Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the incredible lives and work of the Taos News 2021 Tradiciones unsung heroes. It was my honor to join all of them on their big night of celebration. The stories they shared and the work they do for the community are more important than words can describe. I feel very fortunate to have attended such a special event surrounded by such selfless and inspiring people.

It was an honor to hear Benito Concha share his heartfelt story in person. I'm happy that he shared a gift with all the unsung heroes of the night. We all need to do more to uplift the good work and the heroes who deliver. All and all he's an incredible example of why it is so important to listen to the wisdom of our Native elders.

I thank Judy Weinrobe for bringing the wonderment and love of our state to a group like Los Jardines. I often hear how easy it is to fall in love with our state. She is an example of why. She adds beauty to our community through her work. We recognize the beauty of her labor. Keep planting the seeds.

Bette Myerson can't retire for the last time if she does what she loves. Especially if what she loves is a necessity, repairing the world. I think we were destined to meet because we do the same work. Best wishes to Bette and her family. I know she'll continue to do good.

Anita Bringas is a true asset as a strategic support manager. The way she can easily connect people, time, and tradition is the essence of New Mexico. We are all different and beautiful. It's understanding each other and caring that makes this place truly unique. The moment she shared with her mom was one I'll always remember.

As a founder of the women's shelter, HEART of Taos, the world needs more people like Kathryn Herman. Someone who is called to action to fill a void without the intention of becoming a hero but is one. She's saved countless women and children. There is nobody who has a bigger heart than Kathryn. She is the person who we all should aspire to be.

The beauty of Questa, New Mexico doesn't end with its scenery--it extends to its people and there is no better example than Malaquias Rael, Jr. He is an inspiration. The work he has done to diversify and promote sustainability serves as a model for the state and other communities. In small towns, it's important we remain a community and truly live as neighbors who look out for each other.

It's a rarity to see people as generous as Roels ``Roy'' Cunnyngham, especially when it comes to donating land for the community. Those actions promote the health, welfare, and economy of our community, echoing long after the deed is handed over. It's people like Roy who will ensure that Taos grows and prospers for decades to come.

Lisa Abeyta-Valerio is a treasure to her community but more importantly, to our youth. Her passion as a cheerleader coach constantly reminds us of this. Taos may be a small community, but there is no shortage of champions. With someone as caring as Lisa in the driver seat, we'll never get lost.

Pauline Mondragon's story as a fighter and cancer survivor inspires all. Having been there myself, I understand how strong she must be to do as much as she has. Pauline devotes her time and energy for everything that we value as Nuevo Mexicanos. When the pandemic passes, we will all be able to celebrate her and the great heroes of our community.

David Elliot, Citizen of the Year, is an outstanding citizen for the community of Taos. The progress and change he fostered during the pandemic are a beautiful example of the power of love for community. The world is a better place because of the work he's done. It was my honor to invite David to President Biden's State of the Union address to Congress, and I appreciate him inviting me to hear the stories of many of New Mexico's other unsung heroes. I look forward to seeing the incredible things he continues to do.

After listening and meeting with them, my heart is filled with inspiration and hope. It is their passion and the passion of so many more that bring peace, prosperity, and harmony to our beloved communities.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Anselmo ``Chemo'' F. Arellano. As a historian, educator, author, and activist, Anselmo used his talents to preserve New Mexico's rich culture and history. In Northern New Mexico, he was what we call a seeker of el oro del barrio--the knowledge which is the gold of our community.

Anselmo was born on April 27, 1944, in Springer, New Mexico. His family instilled in him a love for his heritage and culture which remained with him throughout his life. Anselmo spent many years as a postsecondary educator in New Mexico. His passion for learning and sharing his knowledge was apparent to those who had the opportunity to meet and learn from him.

Anselmo's career in education began at Fresno State University at the age of 25, where he taught courses in ethnic studies and directed a program for first-generation minority college students. While working at Fresno State, he also volunteered for the United Farmworkers Organizing Committee.

As a distinguished Ford Foundation Fellow, Anselmo received his Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of New Mexico in 1990. He used his education to preserve the history, culture, and traditions of Northern New Mexico and taught others to do the same. Anselmo was nationally recognized for his work and was selected as a featured historian by the Smithsonian Institute for its New Mexico exhibit.

Like many Nuevo Mexicanos, Anselmo knew the power of community and that acequia es comunidad. That's why he worked to secure land and water rights for New Mexicans across the state. Understanding the hardships that his community faced, Anselmo also worked to improve access to education, housing, and health care. He served on boards for numerous community organizations and institutions including the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

On behalf of Nuevo Mexico's, Third District, I am honored to recognize the extraordinary life of Anselmo ``Chemo'' F. Arellano--a humble and loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. I hope that his legacy will be carried on by everyone he shared his knowledge with and by those who knew and loved him.

Madam Speaker, our democracy is precious and it must be protected. The last administration did test and attack it. We know we must take action against tyranny. Tyranny battered our doors on January 6, and on this floor today, we are going to fight back and strengthen our democracy. This act restores accountability, ensures no one--no one, not even, and more importantly, never the President--is above the law.

