Floor Statements

America, continue to be courageous because what is happening right now is not normal: The dismantling of agencies, including today the Department of Education, the firing of teachers, veterans, military, hacking your personal data, cozying up to foreign adversaries. This is not normal.

We must continue to fight back, to push back in Congress, in the courts, and in our communities, so here is what you can do. Raise your voice. Push your Members of Congress, push the administration, push your State and local leaders, engage in collective action, and engage in everyday acts of resistance in your own life because, America, this is not normal. We will not go back.

I say to you, stay strong, raise your voices, and engage in acts of courage.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, there are hundreds of sovereign Tribal nations across the United States. Since this great Nation's founding, the United States has signed hundreds of treaties with Tribal nations and passed hundreds of laws reaffirming Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and U.S. commitments to indigenous communities.

However, over the last month, we have seen and heard from Tribes all over the country whose Federal funds have been frozen and their programs impacted by mass firings, including at Indian Health Service, BIA and BIE, including in my district at SIPI and at Haskell's College where faculty and students have been devastated by mass firings.

That is why yesterday myself, the New Mexico delegation, and 111 Members of Congress sent a letter to the administration calling on them to halt and reverse these harmful cuts to Tribal programs.

These programs are vital to Indian Country and part of the United States' solemn Tribal trust and treaty responsibilities. Our sovereign Tribal nations depend on these programs, and we must protect them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose this so-called budget resolution which is one of the greatest heists in American history as they loot the Treasury to give permanent tax breaks to billionaires at the expense of millions of Americans.

We are talking about cuts to healthcare, Medicaid, and Medicare. Literally a quarter of a million New Mexicans will be unable to access care.

There will be cuts to income and food assistance, billions of dollars that go to families to keep food on the table and a roof over their head and to give tax breaks to billionaires. They are going to cut vital programs that go to our lowest income and most vulnerable families.

As a native New Mexican who grew up in a single-parent home in a low- income family, I know exactly what this means. These cuts are cruel. They are unnecessary. They are undemocratic, and they will blow a hole through our deficit spending by $4 trillion. This is not a budget resolution.

This is a blueprint for suffering or, as Elon Musk put it over the weekend, the spoils of war. These guys don't care how many people they hurt or how many families are going to suffer. It is about power and greed, and the GOP is enabling them.

We will not sit down and do it. We will not support this budget resolution. We will not give them one single vote. I will not be silenced because we will continue to fight.

Mr. Speaker, Federal employees found themselves targeted yesterday by yet another reckless scare tactic by Elon Musk. As they were asked for five bullet points to demonstrate what they accomplished last week, a failure to comply would result in their termination by resignation according to a tweet by Elon Musk.

Hours later, Trump officials in the same administration told their staff not to respond. In solidarity, let me say what my five bullets for the week are: I fought to defend the Constitution and the rule of law. I fought back against these reckless assaults on our people. I heard the heartbreaking stories of how they are impacting New Mexico. I met with Tribal leaders, Federal employees, and hundreds of New Mexicans. I headed back here to D.C. to take back the fight because we will not stop this fight.

We will not allow this chaos, this incompetence, and this lawlessness to go unchecked. I want all Americans to hear me: We will fight back.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you tonight to honor and to celebrate Black History Month.

Black History Month is not just a celebration, but a reminder of the struggles, achievements, resilience, and contributions of Black Americans throughout our Nation's history.

In New Mexico, it is the opportunity to honor and celebrate that Black history is not only American history, it is New Mexico history, especially as so many Black leaders are blazing the way for future generations: Judge Shammara Henderson, the first Black judge to serve in the New Mexico Court of Appeals; Senator Harold Pope, the first Black State senator to serve in the history of the State of New Mexico; Councilor Nichole Rogers, the first Black woman to serve on Albuquerque's City Council; and Representative Pamelya Herndon, who is the first Black State house representative to represent New Mexico State House District 28, which is my State house representative in Albuquerque.

