Melanie Stansbury

We also passed legislation to address the manufacturing and science needs of this country through the CHIPS Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

It is not a partisan attack on the environment or our public lands, but an accounting system for making fair and appropriate decisions.

After I left the hearing, some of my majority colleagues mischaracterized my words by claiming that the minority-invited witness was unwilling to answer questions.

It is our body, it is our right, and I will not yield. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman's time has expired. The gentlewoman is no longer recognized. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair. ____________________

I especially appreciate Mr. Westerman's comments about how the United States is behind other nations, and needs to standardize the way in which we do economic accounting of our natural resources.

This doesn't replace existing processes.

I am all for oversight of our nation's public lands and conservation policies. I think it is important to review them and understand how they will impact our communities.

The lands that are now currently in my state, in Arizona, and in the rest of the West are Indigenous lands.

But at the end of the day, it really is a way to value resources that were not previously valued, correct?

But it would still happen through a public process.

The policies that this Administration is continuing, which were begun decades ago by other administrations, including conservative and Republican administrations, are vital to the modernization of our public lands.

And addressing our climate crisis.

These rules, this framework would only pertain to Federal lands, not state lands.

Some people actually value clean air, though.

It seems as though we have three unrelated public lands initiatives that are all designed to increase public participation and transparency and modernize the way that we do our natural resources management as a country.

I think it was an educational hearing for my colleagues who are newly being introduced to the concept of natural capital.

We just voted here in the House to bring back the child tax credit, one of the most important and effective efforts to help working families and to lift children out of poverty in generations. These payments will provide a crucial lifeline…

We do not want this nuclear waste site in our state.

And for far too long we have had exclusionary policies and practices that did not allow people of color, women, like me, to serve in positions, and that is reflected across our Federal workforce.

Telework and remote policy actually works, and it works well.

We are facing real challenges in this country, and the Department of the Interior... are doing everything from managing fish and wildlife to our national parks.

The reason why we value diversity in the workforce is because our society is diverse.

It is out of order to dump nuclear waste in our communities.

This is an issue that is crucial to New Mexico, to my district, and something that the people of my district feel very passionately about.

As we all know, every year hundreds of millions of people visit our national parks seeking refuge, adventure, connection with the outdoors, and for cultural practices.