Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today we join with President Biden, Vice President Harris, Senators, Congressmen, mayors, and Governors to witness the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

And do you know what? It was summed up as a BFD today, and indeed, it was. And it was summed up in a four-letter word, which is J-O-B-S, jobs. It will create so many jobs in our communities.

And once we finish with this bill, we are going to move on to do the Build Back Better bill because that is the bill for the people, para la gente.

I can't wait, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1619) to clarify the status of gaming conducted by the Catawba Indian Nation, 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, today is the first day of the month that is dedicated to Native American heritage. As we all know, the United States' historic treatment of our indigenous governments and peoples is fraught with genocide, displacement, termination, and attempts to eliminate Native American culture, language, and identity.

But as a Nation, we have also taken actions to remedy and to build back from that sad history. In 1934, Congress recognized that termination was the wrong policy and passed the Indian Reorganization Act, which recognized Tribal governments and placed most remaining Tribal land into trust. In 1975, we passed the Indian Self- Determination Act, which allowed Tribes to reassert their sovereignty and jurisdiction over their own lands and programs intended to benefit them, but the work is far from done.

Through bipartisan legislation we are debating today, and many other legislative initiatives we will undertake this 117th Congress, we are furthering Tribal recognition and reacquisition of Tribal homelands. We are strengthening the consultation requirements to provide better healthcare to the 70 percent of Native Americans living in urban areas. In the infrastructure bill and Build Back Better Act, we will have historic levels of funding for programs that meet the trust responsibilities owed to Native Americans, promised to them as the United States entered into treaties and took over their historic lands.

Our work today declares that it is not enough to just acknowledge Native American heritage, we must also pass the legislation that protects that heritage and strengthens Tribal sovereignty and self- determination.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Majority Leader Hoyer for scheduling these bills to be heard today as we begin Native American Heritage month. I especially want to thank Chairman Grijalva and Ranking Member Westerman for moving the bills through the Natural Resources Committee.

Madam Speaker, I wish to thank the sponsors of the bills and the committee staff who dedicate themselves to getting things done on behalf of the indigenous peoples of our country.

Madam Speaker, I will turn to H.R. 1619. The Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act, introduced by Representative Clyburn of South Carolina, will ratify and confirm the Department of the Interior's decision to take into trust 17 acres of land in Cleveland County, North Carolina, for the benefit of the Catawba Indian Nation.

The Catawba Indian Nation is the only Federally-recognized Tribe in South Carolina, and its approximately 3,400 members reside primarily in the Catawba River Valley. The current Catawba Reservation is made up of multiple parcels of land in South Carolina, totaling about 700 acres.

To improve the Tribal economy and meet the needs of Tribal members, the Catawba Nation petitioned the Department of the Interior to place approximately 17 acres of land, known as the Kings Mountain site, into trust in Cleveland County, North Carolina, for gaming and other purposes.

On March 12, 2020, the Department of the Interior accepted the Catawba Indian Nation's request to transfer the land into trust. The Department's decision derived from the terms of the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993, which ended the Nation's fight against the State of South Carolina in its assertion of aboriginal land claims.

The Act not only restored the Federal trust relationship between the Nation and the Federal Government, but it also contained various provisions about the trust acquisition of land by the Secretary of the Interior, the use of such land for gaming, and the applicability of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Following the announcement of the Department of the Interior's decision, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians filed a suit against it to block the Nation's plans to construct a casino complex at the Kings Mountain site.

Among other assertions, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians claims that the project will encroach upon its aboriginal territory. However, the historical records demonstrate the Kings Mountain site is within the aboriginal and historical lands of the Catawba Nation.

H.R. 1619 will thus reaffirm the Department of the Interior's recognition of Catawba Indian Nation's historical and ancestral ties to the lands in Kings Mountain and the Catawba Nation's right to conduct gaming operations on those lands under the terms of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The legislation will provide much-needed economic development opportunities to the Nation and the surrounding local communities.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Clyburn for championing this bipartisan legislation, and I urge its quick adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

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

Madam Speaker, I think that we have heard today about the importance of how we are, in essence, making history by undoing a little bit of the unfortunate history of the United States. This small parcel of land, which will be taken into trust, will yield significant benefits for the Tribe.

I do appreciate the fact that, like all the legislation we are considering today, it is bipartisan and that all of those who are supporting it recognize the benefits that it will bring to the Catawba Nation.

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. 2758) to provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, 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. 2758, the Lumbee Recognition Act, introduced by Representative Butterfield from North Carolina, will extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

With approximately 60,000 members, the Lumbee Tribe is the largest in North Carolina, the largest Tribe east of the Mississippi River, and the ninth largest Tribe in the Nation.

In 1885, the Lumbee Tribe was recognized by the State of North Carolina.

The Tribe then sought Federal recognition from the United States in 1889 and has been pursuing its recognition ever since.

Over the past 130 years, numerous bills have been introduced in Congress to federally recognize the Lumbee people, resulting in a significant record of hearing transcripts and committee reports. In addition, numerous studies have been undertaken in academia on Lumbee ancestry, including reports filed by the Department of the Interior on the Tribe's validity.

All of these documents and these reports consistently conclude one thing: The Lumbee people are indeed a distinct, self-governing community that has been continuously and undeniably present in the Robeson County area. However, in 1955, when the Lumbee Tribe once again sought Federal recognition, the U.S. Government was actively terminating its relationship with Tribal governments.

To that end, the Department of the Interior recommended that Congress amend the recognition legislation to deny eligibility for the benefits and services available to the Tribe after becoming recognized under the bill. Congress then enacted this amended legislation in 1956, which had the effect of simultaneously federally recognizing the Lumbee Tribe and effectively terminating that recognition.

In 1987, the Lumbee Tribe attempted to restore their Federal recognition through the Federal acknowledgment process at the Department of the Interior. However, the Department determined that the Tribe was ineligible to participate in the Federal acknowledgment process because Congress, according to the 1956 act, had terminated its relationship with the Tribe. Therefore, only Congress could restore that relationship. This is what the enactment of H.R. 2758 will accomplish.

Federal recognition is the formal establishment of a government-to- government relationship between the United States and a Tribal nation. Its importance to Tribes cannot be overstated.

Federal recognition allows a Tribe to reestablish its homelands and place that land into trust for future generations. Recognizing Tribes as sovereign entities enables Tribal governments to manage resources, including local jurisdiction and taxation issues. Recognition also entitles Tribal citizens to distinctive benefits, including eligibility to participate in many Federal programs, including for healthcare and education.

That is why the enactment of this legislation is vital to the Lumbee Tribe. Let's keep in mind that the Lumbee Tribe has been seeking formal Federal recognition for over 100 years. Now is the time.

Other Tribes that were terminated by congressional action had come before Congress and had their relationship reestablished through legislation. After a century of inaction, it is finally time that we extend Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative Butterfield for championing this bipartisan legislation. I urge its quick adoption, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I, too, want to thank Mr. Bishop, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Westerman, and Mr. Grijalva for championing this legislation so that we may today undo 100 years of injustice.

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. 1975) to take certain land located in San Diego County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, 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. 1975, the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2021, introduced by Representative Issa from California, will direct the Secretary of the Interior to take 721.12 acres of land into trust for the Pala Band of Mission Indians.

The Pala Band of Mission Indians is located in northern San Diego County with 918 enrolled members. Members of the Pala Band belong to the Cupeno and Luiseno Tribes who were forced together by Spanish Franciscan missionaries during the 1800s.

The Pala Band recently purchased property that includes the remaining portion of Gregory Mountain that is not on the existing Pala Band Reservation and other sacred and culturally significant sites in Gregory Canyon. The land was purchased to protect and preserve Gregory Mountain, Medicine Rock, and other sites considered sacred by Luiseno Tribes.