These are just a few of the New Mexico leaders who are making history as we stand on this floor tonight, who are leading the way, whose voices are not only needed but necessary and who must be at all the tables where decisions are being made.

As we know, these voices are currently being threatened by systemic attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as thousands of Federal employees have been fired and put on leave, funding for programs has been gutted, schools and public institutions have been threatened, and leaders like General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., who have proudly served this great country with the highest levels of distinction, have found themselves targeted and dismissed.

We must be real about the moment that we face. These policies and cuts are not just policy decisions. They are about undermining the fundamental justice and equity of the United States, about erasing our history and turning back the clock on the progress of countless generations who have struggled and marched and fought to move this country forward.

That is why we must and we will continue to fight back in Congress, in the courts, and in our communities, and to continue that work of bending the arc of the moral universe and this country toward justice because this is the work ahead for all of us and the work we will and must do.

Mr. Speaker, it is Tuesday afternoon. I am here on the floor of the United States House of Representatives and my question is, where are my Republican colleagues?

There is not a single one of my Republican colleagues here on the House floor. In fact, I am standing on the Republican side of the aisle and there is not a single one in the Chamber right now. While Donald Trump and Elon Musk and their group of teenage hackers are dismantling the Federal Government, not a single one is to be found here on the House floor this afternoon.

Let me say to the American people: This is not normal. What is happening right now in this country is not normal, and Democrats are fighting back.

We are fighting to defend the Constitution, the rule of law, the separation of powers, vital funding for our communities, the health and safety of our people, and saving our democracy because what is happening in this country right now is not normal.

Over the last 3 weeks since Donald Trump took office, Federal agencies have been dismantled. Thousands of Federal workers have been fired and put on leave and are left in limbo. Millions in Federal funds have been frozen for our communities and your private data has been hacked by a group of teenage software hackers at the Department of the Treasury.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump are breaking the law daily inside of these

agencies. In fact, not only are they breaking the law, they are violating the Constitution, appropriations law, and statutory law. There are 55 court cases pending right now in front of Federal courts. Federal stays filed by Federal judges to stop Trump and Musk from these illegal activities, and Democrats are here on the House floor fighting.

We are fighting in the Halls of Congress. We are working with our allies on the outside to fight in the courts, and, yes, we are fighting in the streets alongside the American people.

Where are the Republicans? Have you so abdicated your constitutional responsibility that you can't hold your own party accountable?

Just last week in the Oversight Committee, we asked for Elon Musk to come testify, and when we tried to subpoena him, Republicans went out of their way to stop him from appearing in front of the United States House of Representatives' Oversight Committee.

If Republicans are so proud of what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing inside of these agencies, then why are they trying so hard to shield them from public scrutiny and appearing in the people's House?

What the hell is going on? That is what the American people want to know.

Why are they trampling on their fundamental rights as millions of Americans are terrified right now across this country, and we know that thousands of their constituents are calling their offices as we speak.

Seniors and elders from our communities are afraid that their Social Security checks aren't going to come. Housing and homeless organizations are afraid they are going to have to shut down and not be able to give out vouchers so that people have housing. Food banks are concerned they are not going to have enough funding to get to the end of the month to make sure that families can eat.

Hospitals and clinics are wondering if they are going to have to shut down whole parts of their treatment to the public, universities whose funds have been frozen, and State, local, and Tribal Governments who are continuing to get notifications from the administration that their funding is not coming, even though a court has already ordered Donald Trump more than once that they are violating the law.

Where are our Republican colleagues? Why are they pretending like there is nothing to see here? Maybe it is because while we are standing here, they are literally meeting behind closed doors putting together a tax package that has yet to see the light of day, that will literally make permanent the largest tax breaks for billionaires in the history of this country.

That is right. That is what they are up to. That is what they are doing. Do you know who those tax breaks are going to go to? They are going to go to people like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and all the billionaires and millionaires who are serving in the Cabinet right now and giving unfettered access to Elon Musk and his software engineers to hack your private data.