Foreign governments are interfering in our elections. The last President welcomed and clamored for interference in his bid for reelection. This bill in contrast protects whistleblowers, it roots out corruption, it prevents Presidential abuses of power to keep our system of checks and balances sound.

These principles are not partisan, they are simply American. There is nothing more American than voting for a bill to protect our democracy and the future of our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I stand and I ask all my colleagues to stand with our Constitution.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2930) to enhance protections of Native American tangible cultural heritage, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 2930, the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act of 2021, or STOP Act, will increase the

penalties for trafficking Tribal cultural patrimony and will explicitly prohibit the export of such objects.

The STOP Act will establish Federal frameworks to assist in the repatriation of stolen Tribal objects between Federal agencies and Tribal governments.

Due to colonization, it is no secret that the exploitation of Native American cultural items, like human remains, sacred objects, and other tools, have been looted and sold to collectors around the world.

In the 1970s, the Pueblo of Acoma in New Mexico had their sacred Acoma shield stolen during a robbery on Tribal lands.

Imagine the Tribe's surprise when their sacred Acoma shield was scheduled for sale to the highest bidder at the Eve Auction House in Paris, France.

Thanks to an outpouring of support and diplomatic pleas against the auction house, the sale was stopped. But incidents like this will continue to occur without a codified method to hold traffickers of cultural patrimony accountable.

While the Acoma shield is one example where the sale did not go through, there are countless and numerous other undiscovered and unreported cases where Tribal cultural artifacts and items are sold or auctioned in pure disrespect for their proper ownership and place of reverence.

Cultural items belonging to Native Americans and Native Hawaiians should no longer be considered relics of the past and available to sell to the highest bidder.

It is time for our country to celebrate the cultural items and protect them from exploitation.

The STOP Act will: Direct the Department of the Interior to convene an interagency working group;

Refer individuals and organizations to Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to facilitate the voluntary return of human remains and cultural items; and

Convene a Native American working group with representatives from Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations to provide advice on issues concerning the return of and illegal trade in human remains and cultural items.

The United States is a signatory to an international treaty that entrusts the Federal Government with supporting the repatriation of other countries' tribal objects. We do it for other countries, but we don't do it for our own.

Our Native American Tribes and Native Hawaiians do not have the same statutory mechanism to prevent cultural sacred items in the United States from going overseas to other countries.

The STOP Act requires the Department of the Interior and the Department of State to each designate a liaison to facilitate and hold trainings and workshops on the voluntary return of human remains and cultural items.

The bill reflects significant compromises and adjustments to accommodate concerns of antiquity dealers and has gone through 20 amendments. I was pleased to see these efforts recognized with passage in committee by unanimous consent.

This version reflects negotiations with Tribal leaders, Federal agency experts, and the Authentic Tribal Art Dealers Association. As many know, New Mexico holds the largest Indian art market where artists sell their beautiful creations. The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, SWAIA, has declared their support for the STOP Act.

Passage of the STOP Act will allow the United States to strengthen its ability to prohibit the exportation of Native American and Native Hawaiian cultural items. Let's not forget that Native American and Native Hawaiian history is our country's history.

The protection of these cultural items must be a priority for our country, because once they are stolen and taken out of our country, they become lost to those who revere them.

Madam Speaker, I urge the swift adoption of H.R. 2930, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I, too, wish to thank the really incredible support and working relationship that we have developed with the ranking member and other members of the committee. This is a bipartisan bill, and it has taken some work to get it where it is today, but I think that we are all supportive of it.

The really wonderful thing is that when I am home in New Mexico, I am asked about this bill repeatedly, because the Nations want to see their works protected.

These are cultural items that belong with those who know how to revere them, who know how to protect them, who know how to care for them. It is something that you will hear Tribes across this country, not only in New Mexico, ask Congress to take action on. I am very pleased that we are taking action today on the STOP Act.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation. I see that in the Chamber, we have Representative Young, who is a cosponsor. I would also like to thank Representatives Cole and Radewagen for joining in this bill. It does have bipartisan support.

I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4352) to amend the Act of June 18, 1934, to reaffirm the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 4352 amends section 19 of the Indian Reorganization Act to allow the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for federally recognized Indian Tribes regardless of their date of recognition.

Over a decade ago, in the Carcieri v. Salazar case, the Supreme Court held that the Secretary of the Interior's authority under the Indian Reorganization Act to place land into trust for a Tribe applies only to Tribes that were under Federal jurisdiction in 1934.

Before the Carcieri decision, the Department of the Interior, under previous administrations, had consistently interpreted the Indian Reorganization Act as authorizing the Department to take land into trust for any Tribe as long as the Tribe was federally recognized at the time of its land-into-trust application.

Placing land into trust is vital for Tribal sovereignty and self- determination. We must remember that most of the land sought to be placed in trust is actually historic land, aboriginal land of the Tribes themselves, and they are simply seeking to reacquire it and to have the same trust protections placed on that land as their other land.

Placing land into trust also confers important protections, benefits, and flexibility for Tribes, including protections essential for supporting Tribal cultural practices and well-being as well as their ability to exercise jurisdiction over that land.

