Continental Divide Trail Completion Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act as wildfires have been burning across my home State of New Mexico and our life-giving Rio Grande has dried for the first time in decades in significant stretches of the river. This bill is vital to supporting our communities as they are responding to the impacts and working to build a more resilient future.

This year, communities across our State have been battling unprecedented wildfires that have devastated homes and livelihoods and taken the lives of four first responders just a couple of weeks ago from Bernalillo County in my home district, exacerbated by a millennial drought and the impacts of global climate change.

But we are New Mexicans, and we are resilient. This bill, which includes our wildfire legislation and three of my water bills, is crucial to the future of our State.

That is why I am so incredibly grateful for the leadership of this body, to Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, my good friend Representative Joe Neguse, and our amazing committee chairman, Mr. Grijalva, for their incredible leadership in meeting this moment and putting together a comprehensive package to address drought and wildfire across our country.

These bills will empower our communities, our Tribes, and our Pueblos, who have depended on these life-giving waters since time immemorial, our acequias and our land grants, who have depended on these lands and waters for generations, and empower our communities with the tools, resources, and science to meet the moment.

My bipartisan Water Data Act will help unlock the power of big data and science to help transform water management across the United States.

Our Rio Grande Water Security Act will help to create a framework for collaboration and innovation to keep water in our precious river.

The WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act will help to lower barriers so that our Tribes and Pueblos can access vital funding for water security projects.

Our Hermits Peak bill will help to make our communities that have been devastated by wildfires whole again.

Madam Chair, we must pass the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, and we must pass it to prevent more devastating fires. We must pass it to ensure that our life-giving rivers do not continue to run dry. We must pass this legislation so that our communities have the tools and the resources that they need to remain resilient.

Madam Chair, the time to act is now, and the time to support our communities is now.

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