How are they going to pay for it? They already told us how they are going to pay for it. They are going to steal your Medicaid and your Medicare. They are going to do it by illegally shutting down grants and funding for these agencies and for all of the countless services and programs that we know they are hacking this data to do.

We know what they are up to and the Republicans are acting like there is nothing to see here because they are in on it. That is why they are not here on the floor. That is why they are missing. That is why they are letting Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley buddies raid the Federal Treasury.

We want you to know, the American people, what is actually going on here. Tomorrow, in the very first hearing of the Oversight Committee's new DOGE Subcommittee, Democrats are ready to fight. We are ready to show the American people what is actually happening and how we are fighting back to defend and to serve our people and to reveal what is actually going on not only in this Chamber but across this town as they try to dismantle our agencies and funding.

I say to the American people: Not only are we fighting for you but continue to join us in the fight. We need your voices. We need them loud. We need them clear. Keep calling your Republican Representatives, keep calling us, and let them know not only is this not normal but this is not okay. We are going to continue to fight for our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I want to be honest. This legislation is literally breaking my heart because I am a New Mexican, born and raised, and there is not a single family in the State of New Mexico who has not been touched by the addiction crisis--the opioid crisis, fentanyl, alcoholism. There is not a single family that I know who has not lost somebody to this crisis, including my own.

What I can tell Members about this crisis is that the way that we address it is that we stop the flow of fentanyl coming into our communities, and we make sure that our family members and our friends who are struggling with addiction can get the help that they need.

They are not criminals. They are our brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, and children.

Do my colleagues know what it is like to have their child disappear to the streets due to addiction?

We do not need to incarcerate these people. They need help, and the way that they get help is to actually get with an addiction recovery doctor, peer support, clinic, or somewhere where they can get sober.

Mr. Speaker, if my colleagues want to actually solve this crisis, we need to stop fentanyl from coming into the United States, to make sure that our communities can access care, and to save lives and help the members of our families and communities who are trying to reclaim their lives from this crisis. That is how we solve this crisis.

That is why I cannot vote for this bill because the way that this bill tries to address the crisis is through the exact same playbook that was used in the 1980s and 1990s that led to the mass incarceration of our families and community members who were struggling with addiction.

While Republicans are standing here trying to pass this bill, literally across town the President and an unelected billionaire are gutting funding for our Federal agencies. They are doing a purge of the

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to speak directly to the American people and to our Federal workers, not only across the country but especially in New Mexico.

I know that many are feeling frightened, uncertain, and under attack. I want them to know that Democrats have their back and are fighting back using every tool that we have. We are fighting back in the courts, the Congress, and in our communities. We are fighting back against an unqualified, unvetted billionaire who is stealing their data, taking their jobs, dismantling our Federal agencies, and freezing the funds that make our communities run.

Mr. Speaker, they have dedicated their careers to ensuring that this great Nation can serve our people. We say to them: Hold the line, because we have their backs.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in respectful opposition to H.R. 471 and to also express my concern and my condolences to all who are suffering in California from the devastating wildfires. Like California, communities in New Mexico that were similarly devastated by a wildfire last summer are still picking up the pieces today.

It is very clear that our climate is in crisis, and I rise in opposition to this bill because of the dangerous precedent that this legislation sets for climate and environmental policy as we face a new administration.

There is so much that I like about this bill, but I am extremely concerned about provisions in the bill that undermine NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, judicial remedies that are available to communities and to the environmental community, and that it tries to micromanage instead of putting in place comprehensive solutions to address the climate crisis and forestry practices.

Mr. Chairman, I greatly respect the chair for his forestry expertise. As I said, there is much in this bill that I like, but I am highly concerned especially about the undermining of NEPA and these other environmental bedrock provisions, especially in the wake of 2 days after Donald Trump has taken office and signed a slew of executive orders undermining the fundamental environmental climate and clean energy legislation that we put in place over the last several years.

In these executive orders, he took us out of the Paris climate agreement, opened public lands and offshore for drilling, stopped progress on clean energy projects, revoked spending for the Inflation Reduction Act and the infrastructure bill, and is clearly trying to undermine the bedrock environmental provisions of NEPA with an executive order that would stop the modernization of that bill.

