black History Month to raise the alarm on the rewriting of American history that is happening at our national parks, our museums, our monuments, and our public spaces as the Trump administration is attempting to erase the histories, the stories, and the lives of our Black, Native, Chicano, AAPI, and LGBT+ communities. I rise tonight to talk about what this means for the past, the present, and the future of this country because, as they say, those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it, and this country has come too far to forget. Mr. Speaker, how we as a nation remember matters, what we remember matters, and who we remember matters because this collective memory is the map on which we build our future. Our Nation's national parks, our monuments, our memorials, our museums, and our public spaces are the places in which those memories are inscribed. Now, I begin tonight with a simple premise: that the act of remembering is a deeply political and a deeply powerful act. So, too, is the act of erasure, of erasing and removing history. These are not merely acts of omission, but acts of power, acts of dominance, and, yes, even acts of violence. Erasing is about telling people that their histories and their people do not matter. That your history, your ancestors, and your collective memories of pride, joy, struggle, resilience, and generations that came before do not matter. This is exactly what this administration is doing. They are trying to take us back to a time where only the stories and lives of the few mattered. It began a year ago, on day one, when the President signed an executive order renaming Denali, the tallest mountain in Alaska and most sacred site to multiple indigenous communities, renamed after a President from Ohio without any consultation to the indigenous people of Alaska. That same day, the President signed an executive order mandating the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion offices across the Federal Government, leading to the illegal firing and loss of leadership across Federal and military service. In March, he signed another executive order called the ``Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History'' order, directing the Smithsonian and the Secretary of the Interior to remove what they called improper partisan ideology from exhibits and materials across the country. It targeted mentions of slavery, Native American history, Chicano history, AAPI history, LGBTQ+ history, climate change, and other topics which they claimed were divisive, anti-American, and created ``national shame,'' thereby erasing the history of tens of millions of Americans. Secretarial orders, including those at the Department of the Interior, that have led to the censorship of government websites and the tearing down of signs at multiple monuments, references to the histories of famous leaders removed from websites, national holidays erased, rewriting history and removing us from the American story. What is this all in service of? It is promoting some singular narrative to undermine the recognition of this Nation's true history and its long history of struggles that have shaped it, from overcoming the loss of land, the killing and displacement of indigenous people, slavery, Jim Crow, internment, and the continued struggle for justice across our communities. This is our true history as a nation, not something we should be ashamed of, but what has shaped who we are. These actions erase the story of what makes this great Nation beautiful: it is multicultural, multiracial, indigenous, Black, Brown, White, and diversity that makes us who we are. This erasure delegitimizes the movements and wins we have secured generation after generation, from the struggle for civil rights at Selma and the Edmund Pettus Bridge, slavery at Gettysburg, and westward expansion into Tribal lands that secured Tribal sovereignty. References to transgender were erased from the signs at Stonewall, where the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ movement began. References to indigenous history were removed in places where people came from, including the battleground at Little Big Horn in Montana. Memories of Black and Native history were erased from Independence Park, Cape Hatteras, and The National Mall. Remembrance of internment of Japanese Americans was removed from Jamaica Bay in New York City. References to climate change were removed at Fort Sumter in South Carolina and Acadia National Park in Maine. Public institutions and gift shops were banned from carrying books. In America, they were banned. In addition, the Department of Education is seeking to defund schools, universities, and institutions for teaching the history of the people and students and children who are there. Mr. Speaker, these are not isolated incidents. This is a wholesale attack on American history, on American democracy, on American progress, and the stories of our people. It is, at its core, about power. As George Orwell noted: ``Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.'' This is not, as this administration claims, about patriotism or telling the American story. It is about controlling knowledge and history itself. Those whose histories, whose stories, and whose people are lifted up, especially as this country is celebrating its 250th birthday. We are here tonight to say: Not on our watch. We will not let this country slide into an Orwellian or authoritarian state where we cannot even tell our own histories. We are here to tell the truth, just as history does. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui).