Taking land into trust is an integral part of the government-to- government relationship between the U.S. Government and Tribal governments. By maintaining Tribal lands, Tribal governments can protect and preserve their ancestral homelands or sacred sites considered culturally significant.

This bill takes 721.12 acres into trust for the benefit of the Pala Band, ensuring that the sacred sites and cultural history located on those lands will be honored appropriately and safeguarded. The bill also stipulates that current

land and water rights are not affected by its enactment, nor are any rights-of-way or rights of use that are currently permitted.

Lastly, the Pala Band may not conduct any gaming activities on the land.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative Issa for championing this bipartisan legislation, and I urge its quick adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I do want to thank Representative Issa, Representative Westerman, and Chair Grijalva for moving this bipartisan bill forward and taking the action that is required at this time to ensure that the Pala Band of Indians can, indeed, control this land for their sacred and cultural sites.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5221) to amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to establish an urban Indian organization confer policy for the Department of Health and Human Services.

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

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

Madam Speaker, H.R. 5221, the Urban Indian Health Confer Act, introduced by Natural Resources Chair Raul Grijalva from Arizona will require agencies and offices within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, to confer with Urban Indian Organizations, or UIOs, on policies and initiatives related to healthcare for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The Indian Health Care Improvement Act established Urban Indian Organizations in response to many American Indians and Alaska Natives living in urban areas and seeking healthcare. Today, approximately 70 percent of all American Indians and Alaska Natives live in urban areas.

The Indian Health Service supports contracts and grants to 41 UIO programs that offer medical services ranging from dental care, optometry, pharmacy services, and community services, such as alcohol and drug abuse prevention, nutrition education, and counseling.

An urban confer policy at HHS will serve as the preferred method of dialogue between the agency and UIOs. Currently, the Indian Health Service is the only agency that maintains a legal obligation to confer with UIOs. This limited scope serves as a barrier for UIOs to communicate with other agencies and offices within HHS.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the issues with this limited confer policy were, sadly, highlighted. Despite congressional and Tribal support for the inclusion of UIOs and the agency's vaccine allocations, HHS refrained from initiating communications with them. As a result, UIOs were unable to provide input on the vaccine rollout allocations until the deadline, which delayed the vaccine's distribution to many urban American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The failure to communicate with UIOs about healthcare policies that impact urban Indian communities is inconsistent with the Federal trust responsibility and contrary to sound public health policy.

H.R. 5221 will establish direct lines of communication for UIOs across the entire Department and ensure that urban American Indians and Alaska Natives are aware of significant healthcare policy changes.

I want to thank Chair Grijalva for championing this critical bipartisan legislation. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the bill and I urge quick adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Natural Resources,

Washington, DC, October 26, 2021.

Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott,

Chair, Committee on Education and Labor, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chair Scott, I write to you concerning H.R. 5221, the

``Urban Indian Health Confer Act.''

I appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this

legislation. I recognize that the bill contains provisions

that fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on

Education and Labor. I acknowledge that your Committee will

not formally consider H.R. 5221 and agree that the inaction

of your Committee with respect to the bill does not waive any

future jurisdictional claim over the matters contained in the

bill that fall within your Committee's Rule X jurisdiction.

I am pleased to support your request to name members of the

Committee on Education and Labor to any conference committee

to consider such provisions. I will ensure that our exchange

of letters is included in the Committee Report and the

Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill.

I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and

look forward to continuing to work with you as this measure

moves through the legislative process.

Sincerely,

Raul M. Grijalva,

Chair, Committee on Natural Resources.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.

Madam Speaker, I want to, once again, thank Ranking Member Westerman, as well as Ranking Member Don Young and Chair Grijalva, for bringing forth this legislation. It addresses immediately something that we saw that had lingered, but the pandemic shown its ugly light on what happens when we let things linger and do not deal with them. This legislation fixes that. It highlights the importance of communication, of cooperation, and the confer policy that must be adopted across all of our agencies, not only at HHS.