However, the Carcieri decision overturned 75 years of Department of the Interior practice by holding that the Indian Reorganization Act provided the Interior Department with authorization to take land into trust only for Tribes that were federally recognized at the time of the enactment of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

As a result, the Court's decision created a two-tier system of the haves and have nots among federally recognized Tribes applying for trust land acquisition.

Now, Tribes that have been recognized after 1934 cannot apply with the Interior Department to have land taken into trust. Instead, each of these Tribes must seek new legislation from Congress every single time they have a similar land request.

We have already seen the real-world consequences of the Carcieri decision, as year after year Congress has to pass stand-alone bills for individual Tribes on a piecemeal basis to protect their lands. In fact, in a few moments we will consider exactly such a bill.

The Carcieri decision also opened up Tribes to costly lawsuits regarding land that they have held in trust for years, sometimes decades. It has taken almost a century for us to begin undoing the damage we inflicted on our Nation's indigenous peoples upon colonial contact.

The 1934 Indian Reorganization Act was an important step in that healing process with the Tribes, but we now know that our work is not yet done. We are still federally acknowledging Tribes to this day. We passed a Tribal recognition bill here in the House on November 1.

To this day, Congress is still working to right many wrongs from the Federal Government. We are still striving to return a portion, just a small portion of the land back to the Tribes.

To say that Tribes federally recognized after 1934 are somehow inferior to Tribes federally recognized before is dangerously ignorant of the idea that we right now are on Indian land.

H.R. 4352, introduced by the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), will right this wrong and amend the Indian Reorganization Act to ensure that all federally recognized Tribes are treated equally, regardless of their date of recognition.

For more than a decade, the Carcieri decision has caused anxiety and confusion in Indian Country. It has created dangerous legal ambiguities related to Indian trust lands.

Passing this bill will remove the ambiguity and uncertainty surrounding land into trust and finally offer all 574 federally recognized Tribal nations peace of mind that their lands can be protected.

I urge the swift adoption of the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would like to offer my gratitude to the next speaker for the hard work she has put into this bill so that we can resolve this issue now and into the future.

I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I truly appreciate Representative Cole bringing into the discussion about this bill the fact of how it has impacted his own Tribe and their ability to take land into trust and not be subject to these unnecessary, frivolous, and time-consuming, as well as expensive, lawsuits that just create confusion out there.

I think the fact that Mr. Cole has worked on this every year since we had the Carcieri decision tells you so much about how, on both sides of the aisle, in the House and Senate, we are looking for a fix, and this is indeed the Carcieri fix.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time and would inquire whether my colleague has any remaining speakers on their side.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Once again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. We must remember that all we are doing is making sure that all Tribes have the same access to the existing statutory law that allows Tribes to take land into trust. We are not changing any of the other laws that would apply to that trust process.

I myself have engaged in numerous land into trust transactions when I was an attorney, and I can tell you they are not easy. You must show that you have a connection to the land; what you will be doing with the land; how you communicated and discussed the issue of taking land into trust with the nearby communities, with the local governments, with the State government; is this aboriginal land; what will you be doing with the land; let's go through the NEPA process.

It is not an easy process, but now every Tribe will be able to have the same access to the same statutory process when we pass this law.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 897) to take certain lands in California into trust for the benefit of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 897 will take approximately 2,560 acres of specified lands in California into trust for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and make these lands part of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is indigenous to the desert and canyons of what we now call the Coachella Valley. I was just there, Madam Speaker, and it is beautiful, and the manner in which the Agua Caliente Band takes care of the land and works with their community is superb. They should be recognized for their ability to have that government-to-government relationship with their neighbors.

The Agua Caliente Indian Reservation was established in 1876, with their ancestral lands located in the greater Palm Springs area. Over the centuries, the lands traditionally held by the Agua Caliente were divided by parcels owned by the Tribe, the Federal Government, and private entities. The divided plots of land led to a checkerboard formation of ownership.

The Tribe has been involved in land transfers with the Federal Government to consolidate the traditional land and reclaim certain culturally significant areas throughout the years. In 1999, the Tribe assisted in preserving the cultural resources surrounding the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument and supported legislation for its recognition.

The national monument legislation included a land exchange of remote wilderness located within the national monument. Although the legislation establishing the national monument passed, it did not expressly state the status of any land transferred to the Tribe through the land exchange.

The lack of explicit language about the status of land led to the Bureau of Land Management and the Tribe working for at least 17 years to finalize a binding exchange agreement for the 2,560 acres addressed in this bill.

This bill improves land management by the Tribe and the Bureau of Land Management by consolidating the checkerboard land ownership around the Tribe's reservation by placing these lands into trust.

Concerns regarding public access to trails have been addressed. The Tribe has a long history of maintaining public trails within the monument boundary. I urge anybody who is in the area to go take a hike on the trails. They are beautiful.

The land is within a remote wilderness area and will be managed similarly to how the Bureau of Land Management oversaw the land.

In a good faith effort to support the conservation efforts of the binding exchange agreement, the Tribe included a gaming prohibition for the lands in H.R. 897.