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

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, what country is this? Children are not political pawns or political props. Tonight, 5-year- old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father are back in their home in Minnesota after being abducted and taken to detention in Texas, but this never should have happened. A 5-year-old taken from his home and detained in violation of his basic human and constitutional rights is part of an ill-conceived and incompetently implemented policy of daily deportation quotas that is not just incompetent but inhumane. This year, 3,800 children have been abducted across the country and detained. It is shameful and an embarrassment to our country. That is why we must act. It is why I will vote ``no'' and not give a single other penny to DHS. It is why we must impeach Kristi Noem. It is time to act. We will not be complicit.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, 16 years ago today, the Supreme Court decided in the Citizens United decision to put our democracy up for sale. I am here today to say, Mr. Speaker, that democracy is not for sale, and it is time to get big money out of politics, to end Citizens United, and to hold this administration, this Congress, and this judiciary accountable. That is because what we have seen is the fundamental erosion of our democratic system, and at the rotten root of it all is the influence of big money in politics. That is because Citizens United opened the door for corporations and billionaires to dump untold sums of money on to our elections anonymously and calling corporations people. Mr. Speaker, corporations are not people. The American people are whom we represent. It is not the corporations, not the billionaires, not the wealthy donors, and not the individuals who are trying to buy and sell our democracy. We know that right now corruption and the buying of elections are having a profound influence on what we are seeing in this country. We are watching as a United States President is selling the United States out from under the American people. He is offering pardons for millions of dollars to his friends and letting dangerous individuals back on to the streets. These are individuals who have committed white-collar crimes all for the very cheap sum of giving him a few million dollars or a few billion dollars in his cryptocurrency. He is selling our secrets and our national security to foreign adversaries by allowing them to deposit sums of money into his cryptocurrency by giving him gifts like multimillion-dollar jets and, yes, even allowing him to potentially launder money in a foreign bank account in Qatar from oil he stole using the American taxpayers' dollars and the U.S. military. President Trump is showing what happens when you let big money buy politics. In fact, he told Big Oil just last year that if they gave him $1 billion in campaign funds, he would deliver. Well, promises made, promised kept, literally invading a foreign country to take their oil. Here in this Chamber, just a few days ago, it was discovered that the husband of a member of leadership on the opposite side of the aisle had been trading in stocks, while we are considering a stock trading ban right now in this House. This is corruption in action. We have a judiciary across the street who is considering undermining the fundamental voting rights of the American people. After their wealthy donors took them on trips and involved them in this vast scheme over the last several years to fundamentally remake America, the same donors who donated to Donald Trump and who donated to our friends across the aisle are also making money hand over fist on the stock market right now. This is what comes from Citizens United, and that is why, Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely dedicated to fighting to make sure that we get big money out of politics and that we end Citizens United. When we take back the House--because, Mr. Speaker, we will take back the House--I guarantee you that on day one, our top priority will be to root this corruption and this rot out of the Federal Government. It is time to get big money out of politics, and I am here for the fight.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, it is beyond time to defund ICE. It is beyond time to stop the violence. It is beyond time to stop the unfettered use of force against our communities and to stop the lawless violation of human and civil rights. It is beyond time, Mr. Speaker, to stop the rot from the top, which has turned this agency into a rogue and lawless force that is terrorizing our communities. This week, the House will consider funding for DHS and give even more funding to ICE. Let me be clear, Mr. Speaker: I am not only a no, I am a hell no. From unleashing violence in Minneapolis to dog whistles from the White House, I have received countless calls from New Mexicans calling for an end to this violence because we cannot and we will not allow ICE to tear our country apart. We refuse to allow this administration to terrorize this country, and that is why I will be damned if we give one more dollar to that rogue organization, Mr. Speaker. That is why I will vote ``no,'' and that is why we must defund ICE.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, you know you have lost in 2026 when Republicans in the United States House of Representatives are openly talking about impeaching the President of the United States if he invades Greenland, as one was quoted today in the press. Let us be clear. Mr. President, Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not for war. Greenland is not to be invaded. Greenland is for the Greenlandic people and our NATO allies, and we in the House of Representatives stand with our allies. You have been duly warned, Mr. President. The American people want the Epstein files, not Greenland. If you violate the law and one of our longest standing allyships on the planet, there will be consequences. It is long overdue.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, do you recall just a week and a half ago when the President of the United States stood in front of the American people and said that he conducted an unauthorized military invasion of Venezuela to save American lives from drugs, but then a few days later told us it was actually about the oil? Well, if we needed any confirmation that it was not about the drugs and not about saving American lives, look no further than the fact that last night the White House announced that they would cut millions of dollars from substance abuse and addiction recovery programs that save lives in America every single day. In Donald Trump's America, down is up and up is down, and they will lie to your face every single day if they think it will get them what they want. That is why we are in the fight to stop unauthorized wars, to stop the daily assault on our communities, and to restore the America that we know and to save American lives.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today first in thanks to our fearless leader, Representative Hayes, today, but Mr. Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm on what is happening at the U.S. Department of Education or at least what is left of it. For millions of students with disabilities, the IDEA, or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is a landmark civil rights law that guarantees a free and inclusive public education for all students. However, under the Trump administration, IDEA is under attack, with the administration announcing at the height of the government shutdown in October that it would fire nearly all of the staff responsible for ensuring that students with disabilities have access to resources and support services. Can you imagine? It is not just reckless, it is not just illegal. It is heartless, and it is disgusting. Piled onto continuing cuts and threats to other programs of vulnerable families, the President and the GOP have continued to cut healthcare, education, food assistance, housing, and childcare to millions of American families, attacking the very families who need it most while giving billionaires tax breaks on the backs of hardworking Americans. It is shameful. Mr. Speaker, I want to address the administration's attacks on education and what these actions mean for all students, but especially students with disabilities, their educators, and their families. The Department of Education exists to ensure that every student has access to opportunity, to protect their civil rights, to ensure that every student has a fair shot at success. However, since day one, this administration has systematically dismantled the department, with budget cuts, cutting programs, delaying grants, and firing staff. Over the course of the last year, my office has heard from hundreds of parents, teachers, and students who are scared about what is happening and wondering what will come next: from teachers and counselors who are stretched thin and uncertain about whether or not resources will be there next year, from schools who don't know if their funding will be cut, and from young people, the very children that these programs serve, who are afraid because this administration is terrorizing the children of this country by attacking education and schools and their families, attacking the most vulnerable families. I have to say this, Mr. Speaker, there is no demand for this. There is no one out there in the American public who is demanding that we cut programs for students and young people with disabilities because it is cruel, wrong, and illegal. It must stop. That is why Democrats are standing here tonight: to stand up for our students, to stand up for our young people, to fight back against these attacks, and to take a stand against the dismantling of these vital programs. Let me just say this: In New Mexico, we understand that our young people are our future. That is why we are the first State in the Nation to pass universal free childcare and education for every single student in our State. I, for one, as a public school kid, was deeply proud to carry the Federal enabling legislation. It is why I fought for funding to build new schools at To'hajiilee, Sandia Pueblo, and Mescalero Apache. It is why I am carrying legislation to increase teacher pay, to protect BIE in Tribal schools, to create a postsecondary pathway of success for students with disabilities, veterans, and first-generation students. It is why I have supported New Mexico also becoming the first State in the country to guarantee free trade school and free college for every single New Mexican. That is how you should be transforming education, that is how you deliver for communities, and that is how you care for the children that we have been blessed to take care of in our role and prepare the next generation of leaders. I will say this to Mr. Trump: While he and his colleagues may not believe in the power of public education or civil rights or the need to protect children--because their actions speak as loud as their words-- we do. We believe in investing in education from early childhood education to higher education, and everything in between, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight back at every turn and honor our commitment to the students of this country. I, for one, and all of us will not stand by and allow this to happen.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 16.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, the American people want to know why the President of the United States and the Department of Justice are going after the Chairman of the Federal Reserve before they go after coconspirators in the Epstein case. Mr. Speaker, the American people want to know why Donald Trump is using their taxpayer dollars to invade foreign countries and threaten our allies, but claims to not have enough money to fund American healthcare. Mr. Speaker, the American people want to know why the President and Vice President are giving cover for lawless shootings by Federal agents while using political excuses to withhold funding for our communities, for public safety, housing, childcare, and food. Mr. Speaker, the American people didn't ask for this. They asked for safe communities to ensure they can live their lives with dignity and opportunity and to leave a country their children can be proud of. Mr. Speaker, this is not that. We will continue to fight and hold this President accountable.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, as they say, follow the money: invading a foreign country, stealing their oil, extortion, violence, giveaways to corporate America, American oil and gas companies, and, yes, Trump donors. What is going on here? Today, Donald Trump will convene the CEOs of some of the largest oil and gas companies in America, the same individuals who promised to raise a billion dollars in campaign donations for him when he was a candidate. In fact, this week I was shocked to learn that the White House and the President are not only planning to sell the oil of Venezuela, but to place it in foreign bank accounts that only the President controls. We are asking what is going on here: endangering the lives of our servicemembers, unauthorized use of the military, extorting foreign countries, invading foreign countries and taking their leaders, and, yes, stealing their resources. I will say this to you, Mr. President: We are watching. We will follow the money, and we will hold you to account. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moore of West Virginia.) Members are reminded to address their remarks to the Chair.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I wasn't planning on speaking on this bill this morning, but I have to say that I cannot stand when politicians come into the Chambers of these hallowed Halls to represent the people of this country, pretending to represent the hardworking poor and working families of this country, and actually are doing the bidding of corporations and industries that are asking them to do things to cut cheap deals for them. This is not about poor people. This is not about working people. This is not about making manufactured homes and trailers better for people that live in them. This is about doing the bidding of corporations that ask them to carry this bill. As a low-income person who actually grew up in a trailer, let me tell you that efficiency standards and efficiency programs and support programs that make it possible for low-income people to actually have high-quality utilities and to be able to afford their utility bills is what actually helps working people. We are tired of your hypocritical and cheap bills that you are running on the floor. I just want to say this, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday was a good day for the American people. What it looks like when you work for working people is you get shit done. Yesterday we passed for the first time this Congress an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies so that hardworking Americans can actually--actually afford healthcare.