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. 3616) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Bear River National Heritage Area, 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. 3616, the Bear River National Heritage Study Act, introduced by my Natural Resources Committee colleague, Representative Blake Moore.

H.R. 3616 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Bear River National Heritage Area.

The study area would include seven counties in northern Utah and southeastern Idaho, focusing on areas that are within the main drainage area of the Bear River.

Heritage area designations are locally driven initiatives that leverage Federal resources to support the preservation of shared heritage in a manner that boosts conservation, recreation, and economic development. These shared stories are vital, as we consider what is the American story. These heritage centers have proven successful all over the country, and I am pleased to support this bill that will examine the potential of the Bear River region.

I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to ensure a successful and sustainable future for the entire Heritage Area program and would, again, like to congratulate Representative Moore for championing this bill on behalf of his constituents.

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

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I look forward to listening to the many interconnected and complex stories that will come out of this study and to perhaps visiting the heritage area in the near future. 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 (S. 108) to authorize the Seminole Tribe of Florida to lease or transfer certain land, 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, S. 108, introduced by Senator Rubio of Florida, will allow the Seminole Tribe of Florida to lease, sell, convey, warrant, or transfer its real property that is not held in trust by the United States.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a federally recognized Tribe with its Tribal headquarters located in Hollywood, Florida. It is one of three federally recognized Seminole entities, and many of its enrolled members reside on its six reservations in Florida.

In recent decades, a large portion of the Tribe's economic development strategy has been its investment in commercial real estate properties. So far the Tribe owns one of the largest cattle operations in the U.S., along with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino franchise and its 74 international properties.

To manage the Tribe's growing portfolio, the Tribal Council established a commercial real estate investment fund to help create generational stability for the Seminole Tribe. Ultimately, the Tribe's hope is to establish a State-chartered subsidiary entity to act as a holding company for certain properties owned by the Tribe.

Unfortunately, the Tribe has been unable to move forward with this project due to concerns raised by lenders and proposed title insurance companies about the Indian Nonintercourse Act.

The act prohibits any ``purchase, grant, lease, or other conveyance of lands, or of any title or claim thereto, from an Indian nation or Tribe of Indians'' unless authorized by Congress.

At least two title insurance companies approached by the Tribe have interpreted the act to apply to real estate owned by a State-chartered subsidiary entity of the Tribe. As such, the title companies will not insure the mortgage without an exemption from the act, which in turn effectively kills any ability to finance an acquisition.

S. 108 will, therefore, provide relief from the Indian Nonintercourse Act by clarifying that the Seminole Tribe of Florida has the authority to lease, sell, convey, warrant, or otherwise transfer their interests in property not held in trust by the Federal Government without further approval from the Federal Government.

This bipartisan effort is led in the House by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Soto), who is the sponsor of the House companion bill. I congratulate him on his strong advocacy to get this legislation to the President's desk.

S. 108 will allow the Seminole Tribe the ability to continue its economic development, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am grateful for this bipartisan legislation. I also think it gives us a path forward on what we might need to do for all Tribes who encounter this issue, but for now I am very much in support of S. 108 and urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4881) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to take into trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona certain land in Pima County, Arizona, 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. 4881, the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act, introduced by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), the Natural Resources Committee Chair, will direct the Secretary of the Interior to take approximately 30 acres of land into trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is located in southern Arizona, near the city of Tucson, and has approximately 22,000 enrolled Tribal members, with a 2,216-acre reservation.

Before the Federal recognition of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Yaqui leaders, local leaders, and others worked together to establish a home for Tribal citizens. In 1921 these efforts led to the formal Pascua Village in Tucson, Arizona.

Before the formal Federal recognition and the establishment of a reservation in 1978, former Congressman Mo Udall of Arizona introduced a bill to establish 202 acres of land southwest of Tucson to the Pascua Yaqui Association.