It is in this context that passing new legislation that would give the opportunity for the administration to exploit loopholes in NEPA, as well as the Endangered Species Act and judicial processes, is untenable.

It is not true that our country is facing an energy emergency, as was declared by the President. It is, in fact, facing a climate crisis. The hottest year in human history was 2024. The wildfires in California and New Mexico were not started by bureaucracy. They were the result of the climate crisis.

We must be clear that if we are going to address the catastrophic and increasing wildfires that are happening across the West, we have to stay the course in our commitment to addressing the climate crisis. We can't stand here and pretend that this bill is actually the result of the deadly wildfires in California. In fact, it is a bill that has been presented in several Congresses, and many of the provisions in it have nothing to do with these wildfires whatsoever.

I ask my friends across the aisle to please join us in actually putting forward comprehensive solutions that will address the climate crisis, that will increase pay and benefits for firefighters, and that will address the resilience needs of our communities and help them rebuild.

Mr. Chair, I respectfully ask my colleagues to vote against this bill because we must address the climate crisis, and we must protect our bedrock environmental laws.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today with a heavy heart as we remember and honor the life and legacy of my dear friend and mentor, State Representative Eliseo Lee Alcon.

Chairman Alcon's legacy and passing leaves a hole in our community, but his legacy will live on.

A veteran, a judge, a State representative, a beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Representative Alcon dedicated his life to public service and was rooted in our community.

A fierce advocate for the people, the economy, the environment, and our government, all New Mexicans across the State will miss him as we grieve his loss. Our prayers are with his family and everyone who loved and learned from Representative Alcon.

We will work to carry his vision forward and continue his fight to lift up our veterans and our military, our children and our elders, and all New Mexicans whom he loved so deeply.

Rest in peace, dear friend. We will miss you.

Mr. Speaker, today I stand to honor and remember the life and the legacy of Dr. Harold Bailey. As president of the NAACP Albuquerque Chapter and a leader across New Mexico, he was a pillar in the community, mentor, a father, someone who mentored countless generations of individuals who have transformed the fabric of our life in New Mexico.

His work on civil rights and early education will be remembered for generations. As we remember Dr. Bailey, let us commit ourselves to upholding the values that he championed: equality, compassion, and an unwavering dedication to improving the lives of others.

May Dr. Bailey's spirit continue to guide us as we strive for a better future for all Americans and for all New Mexicans.

Mr. Speaker, what I would like to know is, what does this bill have to do with lowering costs, the economy, or making our communities safer?

The answer is nothing.

We are 2 weeks into the 119th Congress, and the GOP is already wasting our time on political messaging bills. This bill is not about protecting women or children. It is the opposite.

It is about government overreach, telling parents their kids can't play T-ball or run track and telling our athletic associations that they can't regulate sports.

It is about bullying trans kids, who are amongst the most vulnerable in our communities, and subjecting our children to potentially dangerous situations in their schools. We won't stand for it. It has to stop.

H.R. 28 is an assault on the safety of the trans community and our children. It puts hate and division over unity, and it undermines equality in this country. It has to stop.

Mr. Speaker, that is why I oppose this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote against it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Emma Brundage. Emma is a member of Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails, Troop 10141, and has exemplified extraordinary leadership, creativity, and demonstrated a commitment to making a lasting impact, by earning the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting, the Gold Award.

Gold Award Girl Scouts are recognized as trailblazers who are willing to tackle the most pressing challenges facing their communities and the world with measurable, sustainable, and far-reaching results. To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, high school-age Girl Scouts must identify and investigate an issue they care about, devise a plan, and then lead a team of experts and community members to implement a project that produces lasting change. Over the course of 1-2 years, Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrate significant initiative, commitment, and leadership, distinguishing them from their peers. Through their resourcefulness and perseverance, they embody the Girl Scout Law to truly make the world a better place.