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on the House floor with a heavy heart for the family and the community of Renee Nicole Good. My heart is heavy and not just because of the unabashed and violent killing that happened last night by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, but because I am also sad for our country, to see the Vice President of the United States and officials impugn a young woman who leaves behind her community and an orphaned child. This is not our country. Shame on you. To those of you who are continuing to provide cover for this lawless, unconstitutional, abusive, and violent administration, shame on you. I will be joining to file Articles of Impeachment against Secretary Noem. Enough is enough.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, there are days, increasingly so, when I cannot believe my eyes and my ears in this Chamber. It is about 7 p.m. East Coast time. It has been a long day. I just came from the Oversight Committee where we just subpoenaed additional witnesses in the Epstein investigation including potential co-conspirators in the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. We spent several hours today getting a classified briefing on what happened in the unauthorized invasion of Venezuela by this administration and the capture of a foreign leader, as our President and his administration are threatening to invade other foreign countries and have failed the most basic constitutional duty of seeking the consent of Congress and advising Members of Congress. Today, we forced a vote on this floor, forcing all of my colleagues to ensure that we vote to save the Affordable Care Act so millions of Americans could have healthcare. Mr. Speaker, we have to understand how absolutely inane and bizarre it is to come to the floor at 7 p.m. for the first real bill of this Congress this year and it is on showerheads. When I heard that we were going to vote on showerheads, I literally had to google and look up what this was all about. I was actually genuinely shocked that the President, of course, had signed an executive order in April, demanding that we change the efficiency standards for showerheads. As I often do, I went down a rabbit hole. In fact, I pulled up pictures of the kinds of showerheads we are talking about. It was fascinating to me, Mr. Speaker, to hear the impassioned pleas for regular working people to take high-pressure showers in motels because that is not why Donald Trump signed an executive order on this issue. No, Donald Trump likes his big, fancy showers with multiple heads. We are talking about showers for rich people. These aren't even everyday showers. Mr. Speaker, my question is: Why on God's green Earth on the first full day that this Congress is back in 2026 are the Republicans using their floor time in the midst of armed conflict and daily corruption by this administration to run a bill on rich people's showers for Donald Trump? It is just absolutely amazing. Mr. Speaker, I have a little less than a minute left in my time. I would ask my colleague across the aisle one simple question: Did Mr. Donald Trump ask him to run a showerhead bill today on the House floor? If my colleague across the aisle cannot answer a simple question about why we are running legislation on the United States House floor on showerheads, I think we rest our case.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I just heard my colleagues across the aisle give a lecture about irresponsible policymaking. I remind this body that we are 7 days from Christmas. We were scheduled to take votes tomorrow, but the Speaker and my Republican colleagues are in such a hurry to get out of town before the holidays that you have canceled votes tomorrow and are leaving town. In many cases, many of you are planning to leave in the next several hours, and this is the bill that you are running? This is the bill that you are running, not a bill to save the healthcare of millions of Americans? This is your bill 1 week before Christmas, to take healthcare away from LGBTQ kids in the United States? I mean, it is hard to believe that this is what you are doing with your majority. This is one of the most powerful bodies in the world, and you have canceled votes, to take away healthcare from LGBTQ+ kids. If passed, this bill would prohibit young people in communities all across the United States, in low-income families, from receiving lifesaving care. I am proud to come from a State, New Mexico, that has protected gender-affirming care and which stands with the LGBTQ+ and trans community and their families. Let me tell you that, yes, this is necessary care, and it is care that keeps kids alive. It is about mental health. It is about self- harm. It is about reducing suicides. It is about making sure that human beings, young people, have access to care that is essential for them to live their lives. In addition to this, this bill tramples on the so-called States' rights that you tell us every day you want to protect by penalizing States that would take their own resources to ensure that kids have access to care. If you are actually concerned about the welfare of children, if you are actually concerned about healthcare in this country and its costs, and if you are actually sincere about your care for the American people, then bring a vote on the Affordable Care Act extension to this floor now. The American people are tired of these games. You all are going to get on a plane and go home in a couple of hours while millions of Americans lose their healthcare, and this is the bill that you are running on the floor before you do that? Shame on you. It is disgraceful.

Ms. STANSBURY

Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, imagine being so ideologically committed to destroying an imperfect healthcare bill that has helped millions of Americans access care over the last 15 years that you would block a vote--just a vote--to extend the lifesaving credits that help keep millions of Americans on their healthcare. Madam Speaker, imagine that you would block members of your own party from bringing an amendment to extend those credits and that those members would be forced to join all 214 Democrats to force a vote on the floor. Also imagine that you would kill a motion to vote on that one day before you plan to send everyone home for the holiday. Welcome to Donald Trump's America and the Republican Congress where the leadership would rather let children, seniors, veterans, and small businesses lose their healthcare than even take a vote. Thankfully, we have filed a discharge petition that will ripen in 7 legislative days, but we know that is not enough. We are calling on the leadership to call a vote now.

Ms. STANSBURY

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