Melanie Stansbury: “I thank my colleague for convening this Special Order hour. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the real-world…”

“I thank my colleague for convening this Special Order hour. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the real-world impacts of what is happening right now in our Federal Government. With the dismantling of Federal agencies, the free fall of our economy, and the impacts that Elon Musk and Donald Trump are having on our communities, what is happening right now is not normal. It is impacting our communities in ways that many do not even understand. Right now, real people are hurting. They are scared. They don't know what is going to happen. Today, in my office, I met with members of a Tribal council and leaders from a Tribe in New Mexico who came to visit me. Like others, they shared stories about the people in the community who are frightened about what is happening. Teachers and educators and Tribal schools who have been fired without any explanation, critical Federal funds that are on hold. When they went to meet with the Department of the Interior today, they were told that even those who are in charge of the very programs that they were meeting them about didn't know what was happening. Back home people are frightened. They are scared. They don't know if they are going to lose their Social Security, their Medicaid, or the access to lifesaving care. A few days ago, I met with the largest food bank in the State of New Mexico. They distribute food to hundreds of food pantries, churches, homeless shelters, and individual families across the State.…”