While many families relocated to this new land base, many other families remained in the Pascua Village, known as Old Pascua. With the growing city of Tucson and the geographic distance from the formal reservation, the Tribe has worked to ensure the Tribal members living within the Pascua Village have remained cared for, including working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to designate Old Pascua as near- reservation lands.

Earlier this year, the Tribe entered into a State-negotiated compact with the State of Arizona to provide gaming activities in the Old Pascua community. The Secretary of the Interior approved the compact in May 2021.

Further, the Tribe signed an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Tucson to transfer a parcel of land within Tucson into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.

This bill ensures the Old Pascua community remains intact with the Tribe's homelands, and the bill will allow the Tribe to conduct gaming activities, expand economic development opportunities, and engage in cultural practices on their historic land.

I am pleased to cosponsor H.R. 4881, which is a bipartisan bill, with support from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the city of Tucson, the State of Arizona, and the Arizona delegation. I support the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), the chair of the Natural Resources Committee.

Madam Speaker, this bill, once again, demonstrates that there is strong bipartisan support for our Native American tribes and indigenous communities. I thank Ranking Member Westerman as well as Ranking Member Don Young on the Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.

The other thing this bill does, as has been highlighted by Chairman Grijalva, is it comes out of collaboration and conversation with everybody on the ground, the local communities, the States, the county, the Tribe. The people of southern Arizona are asking us to take action, and that is what we must do today.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2088) to take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee 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.

H.R. 2088, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act, introduced by Representative Fleischmann from Tennessee, takes specified lands and easements in Monroe County, Tennessee, into trust for the use and benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

These areas include the Sequoyah Museum, the Chota Memorial, the Tanasi Memorial, and land to support these properties and cultural programs.

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is one of three federally recognized Cherokee Tribes and is the only federally recognized Tribe in North Carolina.

The Eastern Band's ancestral homeland includes substantial parts of seven eastern States, including Tennessee. The 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary is the name of the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina.

In 1979, the completion of the Tellico Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority caused large areas of the Eastern Band's ancestral lands along the Little Tennessee River to be flooded, completely submerging the sacred sites and archaeological remains of the historic Overland Cherokee towns, including the Cherokee capitals of the 1700s.

The Eastern Band can never recover these flooded lands and sites. Especially with that loss in mind, it is important to recognize that there are other locations in the area that require protection and preservation, and we can do that today.

H.R. 2088 helps this cause by transferring approximately 76 acres of historically significant lands from the TVA to the U.S. Government to be held in trust for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It also grants two permanent easements over TVA property to be held in trust for the Tribe to create recreational trails between the sites.

This legislation will give the Eastern Band greater control over their historic homelands and the opportunity to memorialize the history and culture of the Cherokee people.

I support H.R. 2088, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I once again thank Ranking Member Westerman for his support of this package of bipartisan bills that we have brought to the floor today.

It is historic that we begin this month with this commitment to these bills and to getting them passed in a bipartisan manner.

I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann) for his work and for the bipartisan support we have today on this floor for cultural preservation of Tribal sites.

The idea that we are committed to safeguard--that is such a beautiful word he used--the stories and places of sacred importance to Tribes because we know that too often they are overrun with other interests, that they take over, and they lose those sacred sites.

I am so grateful to all of you for the support of this legislation and the other pieces of legislation that we have brought forward today, which we emphasize, and we dedicate ourselves to a new era where we are working to protect sacred sites, where we are making sure that the healthcare of Indian Tribes is maintained and improved in our urban areas.

It is a very good day on the floor.

I urge all my colleagues to support this bill and all eight bills we have brought forward today.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to stand in support of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act. I want to start by, of course, thanking Congresswoman McBath for her work to reauthorize this bill and wisely using this moment to strengthen protections for our communities with bipartisan support.

Domestic violence, unfortunately, impacts every community in the United States. It impacts every community in New Mexico. In fact, over 540,000 New Mexicans experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. It is so sad that children witness

this violence in too many cases and are, themselves, victims.

Our Native American and Latino communities are the most impacted. While Native people, especially Native women, have the highest need for medical and legal services, the current law does not provide them with equitable funding or resources.

This bill takes the steps to fix these inequities. It authorizes a Tribal domestic violence hotline, discretionary resource centers on Alaska Native populations, and direct funding for Tribal coalitions.

These changes will provide much-needed help to our communities so that we may properly respond to their needs.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Build Back Better Agenda

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Build Back Better agenda. I would note that it is a women's agenda, Build Back Better. It is because we will be investing in those things that all women need to succeed in life because we began with our children.

The Build Back Better bill would expand and continue the child tax credit, which began under the American Rescue Plan. We cannot tell those families who finally received the child tax credit that the clock has struck midnight and they can no longer receive it. We must continue this tax credit so that all children in all families receive that benefit.

The Build Back Better agenda also makes sure that we provide pre-K so that there is universal pre-K. We know the biggest benefit we can provide our children is ensuring that everybody has quality pre-K education. When doing so, we must ensure that we pay the teachers of our children what they deserve and give them the respect they need.

In that sense, we will also be investing in our workforce development so that we can have the qualified workers who will be able to care for our children, who will be able to teach our children. The workforce development and workforce innovation investments in this bill are very needed.

I come from a State where we will need to transition away from oil and gas. In order to ensure a just transition for energy communities, we must ensure that there are new jobs for those workers.

Build Back Better will allow the creation of new jobs, both for plugging abandoned wells and for addressing the legacy pollution that we have seen that needs to be cleaned up.

Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support the Build Back Better agenda. It is good for our families. It is good for our women. It is good for our planet.

Madam Speaker, had I been present on October 20, 2021 during Roll Call vote No. 322 for H.R. 3635, the Strengthening America's Strategic National Stockpile Act of 2021, I would have voted

Mr. 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.

Mr. Speaker, we are here today to talk about the importance of this historic moment indeed, this historic moment of where we will be investing--investing in our children, investing in our planet, investing in our future. We are talking about the Build Back Better agenda.

I want to begin by talking about my district, which is made up of beautifully diverse rural communities. My district is the size of Pennsylvania, but my communities in this district are rich in culture and rich in love. You know what? They have also been historically left behind with little investments made to improve their lives and to allow them to thrive.

New Mexican values are rooted in caring for each other. We know that we invest in what we care about. We know we invest in what we believe in. Well, we must invest in addressing the climate crisis because, in my district, we know that agua es vida, water is life. Our farmers and ranchers are depending on us to act and preserve their water resources.

Communities along our rivers, along our acequias, need us to pass a Build Back Better plan that tackles the crisis head-on so that we can preserve the water flowing from our mountains and cascading along our streams for decades to come--to feed our ranchers, to feed our farmers, and to quench our thirst.

In these same communities, people often come back home to care for their loved ones, their parents and grandparents. I have heard their stories. We asked them: Why did you come back? It is because there was nobody else available to care for my grandmother. There was nobody else to care for my tia. And we know that that care is a full-time job on its own.

What does it take to go to work in rural America? It is more than just roads and bridges. It is comprehensive paid family and medical care. It is investments in long-term care and affordable childcare.

In my State, 53 percent of people live in a childcare desert. Seventy-one percent of rural families live in areas without enough licensed childcare providers. We can change that.

The Build Back Better plan must invest in our rural communities. We are talking about empowering rural regions, including our Tribal nations, with the resources to grow their economies, expanding access to affordable healthcare, lowering prescription drug prices, and making housing affordable. We can do this for our communities now. We can make this happen. We made progress with the American Rescue Plan, but we cannot stop there. We must build back better.

