[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 145 (Tuesday, September 15, 2026)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RESTORING GLOBAL CLIMATE ACCORDS

  (Ms. Stansbury of New Mexico was recognized to address the House for 
5 minutes.)
  Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, it rained yesterday in New Mexico--a real 
rain, a monsoon rain, a rain that we have been waiting for, for months 
in our communities.
  My social media was flooded with images of people celebrating, 
recording out of their windows and doors, dancing, and rejoicing. That 
is because in New Mexico, in our desert, water is life, water is 
culture, and water is what sustains us.
  As New Mexicans, we have been in the grips of a historic drought. The 
mighty Rio Grande has been dry for a record of over 90 days through our 
communities this summer. We have had record-low snowpack and the 
highest number of high-heat days over 90 degrees. In our communities, 
climate change is not a hypothetical. It is here.
  Our communities are on the front lines and bearing the brunt. Our 
farmers have been forced to drill wells and fallow their fields. Our 
acequias, which are hundreds of years old, have gone dry. Ancient 
orchards that have sustained our communities have been lost, and a 
bosque and wildlife have suffered through the consequences.
  This is not just New Mexico. It is happening all across the planet. 
Extreme weather is pounding the shores of California and Hawaii right 
now. Wildfires have left the West Coast and the East Coast covered in 
smoke for months. In August, globally, it was the hottest year in 
recorded modern history.
  The planet is raising the alarm, and our communities are on the front 
lines. For years, the United States has been a global leader. We helped 
to lead negotiations that led to global climate accords. We invested in 
new technologies and clean energy. We aggressively committed to 
stopping and transitioning pollution to save our economy and our 
planet.
  Yet, since the current President took office last January, not only 
have we seen one of the largest increases in pollution from the United 
States in modern history, but we have seen our standing as a nation 
fall in the eyes of the world.
  He rescinded climate policies on day one and removed us from 
international agreements, just this week announcing the removal of 
clean air protections and divestment from technologies that our Nation 
was at the forefront of, as our adversaries are stepping in to take 
over global economic dominance. He even invaded a foreign country to 
steal their oil, even when U.S. oil companies did not have a 
development plan for it.
  This has not only led to the highest prices at the pump that we have 
seen over a Labor Day weekend in the history of the United States, but 
it has set our country back decades. Why? To give kickbacks to his 
donors, oil and gas companies that he asked to donate $1 billion to his 
campaign; corrupt side deals with foreign actors and foreign leaders; 
his own insider trading, which he posted an AI image of in the Oval 
Office just this last weekend; and his own efforts to increase prices 
in order to line the pockets of his own investments and those of his 
family and friends.
  We are paying the price in drought, in heat, at the pump, in our 
food, in our housing, and in air that is too smoky to breathe for our 
children.

                              {time}  1045

  Well, we have had enough, Mr. Speaker. That is why myself and a 
delegation of congressional leaders are headed to Climate Week in New 
York, to recommit to the United States climate leadership, to recommit 
to a climate-resilient future, to lay out a plan for a new deal for 
America, and to invest in the infrastructure, the technology, and 
global leadership that we need; but, yes, most importantly, to invest 
in our communities.
  That is why, Mr. Speaker, I am here on the House floor today to speak 
up, to speak out, and to demand climate action for our communities now.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Amodei of Nevada). Members are reminded 
to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.

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