I thank Dr. Raul Ruiz for his sponsorship of this bill and his hard work getting it to this point.

Madam Speaker, I urge swift adoption of H.R. 897, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2074) to assist Tribal governments in the management of buffalo and buffalo habitat and for the reestablishment of buffalo on Indian lands, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 2074, the Indian Buffalo Management Act is sponsored by the dean of the House, Representative Don Young from Alaska, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill.

This bill will establish a permanent program within the Department of the Interior to develop and promote Tribal ownership and management of buffalo and buffalo habitat on Indian lands.

In the 1840s, the buffalo population in North America was estimated at 30 million, with approximately 60 million at its peak. Before colonization, about 7 million indigenous peoples populated the North American continent. Throughout this time, many indigenous peoples coexisted with buffalo, often through a sacred, spiritual relationship. The buffalo provided food, shelter, tools, clothing, and became an essential component of traditional beliefs and religion.

But in the 19th century, in an attempt to displace or eradicate indigenous peoples, the United States military slaughtered tens of millions of buffalo. At the turn of the century, fewer than 500 buffalo remained in this country. Similarly, the American Indian population was reduced to merely 250,000 in the early 1900s. What a loss. By the 20th century many buffalo conservation efforts were headed by President Teddy Roosevelt and frequently led to private ownership of buffalo herds.

In 1991, 10 Tribes committed to buffalo restoration efforts with 1,500 buffalo and organized the InterTribal Buffalo Council, or ITBC. The ITBC collaborates with several Federal agencies for buffalo management, and now includes 69 federally recognized Tribes in 19 States with 55 buffalo herds. I am here to report that many of the Tribes and pueblos within my district have thriving herds of their own.

The Indian Buffalo Management Act will allow Tribal nations to develop and maintain buffalo herds on Tribal lands to restore treaty obligations and the buffalo population itself. Additionally, this bill will enable the transportation of surplus buffalo from Federal lands into Tribal lands. The great Sioux Chief, Sitting Bull, summed up the atrocities surrounding the buffalo when he said, ``a cold wind blew on the prairie on the day the last buffalo fell. A death wind for my people.''

Passage of the Indian Buffalo Management Act will begin the remediation of buffalo for indigenous peoples and restore religious and spiritual practices that were stripped after the founding of this country.

Madam Speaker, I urge the swift adoption of this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am so very lucky to have on the Subcommittee for indigenous peoples, the dean of the House, Representative Don Young, as the ranking member. The amount of work that we do in that committee, that is bipartisan, that always looks at what is the issue that must be solved and works together to solve that issue, is exactly sort of epitomized by this bill.

We are recognizing that there was a tragedy in our history where we actually tried to eliminate the food source for the indigenous peoples of the Americas. And we did. We caused hunger. We caused the deprivation, but we are recognizing that today and we are going to be giving the assistance to all Tribes to be able to manage buffalo herds.

I have been very fortunate to eat bison. We love bison burgers at my

home; and I have been at Taos Pueblo when they have offered in their ceremonial way the buffalo meat and the cooking around the fire. It is indeed delicious. I completely agree with the dean of the House. But we also need to recognize that managing a buffalo herd is not simple. We need to make sure that there are no diseases that are passed between cattle or elk and buffalo. They need to make sure that there is the right genetics so that we don't interbreed so much.

So it does require a lot of work, and this bill provides the Tribes with the assistance so that they can both protect and manage these herds of these magnificent animals.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, for all of the reasons that has been stated on the floor of this glorious House today, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3531) to authorize the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3531, the Women Who Worked on the Home Front World War II Memorial Act, introduced by Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton. And I thank Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton for the work that she has done to make sure that all women are recognized and that we have a way of focusing that recognition through this memorial.

This bill would authorize the establishment of a memorial to commemorate the nearly 19 million women who worked on the home front during World War II. With mass male enlistment leaving significant vacancies in the industrial and defense agencies, women across the country filled thousands of jobs that were historically held by men to support the war effort and to keep America running.

As the men fought abroad, these women worked in defense plants, flew military aircraft, delivered mail, and performed countless other duties necessary to keep the home front running.

In addition to the women working on the home front, nearly 350,000 women served in uniform, both at home and abroad--directly supporting the war effort as codebreakers, Airforce Service Pilots, and as volunteers for organizations such as the Army Nurse Corps.

The work carried out by women on the home front during World War II opened the door for women to hold more types of jobs than ever before, and it is long past time that Congress recognizes the contributions to our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for introducing this important legislation. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Ms. Raya Kenney, who developed the idea for this memorial when she was in fifth grade, and for her tireless efforts to ensure that the millions of women who worked on the home front during World War II are recognized and celebrated.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 3531, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), the sponsor of the bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am so grateful to Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton because she knows how to listen to brilliant women no matter the age. We really need to thank Ms. Raya Kenney for coming up with the idea. Precisely, as we have heard on the floor of the House today, it was not just Rosie the riveter, it was a complex participation of women in the workforce.

In New Mexico, they were participating by running the ranches, they were participating in our national labs on defense issues and some of the most complex scientific discoveries that helped us win the war.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4706) to establish the Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4706, the Blackwell School National Historic Site Act, introduced by my colleague, Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas.

This bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Blackwell School National Historic Site to preserve, protect, and interpret the role of the Blackwell School as an academic and cultural cornerstone in Marfa, Texas.

The Blackwell School was the sole public education institution for Mexican-American children in Marfa from 1909 until 1965, when Marfa schools were integrated.

The building is a tangible reminder of a time in American history when separate but equal remained so prevalent in our culture. It is a powerful reminder of the work that still remains before us today.

Approximately 4,000 students attended the Blackwell School over the course of more than 50 years. Despite the inherent unfairness of segregation, the Blackwell School became a meeting place and source of pride for the local Hispanic community.

Today, all that remains of the once sprawling campus is a three-room adobe schoolhouse--one of the last such schools remaining in Texas. Designating the Blackwell School as a national historic site ensures that the story of this school is maintained so that future Americans can learn from and understand its rich and complex history.

Madam Speaker, I attended a school that was likewise, in its history, segregated. Hispanos attended school on one side of the town and all others on the other side.

I congratulate Representative Gonzales for championing this bill to bring awareness that this is simply part of our history and we must recognize it and understand it.

Madam Speaker, I urge everyone to support this bill today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am ready to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I too want to recognize and acknowledge the importance of this bill and Representative Gonzales's bringing it to our attention because we must remember that all stories--all stories--whether they be good or bad, whether they concern segregation or celebration, are American stories, and this bill assists us in looking at the complexity of the American story.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to congratulate the Zuni Cross-Country Girls Team for winning the District Championships in 2021. Looking through all of the school's running records, it's clearly an amazing community. These runners continue to be a shining example of what we women are capable of.

It is even more remarkable that their success happened during a pandemic that has devastated our indigenous communities. They still delivered and lived up to expectations making their village proud. The team is a gift to the community.

I extend my warmest wishes for the future of the village. If it's in this team's hands, I'm sure Zuni will continue to thrive.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to send my congratulations to the Zuni Cross-Country Boys Team who won the New Mexico State Cross Country Championships for 2021. Their win is even more impressive during a pandemic that made it impossible to train last year. They make us all proud.

Zuni's cross-country program is in a class of its own. I am so impressed with its leadership in the running world especially in hosting one of the largest meets with more than 30 schools in attendance. It is an honor to represent a community where the running culture is so strong.

I extend my warmest wishes for the future. I have no doubt Zuni will continue to impress us all through the ages.

Madam Speaker, our communities should not have to choose between paying their medical bills or paying for groceries. Parents want to go to work knowing that their kids are being taken care of, that their kids are learning, because when kids are learning, parents are earning.

Families want to know that their kids and grandkids will inherit this beautiful place we call home, this planet, still beautiful. They want the Build Back Better Act because it delivers those opportunities.

So many Americans, especially our Latino and Native-American communities, suffer from diabetes. With Build Back Better, no one will have to pay more than $35 a month for insulin. This is lifesaving. Big Pharma shouldn't make excessive profits off the pain of Americans.

We are delivering for Americans, and it is fully paid for by taxing the rich and big corporations. I urge my colleagues to deliver Build Back Better ``for the people,'' para la gente, for our hardworking immigrants, for all of our communities.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor veteran Valdemar DeHerrera from the beautiful Costilla, Nuevo Mexico.

Mr. DeHerrera is one of the more than 1,800 New Mexicans that bravely fought in the Battle of Bataan during World War II.

He endured a grueling three years and seven months as a prisoner of war under Japanese forces.

He demonstrated unimaginable courage in the face of unimaginable abuse. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. DeHerrera last month and was in awe of his story. His love for his community showed in his service and continues to show to this day.

For 102 years, Mr. DeHerrera has led an exemplary life. I'm proud to serve him in Congress and recognize his noble service.

Madam Speaker, serving in public office is and should be a sacred responsibility, and that responsibility calls upon us to condemn hate when we see it. If we let hate fester and spread, then it will destroy us. That is why one in three women have been attacked violently in this country and around the world.

But instead of apologizing today, Republicans chose to vilify immigrants yet again which is an outrage when the victim is herself a Latina.

Madam Speaker, do you remember the gunman who traveled to El Paso to kill Mexicans after Republican politicians demonized them?

Scripture says: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

And we must also love this institution. It is the love for this institution and the love for our fellow Members which is calling upon us to pass this resolution.

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

Madam Speaker, Monday was such an exciting day for our country. President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, and we came one step closer toward making the necessary investments to help our communities thrive; to help them thrive, not just survive.

And I want to point out that, although it is called the bipartisan infrastructure act, we had very few Republicans in this House vote for that bill. In my State, the Republican Congresswoman did not vote for the infrastructure act; so she voted against the clean water. She voted against the broadband. She voted against the infrastructure that we need to keep our roads safe and our bridges strong enough so that kids can cross them in their school buses to get to school.

But the Democrats delivered that bill, and the Democrats are going to deliver the Build Back Better agenda.

And the reason why we need to pass the Build Back Better Act, it is para la gente. It is for the people. It is for our communities.

