[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             AMERICANS DON'T TURN THEIR BACKS ON EACH OTHER

  (Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, this image could be from the 
California wildfires, but it is not. It is from New Mexico's Hermit's 
Peak and Calf Canyon Fires, which ravaged northern New Mexico. We are 
still recovering from the inferno with help from the Federal 
Government.
  We might see a picture like this in Montana or Utah or anywhere there 
are droughts and extreme weather events.
  When disaster hit New Mexico, my colleagues supported our State, 
including recently Speaker Johnson and my Republican friends. I am 
grateful that we acted as one.
  When hurricanes hit North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia, we 
supported the recovery in those States without conditions because that 
is what we do.
  Americans don't turn their backs on each other.
  That should not change with California. They need our help. New 
Mexican firefighters are there helping, and Congress must also help 
without placing conditions on emergency disaster aid.
  Let's act as one United States in the face of this disaster.

                          ____________________