Providing for Consideration of H.R. Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Equal Representation Act; Providing for Consideration of H.J. Res. Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under the Rule Submitted By the Securities and Exchange Commission Relating to ``Staff Accounting Bulletin No. and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Mining Regulatory Clarity Act of 2024

Floor Speech

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Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the rule under debate and to oppose H.R. 7109, the so-called Equal Representation Act.

This GOP bill is designed to fundamentally change who is included in the U.S. Census by undercounting, especially, our Hispano communities.

Now, let me be clear, first and foremost, this bill violates the U.S. Constitution and the 14th Amendment and is designed specifically to dilute who counts in America--quite literally who counts--because the bill would stop millions of Americans from filling out the Census.

Now, let's not forget that Donald Trump tried to do this in the 2020 Census, and the courts had to intervene.

Mr. Speaker, do you know what the Supreme Court found?

It found that the arguments in support of that effort were not only flawed and contrived but unconstitutional. That is right. This is not a partisan issue, as was said by the gentlewoman across the aisle. This is a constitutional issue. I brought a copy of the Constitution for my friends across the aisle to do some reading if they would like to actually see what it says in the 14th Amendment.

In fact, not only is this not a partisan issue, both Republican and Democratic former Census Bureau directors argued that the implementation of the citizenship question would lower response rates especially for our Hispanic communities. A Harvard study showed that 6 million Hispanic Americans would remain unaccounted for.

Undercounts would have devastating implications not only for our electoral system but the well-being of our families and communities because Federal aid grants and other funds in our States fundamentally are determined by the Census, things like maternal health grants, healthcare for our children, and mental health services for our veterans. An undercount would result in dramatic underfunding in areas with large immigrant and Hispanic populations, like my home State of New Mexico where more than 50 percent of the State identifies as Hispanic.

New Mexico is a place where we already struggle and where we have the worst social, economic, and health outcomes in the country due to a history of underfunding and underrepresentation, which is why instead of attacking representation, we should be focused on barriers to representation. That is why I filed an amendment in the Rules Committee to do just that.

Now, unfortunately, my friends across the aisle in the Rules Committee ruled it out of order because not only are they not interested in improving the Census, they are obsessed with determining who counts, with who is American, and who should have access to the American Dream, including at the ballot box.

I say that is not the America that my ancestors immigrated to, that is not the America that our Founding Fathers formed and fought for, and that is not the America our people are asking us to fight for.

Mr. Speaker, I urge you to read this document here, the U.S. Constitution.

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