FIGHT AGAINST ASSAULT ON PUBLIC LANDS

On 2026-07-16, Representative Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1) delivered a floor speech titled "FIGHT AGAINST ASSAULT ON PUBLIC LANDS" in the House.

FIGHT AGAINST ASSAULT ON PUBLIC LANDS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 116 (Thursday, July 16, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 116 (Thursday, July 16, 2026)] [House] [Page H4617] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] FIGHT AGAINST ASSAULT ON PUBLIC LANDS (Ms. STANSBURY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, this week the administration has continued its assault on our public and sacred lands, repealing critical protections for Chaco Canyon and Bears Ears, two of our most sacred cultural landscapes. For New Mexico's Tribes and pueblos, these are not relics of the past. They are living, sacred places where history, culture, religion, and identity endure. They hold thousands of ancestral sites that are central to ceremonies, traditions, the stories, and the people who have cared for these lands since time immemorial. These repeals disregard years of Tribal consultation and open the door to oil, gas, and mining, threatening sacred sites that are irreplaceable. Let me be clear, though. This fight is not over. We will stand with our Tribal Nations, our communities, and everyone fighting on the front lines. We will fight back in the courts, in Congress, and alongside our Tribal Nations and the American people because our sacred sites are not for sale. ____________________