Giving Voice to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Principles

Floor Speech

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Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, good evening. I thank Mr. Jackson for yielding. He is not only one of my dear friends, but also a mentor, and I believe one of the greatest fighters in this institution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight on behalf of the people of New Mexico because in New Mexico, the assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion is not just an assault on our communities but on our identities, our histories, and our ways of life.

The consequences go far beyond a slogan or some polling that some political firm has done. They reach into our hospitals and our clinics. They reach our veterans. They reach our military bases. They reach our Tribal nations and our Native communities. They reach the LGBTQ+ community, our small businesses, our nonprofits, and our working families.

What this administration is doing is nothing short of an assault on our communities, their identities, their histories, and creating something that no person should ever live with which is fear.

In New Mexico, healthcare is not an abstract policy debate. It is whether a patient can see a doctor, whether a rural clinic can keep its doors open, and whether a family can afford care. Every day we are watching as the assaults on DEI are affecting the ability of our communities to access care. It affects our veterans who depend on the VA, not as a political favor but as a promise our Nation made to them, is being impacted by cuts to DEI. It affects our military, which is a part of the culture in service of who we are as New Mexicans, generals being denied promotions, and people in our communities wondering if the military still represents them. It affects our Tribal nations impacted and threatened by cuts to Tribal programs and essential services.

These are programs that help our elders, our young people--nutrition, family, housing, their healthcare, their jobs, their opportunity, and our Federal Government's fundamental responsibility under treaty obligations. These are legal responsibilities of the Federal Government.

In our LGBTQ+ community, the message coming from Washington is increasingly clear, which is that the government is trying to erase the existence of LGBTQ+ people. That is not equality. That is not equity. That is about targeting our communities.

Meanwhile, our nonprofits and small businesses that depend on Federal grants and contracts are being forced to ask whether the programs they have operated for years and generations will be considered politically unacceptable for merely serving the Americans who live in our communities.

This administration has gone far beyond just eliminating Federal DEI offices. They have slashed Federal programs. They have targeted Federal contractors. They have taken out hundreds of Americans who have given their life to service to this Nation as Federal employees, as members of the military, as leaders, and they have slashed fundamental programs that make it possible for our communities to survive.

Mr. Speaker, diversity, equity, and inclusion are not about giving special treatment. They are about making sure that every American has a fair shot--that those who have been left behind have the opportunity to move forward. They are about honoring the cultures and identities of who we are.

I invite you, Mr. Speaker, to come to New Mexico, where we live our culture, where we live our identities, where we live our traditions. Walk in our communities, meet our people, shop in our small businesses, hike on our public lands, pay your respects to our Pueblo and Tribal leaders. Come learn our stories directly from our people, directly from our lands. Come learn about the resilience of our people, who have persisted not just for centuries but millennia, because we live our culture. We live our identity, and we learn from our history.

We know that no matter what kind of efforts you take in the coming days, months, or years to try to cut programs, to try to erase history, to try to stop our people from speaking loud and clear, we know that our people are strong. They are resilient, and they will continue.

As the congresswoman for New Mexico's First Congressional District, I will continue to lift up their stories every single day and continue this fight, because, Mr. Speaker, we are not going back.

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