Emma's project, ``My Hair is My CROWN'', was an excellent endeavor to address hair discrimination in our community. Emma took action by creating an educational exhibit, leading workshops on hair care and legal rights, and advocating for awareness about the CROWN Act at the New Mexico State Legislature to empower young girls to embrace their natural hair and feel confident in their identity, which will have a positive impact on our community for years to come.

On behalf of the 1st Congressional District of New Mexico, congratulations to Emma Brundage for her efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction in Girl Scouts, the Gold Award. I thank Emma for all the hard work she has done for our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Jenna de la Rosa-Galey. Jenna is a member of Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails, Troop 91, and has exemplified extraordinary leadership, creativity, and demonstrated a commitment to making a lasting impact, by earning the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting, the Gold Award.

Gold Award Girl Scouts are recognized as trailblazers who are willing to tackle the most pressing challenges facing their communities and the world with measurable, sustainable, and far-reaching results. To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, high school-age Girl Scouts must identify and investigate an issue they care about, devise a plan, and then lead a team of experts and community members to implement a project that produces lasting change. Over the course of 1-2 years, Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrate significant initiative, commitment, and leadership, distinguishing them from their peers. Through their resourcefulness and perseverance, they embody the Girl Scout Law to truly make the world a better place.

Jenna's project, ``Rubber Band Bracelets: You CAN Make Them'', in partnership with organizations dedicated to Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) awareness was an excellent endeavor to promote well-being in our community. Jenna took action by developing a creative and therapeutic coping mechanism, teaching children who also live with PWS how to make rubber band bracelets, and filming an instructional video, which will have a positive impact on our community for years to come.

On behalf of the 1st Congressional District of New Mexico, congratulations to Jenna de la Rosa-Galey for her efforts put forth in achieving the highest distinction in Girl Scouts, the Gold Award. I thank Jenna for all the hard work she has done for our community.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, I am happy to be here once again on another set of energy bills and amendments. While I certainly support the goal of this bill to deploy more clean, renewable geothermal energy on our public lands, unfortunately I and other members of our Caucus are unable to support this bill in its current form and urge opposition to the bill.

Throughout this Congress, geothermal energy has been a bright spot of bipartisanship. Geothermal is an extremely promising and growing source of sustainable and reliable renewable energy.

We have heard from geothermal developers that there can be challenges to permitting new plants and new facilities, so we understand the intent of this bill. That is why our committee has worked on a bipartisan basis to get to solutions that will help support the industry and deploy more renewable energy.

I am grateful to my colleagues who have taken up this issue, bills like the Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act from Ranking Member Ocasio-Cortez, the GEO Act from Representative Curtis, and H.R. 6474 from Representative Steel and others.

I was pleased to see these responsible permitting solutions pass the House, and I hope to see Senate action on them soon and continued bipartisan work.

Unfortunately, this bill is not in a place where we can offer bipartisan support.

H.R. 1449, the CLEAN Act, does contain some important provisions that we would be supportive of, but it also contains some serious technical flaws that could create major constraints and unintended consequences for geothermal projects.

First, the bill mandates that more geothermal lease sales happen. Democrats, in general, support this. We want to see additional geothermal facilities and the use of our Federal resources where appropriate to do that. We would love to see more resources offered through our agencies so that they can actually do this work, but we will take it as it is.

Next, however, the bill says that the Department of the Interior must notify an applicant for a geothermal drilling permit as to whether the application is complete within 30 days. When the Department of the Interior testified on the bill, they recommended increasing the timeline to 90 days to provide sufficient time for the limited situations where staffing, project size, or complexity would prevent an office from complying. For example, let's say an office is understaffed at the moment.

We offered this change in committee and again today are offering it on the House floor. Ranking Member Grijalva's amendment would change the first deadline from 30 days to 90 days, an easy fix. We are willing to negotiate on the exact number, but unfortunately, we have not had willing partners in that negotiation. They are continuing to insist on a timeline that is not workable for our Federal Government.