Just a few weeks ago, my Progressive Caucus colleagues and I held a Special Order hour dedicated to the many great things in the Build Back Better Act. But, there is so much in there that is good that we are back here tonight to continue to highlight the benefits for our communities.

Madam Speaker, throughout the pandemic, New Mexicans lost their livelihoods. They put savings toward just surviving. If it wouldn't have been for the American Rescue Plan, they would have lost their homes. The eviction moratorium helped them.

Housing--I want to talk a little bit about housing because that is something I have worked on for many, many years in my district. We know that housing instability and the shortage of affordable housing hurts our working families.

Many saw their dreams of home ownership vanish with the pandemic and the recession. But, with Build Back Better, we have an opportunity to change that. We know that the biggest barrier to purchasing a home is the lack of savings needed for a downpayment. People just don't have $10,000 or $20,000 to put down on a downpayment.

And current benefits like mortgage deductions don't help low-income families looking to buy a home. They don't help middle-class families, because you need the money at the time you are buying the house, at closing.

So, to successfully address the affordable housing shortage and the growing racial gap that comes along with it, we need to make sure there is access to home ownership, especially for communities like in New Mexico, or Native American, Latino, African American, Black, Indigenous communities, we need to make sure that we provide them with the homeownership assistance when it is needed, which is at closing.

And you know what? Build Back Better does just that. It makes one of the largest investments in housing downpayment assistance in history.

I am proud to have been one of those many in our caucus who advocated for the $10 billion that is in Build Back Better to help first- generation homeowners purchase their home.

In my beautiful New Mexico, we are lucky to have an organization that I have worked with for 20 years. It is called Homewise, an organization that helps create successful homeowners so that families can improve their long-term financial wealth. We have financial fitness classes. We also help people with downpayment assistance. But we could use more of that. We never have enough downpayment assistance.

But one of the people that we helped was Maria Luisa. Maria Luisa first came to the United States from Mexico. She had a dream to own a home of her own and to create that better life for herself. She found that dream hard. She found herself living on the streets of Santa Fe, but she turned her life around. She got her GED. She got her residency, her green card. She took classes at the Santa Fe Community College in community health, and she found Homewise, and she found her first home with our help.

She says that being a homeowner lifts her spirits and gives her confidence in her own future. She knows that she will be able to pass along the savings that are incorporated into that home of her own to her children.

Spirit and confidence in the future, that is what Democrats are about. We are about opportunity. We are about creating that belief in the future and making it possible for working families.

I am glad to be on the floor with my progressive colleagues to talk about the many opportunities that Build Back Better has.

But I want to take a little moment right now and have us walk back a year. Thanksgiving. Do we remember what Thanksgiving was like a year ago?

In my household, we always have a sit-down dinner for about 24 people. You know, we believe in those extended tables. And everybody comes. Somebody will make the turkey, somebody else will make the green chili and the red chili, because you can't do without red chili and green chili if you are from New Mexico. And everybody brings what they made with such love to the table, and we sit around together and share stories and share good food and laugh and tease.

Last year, did we do that? No. Last year, we had a Zoom Thanksgiving. Last year, we were living in despair. We were living with our former President, who made fun of COVID. We were living with politicians from the other side of the aisle who called it a hoax. And we could not gather. We could not celebrate.

What a difference a year makes. What a difference leadership makes. Under President Biden and the American Rescue Plan, we have made it possible for our families to gather together once again because we made sure that they didn't get kicked out of their homes; that they had a place to invite their family too with the money that we put into rental assistance.

We made sure that they could get that vaccination; that they could have those shots. And anybody who wants it in the United States can get a shot, can be vaccinated, can get their booster, so that they protect everybody in their community. And that is what we need to celebrate, and that is what we need to respect because a year later, the American Rescue Plan has done so much for our communities.

But, yes, it is true. As those on the other side of the aisle state, we are seeing inflation. But gas prices, who controls gas prices? Oil and gas companies do. Who protects oil and gas companies? Republicans protect oil and gas companies.

They protect those corporations. They do not let us attack their corporations or tax those corporations. So Democrats have to do it themselves.

We need to remember that it is greedy corporations that are raising the prices and profiting off of working families.

We need to remember that it is Grubhub that is increasing the price of deliveries by 30 percent, and none of that is going back to the mom- and-pop restaurants. It is going to those corporations that don't want to pay taxes.

But in the Build Back Better Act, we are going to make sure that corporations pay their fair share so they can stop fueling the inflation that the Republicans protect. They are fueling the inflation, and Republicans are protecting those corporations. Let's call it like it is.

But right now, I want to go back to all the amazing things that are in the Build Back Better Act. I am going to call on our wonderful Representative Watson Coleman, my colleague, who always stands ready to tell the stories of what it means on the ground in our community, for our people, from visions like Build Back Better.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman).

Madam Speaker, New Jersey is so lucky to have Representative Watson Coleman because she knows what is needed on the ground.

Yes, indeed, it is together, and that is what I like about our Caucus and what we are doing. We are doing it together. We are not about division. We are about unity.

That is what we represent, right? Because we know that community working together, living together, and growing together is how we succeed in life.

