Danger of Default on America

Floor Speech

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Ms. STANSBURY. Madam Speaker, I stand before you today to defend the very survival of New Mexicans; families like my own, working families, who work hard every single day and still struggle to make ends meet, who still struggle to put food on the table, and who still struggle to put a roof over their head. These are families who depend on vital services and programs like mine that enabled me not only to survive but to go to school and to stand here today as your Congresswoman.

These programs save lives, and yet the GOP is attempting to hold the entire country, New Mexico, our families, and our economy hostage if we do not gut these vital, lifesaving programs or they will tank the economy to achieve their political ends.

In return for upholding the full faith and credit of the United States and paying our bills as a Nation, right now Republicans are demanding that we cut funding for food, for housing, for Tribal programs, for education, and for countless other lifesaving programs that our families depend on.

I am here today with my colleagues from the Progressive Caucus to say that we will stand and we will defend these programs because our families' lives are not bargaining chips in this crusade to cut government programs and services. Their lives and dignity matter.

Just 2 weeks ago, I was home in our community and stood with members of our community at the Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless memorial wall. This wall is covered with tiles with names of members of our community who have been lost to homelessness: mothers, grandmothers, fathers, children, aunties, and uncles. These are people who were loved and people who were lost. They are people whose lives mattered in our community and were lost to the senseless impact of homelessness.

Make no mistake, Madam Speaker. The programs that the GOP is currently proposing to slash will impact thousands of New Mexicans who are currently facing housing insecurity and millions of lives across this country, gutting programs around housing and food insecurity.

These are families who could face eviction from their homes because they no longer have support. This includes families with children, our elders, veterans, and those with disabilities. This is not only wrong, it is immoral because housing is not a luxury. Housing is a fundamental human right.

I also cannot believe that I am standing here today in defense of veterans' programs as well because the GOP is currently proposing to cut our veterans' programs by double digits. These are programs that serve our heroes who have dedicated their lives and put their lives on the front line in the defense of our country, our national security, and the freedoms that all of us enjoy.

We not only have a sacred obligation to help and preserve those programs, but to ensure that the countless veterans who have already served our country can access the care that they deserve.

These cuts could impact 81,000 healthcare professionals within the VA system. That means putting our Nation's heroes' lives at risk and creating even longer lines to see healthcare professionals. That is 30 million less visits affecting over 60,000 veterans in New Mexico alone.

Our veterans bravely served our Nation, and it is our responsibility to defend these programs because their care is not up for debate.

Republicans are not only proposing to slash these programs, they are also proposing to cut other healthcare programs. In fact, more than 60 percent of New Mexicans depend on the lifesaving care that they receive through Medicaid and Medicare or both. If the GOP were successful in putting through these draconian cuts in the default for America act, more than 280,000 New Mexicans would be at risk of losing their health insurance, and more than 21 million Americans would be without access to care.

This won't just affect healthcare. It will affect the ability of our elders to get access to their Social Security.

For all of you out there who are listening, you know how vital those Social Security payments are to making sure that our elders can eat and put a roof over their head and also because you paid into that system, and it is yours.

Growing up, my family experienced many of the same challenges that so many countless New Mexicans and Americans struggle with today. The programs that we are talking about that would be gutted through these heartless cuts would not only have affected families like mine and my ability to survive and stand here today, they will affect millions of Americans. So this is very personal to me.

Lifting the debt ceiling should not be a crisis. It has been routine for decades. In fact, under both Republicans and Democrats, we have raised the debt ceiling, we have paid our bills, and we have made good on our responsibility and our fiscal responsibilities as a country.

It is dangerous to play games with the full faith and credit of our Nation and our economy, but it is heartless to propose to gut these programs.

As the Congresswoman for New Mexico's First Congressional District, I ask my Republican colleagues to consider what these programs mean, the millions of lives that are standing at risk, the millions who will be impacted, those who could lose their housing, and the children whose mouths will not be fed.

This is what is at stake in this hostage situation, and we will not stand idly by because we are fighting. We are fighting not only for the full faith and credit of the United States and our economy, but for the working families of this country to ensure that we do not balance the budget and make good on our fiscal responsibilities on the backs of working people because we were elected to serve our communities and to serve our country.

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