Next, and most problematically, the bill would require that the Department of the Interior make a final decision on a permit, either approving or denying it, within 30 days of the application being complete. The Department has called this essentially impossible to achieve. Issuing a decision within 30 days would not allow adequate time to complete the analysis required under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. There are other permits from other agencies, like Fish and Wildlife, EPA, and Tribal consultation that must occur before a permit can be issued.

In the best case scenario, this bill would result in uncoordinated, rushed approvals where the Department and our communities barely understand the potential environmental and cultural impacts required by law, which would result in lawsuits and delay projects even further.

In a worst case scenario, good, worthy projects could get denied simply because an agency doesn't have sufficient staffing and time to comply with the deadline in the bill.

All the possible scenarios here are just a bad deal for geothermal developers and a bad deal for Americans who would like to see clean energy deployed responsibly, effectively, and quickly. To solve this, we filed several amendments at markup for consideration on the floor to provide necessary flexibility and time to complete the reviews and prevent avoidable denials, but unfortunately, those were not taken up at the committee level.

I will also point out that the House passed a bill along these lines by voice vote earlier this year. The GEO Act from Representative Curtis of Utah addresses similar permitting concerns but directs the Department to issue a decision on a permit within 60 days of the completion of the review under NEPA and other laws. That is a Republican-led bill that the agency believes they can work with, so we have a possibility of a path forward.

Even in the Senate, we have a Manchin-Barrasso bipartisan permitting bill that would adopt similar language to make a more workable timeline, which is similar to the amendment offered by Ranking Member Grijalva today.

We hope that our colleagues across the aisle will come to the negotiating table if this bill does move forward. It is important that we fix these timelines. I understand that we are trying to expedite and improve the deployment and permitting of these projects, but we have to make sure that they are workable from a practical standpoint within our communities and agencies.

We want positive outcomes, clean energy, and geothermal. This is a bipartisan issue. We can do this. Let's come to the table and get something done that we can all support. Unfortunately, today, I have to urge opposition to this bill.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I want to respond to one comment that was just made about the employees of the Department of the Interior.

For many folks who are not familiar with the Department of the Interior, I will note that there have been people in history who have called it the department of everything because it manages our public lands, water resources and reservoirs, wildlife through the Fish and Wildlife Service, and mineral leasing. It does our geologic surveys. It manages and provides programs and responsibilities to our Tribal nations. The reason why there are 70,000 employees in the Department of the Interior is because they work across all of those bureaus and missions.

The reality is, if you have ever had to work with the Federal Government, Mr. Chair, is that many of these kinds of decisions are made at the most local level in a field office in the Bureau of Land Management, which is the agency responsible for permitting at the most local level. Oftentimes, the agencies find themselves with staff vacancies, a lack of resources, or they have multiple permits come across the desk of a local resource manager.

To expect somebody who is working in a field office, potentially in a rural or remote area of the United States, to process a sophisticated permit and all the related interagency and interbureau coordination and Tribal consultation required in 30 days is just not realistic. While I appreciate the assertion, that is just not how it works.

Let's be reasonable. We all want the same outcome. Let's not create a law that just results in lawsuits and difficulties for our Federal agencies so that we can move on and get this done.

Mr. Chair, I appreciate the debate. Democrats are strong proponents of geothermal energy and support the intent of this bill. This technology is critical for the clean energy transition, jobs, and replacing other kinds of energy.

We want to see responsible development in relation to our public lands. To make that goal a reality, Democrats have supported bipartisan legislation that increases efficiency in permitting processes and other legislation that gets at the same challenges that this bill is trying to address without taking away the necessary environmental and community input.

Unfortunately, there are technical aspects of this bill, including the timelines, that are just not realistic.

In addition to those arbitrary timelines that would undercut community voices and potential protections in sensitive places, this would make projects themselves more vulnerable to delays should lawsuits happen or there are shoddy reviews or a lack of outside input.

I want us to be good bipartisan partners to all of you in this work, but we really do have to come up with some commonsense fixes.

Mr. Chair, as I mentioned just a few moments ago, I hope that we can work together to resolve those technical issues. I ask my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the bill as it is currently drafted, and I yield back the balance of my time.