I want to raise another part of where Build Back Better is very important. I am chair of the Indigenous Peoples Subcommittee. I am so lucky to have the Jicarilla Apache Nation, the Navajo Nation, and 16 different Puebloan Tribes in my district. They tell me about their needs. I have walked in their villages. I have sat at their feast days.

I know the pandemic hit them hardest of all. We saw the death and despair in our Tribal communities. So what we did in Congress, what we did in the Natural Resources Committee, was to make sure that their voices were heard. We provided $14 billion in the American Rescue Plan and another $12 billion for their communities.

We have been hearing lately about the incredible, sad stories that come from the fact that there was a time in America's history when we took children away from their Tribes, away from their culture, and we put them in boarding schools, and many died. We were trying to erase the savage Indian, and those were the words that were used. It didn't work. The Tribes are alive and with us. We must respect that history.

I am proud that both the American Rescue Plan and the Build Back Better Act have $200 million for Native American languages because it is through language that you preserve a culture and that you preserve an identity.

Add that together with the fact that we are going to have $470 million for Tribal climate resilience because we have moved Tribes from their homelands and put them in places where they are at the greatest risk from the climate crisis. We include money for drought relief because they are at the greatest risk of thirst because of the droughts that will be caused.

We have $2.3 billion for the Indian Health Service. This will help us address the backlog. 1993 is when we started setting out the list of Indian Health Service buildings that needed repair, and we still have a 1993 list that we have not met.

I am very proud of what we have done in Build Back Better to address the needs of our Native Americans and our urban Native Americans in our Tribes.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), my colleague in the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a gentlewoman but fierce and proud.

Madam Speaker, I think this reference to how history will judge us is important because we are facing a historical moment right now. The decisions we make on the floor of this House this week will determine whether our future is one that is inclusive and that includes every single family and community in this great Union of the United States or whether it continues to leave people behind.

Right now, those who are being left behind include the vast majority of Americans. What we are doing with this legislation is creating the kind of opportunity, creating the kind of jobs so that everybody can come forward and thrive.

We are focusing on women. This is a women's agenda. The Build Back Better Act is a women's agenda because it is the women who had to drop out of the workforce to care for their children because there wasn't enough childcare available or it was too expensive.

In New Mexico, we just learned that almost 21 percent of the women in New Mexico dropped out of the workforce because they could not afford childcare.

Build Back Better addresses that. It is going to make sure that no family pays more than 7 percent of their income on childcare. That is the kind of agenda that every family wants, because they want to make sure that their children are cared for and are either in a great childcare center or are in that pre-K that is so essential so that they can succeed later in life.

We know that the science has shown us that if you have quality pre-K for your 3-year-olds, for your 4-year-olds, you are going to have a successful life, you are going to earn more in income, you are going to graduate from high school, you are going to earn additional degrees. It is going to be better.

So we are taking the investments today and we will recoup the benefits 12 years from now, 18 years from now. And that is believing in our future. We are investing in what we believe in.

I also want to take a moment to address the fact that this bill is fully paid for, so when anybody ever says that it is going to increase our deficit, know ye that it is not true what they say because this bill is fully paid for.

It is paid for by making sure that tax cheats don't get to cheat anymore. We are going to invest in the IRS so that they can audit and go after tax cheats. Who wants to defend tax cheats? Do you really want to be defending tax cheats? I hope not because everybody should pay their fair share.

We are going to make sure that nobody earning less than $400,000 a year pays any more in taxes. Indeed, this is one of the biggest tax cuts that we are doing for regular people. Not like the tax cut they passed in 2017 which benefited only the wealthy and the corporations. This tax cut is a benefit to our working families, to our middle-class families.

The child tax credit is available to all now. Everybody who is receiving that $300-per-child payment every month, that is going to continue because of the American Rescue Plan and because of Build Back Better. If anybody says it is going to add to the debt, know that they are not speaking the truth.

The other thing that Build Back Better does is it has the biggest impact on addressing and combating climate change in American history. Anybody who has lived through this summer, through last winter, the storms, the climate disasters knows that it is not a hoax, as some have argued.

Climate deniers have been proven wrong because we all witness what is happening with our climate. We all know that it will cost us billions and trillions of dollars if we do not act.

In my beautiful New Mexico, if we do not act to combat the climate crisis, we will become an extension of the Sonoran Desert. I love my mountain streams. I love the snowfall that falls on our ski resorts and in our mountains and trickles down to our rivers and provides us with the water we need for our farms and our fields and to quench our thirst.

I love that snow. If we do not address the climate crisis, we will not see that snow in winters to come. We might not see it this winter. So I am very pleased at the investments that we are making to combat the climate crisis in the Build Back Better Act.

The infrastructure bill also included some key provisions. It included provisions for my Orphaned Well Cleanup and Jobs Act to plug orphaned wells and protect our communities from the dangerous methane they spew into the air. We know that methane is many times, 35 times more dangerous to our climate than carbon, and so it is important to plug up those orphaned wells that oil and gas companies have abandoned. Not all of them, but there are too many that have abandoned those wells, and they are called orphaned. They are spewing methane into the air right now.