It is not good enough to go back to where we were, because we know that where we were wasn't good enough. So

we need to make sure that the child tax credit does not run out. We cannot kick our children out who came out of poverty. Fifty percent of the children in poverty in my State came out, and I am not willing to tell them: I am sorry, the clock struck 12, and you must go back into living in poverty.

No. We must include an expansion extension of the child tax credit in the Build Back Better Act.

Mr. Speaker, those children who were living in poverty are coming out. We also need to make sure that those children in rural America get their early pre-K that they need, and that is what Build Back Better will do.

So the question I ask is simple: Do we want to keep an economy that serves only the wealthiest people and corporations?

Or do we finally give our families a fair shot to truly thrive?

As I said, we invest in the things we believe in. Well, we believe in our youngest children. We believe in our workers. We believe in the promise that lies in each of our communities.

I am glad to be on the floor with my Progressive Caucus colleagues this evening to shine the light on the brilliance of the Build Back Better agenda.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman so much for her words. I do think it is important to remember what it actually means for a family.

In New Mexico, the average cost of infant care is $8,617. That makes New Mexico one of 33 States and D.C. where infant care is more expensive than college. The Build Back Better plan will limit that to 7 percent of your income.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) on Build Back Better and what we have been fighting for and why we must get this done.

Mr. Speaker, I would also note that when we adjust for the climate, we are also creating jobs. We anticipate there will be 763,000 green jobs available to our communities when we pass Build Back Better and address the climate crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Newman).

Mr. Speaker, I want to just touch on a few points.

The gentlewoman mentioned the need for immigration. I would point out that when we pass our comprehensive immigration reform, we would have a $1.4 trillion benefit to our economy. We need immigrants to help care for us. They help feed us. They are part of our communities, and the Build Back Better Act, as the House is looking at it, includes immigration reform.

Today, I was also reminded, during the remarks on something else, what today is. Today is sadly, and I say sadly, today is Latina Equal Pay Day.

I have introduced a resolution to acknowledge that it is Latina Equal Pay Day, and what that tells us is that it has taken this long, into the fall, into October, before a Latina earns the same as a White man. That is simply wrong. And the other thing we know is that Latinas in the recession, the shecession, that was caused by that pandemic, 20 percent unemployment, the childcare that my colleagues are talking about, that would help those women get back to work. That would help them when we make sure that they are also paid what they deserve for the work they do, taking care of our children, putting food on our plates, and just taking care of those we love.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley), somebody who I have always looked up to and learned much from.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman so much for bringing to light and describing those individuals for whom we are working today, but it is they who are us. We are part of their communities and they have been telling us these stories and we are responding now because now is the time for us to act.

I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan), who cosponsored the resolution I spoke of earlier for the Latina Equal Pay Day. We care for each other. That is why we look after each other.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Representative for her courage. She has raised the issues of environmental injustice since the day I met her. I know she raised them and she leads them in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and she has now described what it means on the ground, what it means in terms of jobs, but also what it means in terms of the life that you live, the air that you breathe. Because we know that in our communities, our communities of color suffer from higher rates of asthma. And when something like COVID comes about that ravages the lungs when they have already been damaged, it hurts. And that is why we saw the level of death and despair in the communities of color, in the Native American communities and the Latino communities.

I would also point out that climate change is costly. When they don't want to spend $3.7 trillion, or $2.5 trillion, let's remember that failure to address climate change will lead to world instability. It is estimated that we would lose $23 trillion, a $23 trillion impact on our economy, our world economy by failing to address this.

I don't want to pass over the impact in terms of the creating jobs for the people in our community, for the people in America. We know that we are now coming back. The pandemic is hard. We are still pushing out of it. Today we heard some great jobs numbers. 290,000 is below what they had projected so we are feeling good. We know that the pandemic is something that we are working on, that this President has done such a great job working with Congress on that.

