We can either fund another study or we can make an investment to protect our babies and to keep them in communities, our communities, where we belong.

We are seeing some improvement, we are starting to see some gains, connecting homes to sewer and water treatment systems in villages like Akiachak and Stebbins.

The Infrastructure Bill restricts program support funding to Federal activities, which means the tribes that operate there, the projects directly, can't access this.

If we could finish a project in three years, we would be happy. It just doesn't happen when your building season is really like three months long.

In Alaska, roughly 20 percent of Native homes don't have an adequate supply of clean water or a connection to a sewer system.

According to the IHS, one in ten Native Americans lacks access to clean water or indoor plumbing.

Alaskans living in communities without access to running water are five times more likely to be hospitalized for lower respiratory tract infections.

This is an issue we probably want to come back to and have a discussion with the Assistant Secretary as well.

We are all watching what is happening with higher prices of oil and what that means for fuel costs.

It should shock us as Alaskans. It should shock us as Americans that basic, basic matters like safe water, drinking water, basic sanitation needs are still so unmet in so many places.

I don't think anybody feels like we need to have another study to know that we have a very extensive list when it comes to O&M needs.

I think this is something we all need to be working on.

We absolutely agree that operation and maintenance funds are necessary to ensure that sanitation facilities projects can remain functional for their entire usable life.

Given what you know of the operation and maintenance needs in Alaska villages today, there are a couple of questions here for you.

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In my district, the Nisqually Tribe is using these Federal grant funds to pursue a decarbonization initiative work plan.