I visited one with our Labor Secretary. It was right next door to a school. The methane that leaks from that abandoned and dirty well is breathed into the lungs of our students. The infrastructure bill will help clean it up, but the Build Back Better bill will say we don't want this to happen over and over again.

Build Back Better says: You can't walk away, oil and gas companies, you can't walk away from those wells and leave the mess for the taxpayers to clean up.

We asked the Interior Department to strengthen the bonding requirements so that the bonds cover the cost of cleaning them up. We also establish an idled-well fee so that oil and gas companies don't have and don't let these wells just sit unattended. If you are not going to be pumping from the well, close it down. Don't just let it spew methane into the air.

I also helped secure $240 million for a Just Transition investment fund to create new economic opportunities in our energy communities. New Mexico relies on oil and gas for jobs and tax revenues. I am acutely aware of the benefits that this industry has brought to our State, but I am also acutely aware of the need to transition in a way that honors our communities and our workers who have worked in this industry, who have fueled our economy.

We now need a transition to renewable energy and to a clean energy economy, but in that transition we cannot leave any worker behind. And so Build Back Better includes money to invest in those communities so we can see new businesses arise. It also includes money to invest in the workers so that if they need to gain new skills that we are there for them, that our community colleges are there for them, that our apprenticeships are there for them.

But many of the skills that we need, like cleaning up the orphaned wells, are the same skills that you would use in the industry itself. So we are going to be creating good-paying jobs, and we are making sure in the Build Back Better plan that those jobs are union, if they want to be. We are making sure that we prioritize the jobs that pay well and that treat their workers well.

We also are investing in a civilian climate corps. I am very proud to have had my first job in the conservation corps, the Youth Conservation Corps. It taught me that cleaning and protecting our environment is hard work. I went out there with my boots and my shovel and my pickaxe, and we helped create trails, and we helped clean up those trails. It taught me about work ethic, but it also taught me about the importance of caring for the land that we love.

The civilian climate corps will do the same, but it will grow it. I have met with those who are engaged, like the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. I give a shout-out to the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps because they are there managing our forests, working to protect our forests, and earning their degrees, starting new businesses coming from that experience in the climate corps, in the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps.

We are going to be investing in thousands and thousands of jobs for young people who will be able to go on and secure education, if that is what they

want, or start a business, if that is what they want, from the skills that they will have learned from the climate corps.

We also are going to be strengthening domestic manufacturing and the supply chains for critical goods because it is only when you address the root cause of the problems, which is our supply chains that you solve the problem.

We want to bring back manufacturing to this continent, to this country. There are those who talk about it the same way they talked for years about infrastructure week, but it doesn't help if all you do is talk about it. What you need to do is deliver. In the infrastructure plan, we are delivering to bring back the jobs that are needed to build those bridges. We are building that infrastructure.

We are delivering because Democrats deliver. In Build Back Better, we are going to be delivering the jobs of the future. We are going to be delivering the investments in manufacturing. We are going to be delivering the investments so our consumers can realize the benefits so that they are paid more and can really have the respect that comes along with a job that has the kind of benefits you need.

We are going to be delivering prescription drug price negotiation. We are going to be delivering the lowering of healthcare costs because for too long we have had those who would stand for Big Pharma instead of for those who need insulin, those who need Humira, those who need the kinds of drugs that make their life bearable, those who need the kinds of drugs that allow them to survive.

What we are doing in Build Back Better is making sure that we can negotiate to reduce those drug prices. That is something that we know Americans want. And so when we do not get a single Republican vote for lowering drug prices, remember that, that Republicans were unwilling to vote to lower drug prices because that is what this bill does.

Remember that Republicans were unwilling to vote for infrastructure, because that is what the infrastructure plan did.

I am asking, however, that we receive those votes, that we receive bipartisan support for the kinds of investments that we are going to be doing for our people.

I yield now to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), an amazing colleague in the Congressional Progressive Caucus, an amazing colleague from the Equality Caucus who has fought for the rights of all Americans. He has fought for the Equality Act. He is one of the drafters of the Equality Act.

Madam Speaker, I do love it when this President always says we are going to rebuild this economy from the bottom up and the middle out because that is exactly who he is focused on. He is focused on giving us the opportunities, my constituents as well.

You know, there could not be two States that are more different than Rhode Island and New Mexico, but these are the same things we hear in New Mexico. We are addressing those in Build Back Better, and I can't be more excited as a freshman to be able to be here on the floor of the House and to vote for the American Rescue Plan because that really was the first step.

The American Rescue Plan saved our economy. It saved families from homelessness. It lowered hunger. It addressed the pandemic by giving us the vaccine.

The second step was the infrastructure bill. We talked earlier about how, last Thanksgiving, we were apart. This Thanksgiving, we are together because of the American Rescue Plan.

But the infrastructure bill, that is about repairing our infrastructure, which has been too long ignored.

Then this last one, Build Back Better, I am just overjoyed that I get to serve in Congress in this historic moment to work on these things that will be benefiting my grandchildren and their grandchildren. I want to leave them with this beautiful place we call home intact.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.