But still, it is estimated that the Build Back Better agenda would create 4 million jobs. That is 1.1 million caregiving jobs. That is not just a number. That is somebody that you are going to take your baby to. And you know that what we are going to do is make sure that that caregiver has the

kind of training that she needs or he needs to provide the best quality care; that because we are providing assistance, that their caregiver is going to be receiving the kind of pay that she or he deserves because they are providing the most valuable thing to you. They are caring for the most precious resource, our children. And that is what Build Back Better will do.

It will also create 556,000 manufacturing jobs, and those are going to be jobs with prevailing wages, good-paying jobs. That is what we need. When we talk about needing to bring manufacturing back, let's grow it here. And if you are for manufacturing in America, you have got to be for the Build Back Better Act, because that is going to create a half billion jobs. That is a lot of jobs.

But what does that job mean? It means that there is somebody who is going to go to work, who has a family, or wants to start a family, and is going to be able to buy a home. But we know that buying a home is hard. So the Build Back Better Act is going to provide assistance for those first-time home buyers. Because we know that the hardest thing for buying a home is having that down payment, and we have down payment assistance in the Build Back Better Act. That is what we are going to be bringing.

We have looked at what are the different levers of our economy that make a difference that are infrastructure, that help a community thrive, not just survive. That is what is in the Build Back Better Act, because we want our communities to thrive, not just survive.

Construction jobs, 312,000 construction jobs, doing the things that we need in America, building those bridges, building those health clinics, building those schools and those businesses. Because it takes all of that; it takes an investment in us.

And we do pay for it. There is not a dime--this is not about debt, because it is all paid for and it is paid for first by going after those who fail to pay their taxes, even when due. So, tax cheats, yes, we are going to make you pay your taxes, because that is only fair. We are going to make those corporations who have paid less in taxes than my child's schoolteacher, we are going to make them pay their fair share.

Not a single family that is earning less than $450,000 a year--so if you are earning half a million dollars a year, then you will see a small increase in your taxes.

But if any of you are outside listening to this and saying, what will it do to my tax burden? If you are earning less than a half a million dollars a year, you are going to be just fine. In fact, you are going to have a tax refund, because we have the child tax credit in there. We are lowering taxes for working families and middle-class families.

We know that when we invest in creating jobs that pay fair wages, that include benefits like healthcare, paid family and medical leave, and retirement, we will help more people get those jobs and keep those jobs. Because when they are able to go home and help somebody they love who is ill in their family, then they don't have to leave that job. That is what we should be caring about.

So when is the time to get this done? As I say in my Nuevo Mexico, ahora es cuando; it is time now to get this done. Because that is right, that is good for our communities, it is good for America, it is good for our women, and it is good for our planet.

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

Madam Speaker, had I been present on September 22, 2021 during the Roll Call No. 269 vote, the Dean of Pennsylvania Part C Amendment No. 5 to H.R. 4350, I would have voted YEA.

Madam Speaker, New Mexico is a border state with Texas. Because of the extreme abortion ban, our Texas hermanas are driving hours to receive abortion care in New Mexico.

We are receiving women's rights refugees with open arms, hearts, and open clinics. To deputize complete strangers to interfere with a woman's health choice is constitutionally, medically, and morally wrong.

Many minority, LGBTQ, and low-income women can't afford to travel and access quality healthcare. Let's pass the Women's Health Protection Act so that we can protect women's freedom in every State.

Madam Speaker, I stand today in support of the Women's Health Protection Act.

New Mexico is a border State with Texas. Because of the draconian Texas abortion ban, Texas women are driving hours to receive reproductive healthcare in New Mexico.

We are receiving women's rights refugees, our Texas sisters, with open arms, open hearts, and open clinics.

New Mexico knows that a woman's freedom to make difficult health decisions belongs to her alone. In contrast,

Texas politicians deputized complete strangers to interfere with her health choices.

Texas' abortion ban falls most heavily on minority, LGBTQ, and low- income communities who can't afford to travel or access quality healthcare.

I trust in the wisdom of my House colleagues, who, in passing the Women's Health Protection Act, are standing with the women of this country in every State.