I think that, you know, when that is going well, I think BIA deserves credit for making that a priority.

I think that really gets to the heart of why this issue is important.

If you enter into trying to establish a mortgage for a house, and you can secure financing that is, you know 5 percent or 5.5, and by the time everything has its I's dotted and its T's crossed mortgages are 8.25 percent, that is…

I would just remind you that we have a certain decorum here, and I would ask that you not refer to any Member of this Committee in the future as a lackey.

I believe the Agency is actually allowed to maintain those facilities with the least intrusive tool.

We would also suggest including legislation along the lines of H.R. 2662, introduced by Rep. Heinrich, to dedicate a portion of the fees paid by renewable energy developers back to Interior.

we would respectfully request that you maintain within the new office a separate and adequately sized staff dedicated solely to reviewing and processing renewable energy applications.

A better solution would be to bring wind and solar funding in line with other activities on BLM land.

I wonder if the settlement doesn't constitute an unconstitutional taking.

I just really don't want to lose sight of that.

I especially want to thank the New Mexico congressional delegation for enabling us to achieve this settlement.

I just don't want us to forget, Madame Chair, that we are talking about people here and families.

Mr. Lujan. Commissioner Montoya, could you touch upon the last series of questions there?

Thank you very much, Madame Chair and Ranking Member McClintock.

Thank you very much, Mr. Martinez.

I hope that we can get some assurance, maybe from the Bureau, that they would be willing to meet with some of the parties to be able to resolve some of the issues that it sounds like we are closer to than not today.

Is it clear, or would you agree with the statement that the Administration understands the importance of the settlements between New Mexico and the tribes as it relates to the limitations of water resources in both cases?

I have a little bit of experience with regional water authorities because I used to chair the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority.