We have a unique window of opportunity to end the gridlock.

Thank you for being here, especially President Begaye.

I appreciate the witnesses for traveling from all over the place, from Arizona, from New Mexico, from Colorado, and from Utah, for actually being here so we can talk about this.

Is there anything in that proclamation that required the BLM to acknowledge and actually follow their advice?

Key bottom line is there will still be a commission appointed by the tribes, there still will be a council that actually has some real ability to do something.

This thoughtful legislation would give it to them by codifying what we all want: appropriate monument protections and a cooperative framework to ensure that those appropriate designations are managed responsibly for the public's benefit.

Any assertion that this bill throws open public land to harmful development is akin to suggesting the Patriots get five downs to go 10 yards--an outright falsehood.

As I see it, the teams are the Federal, Utah, local, and tribal governments with interests in exercising careful stewardship over these stunning lands for all the public's benefit.

Thank you very much. I am now going to ask Mr. John Tahsuda to stand, if you would, please.

H.R. 4532 is a sensible and responsible answer to that question. Congress should pass it with all deliberate speed.

Despite that unprecedented responsiveness, neither the Eagles and Patriots nor the teams in San Juan County can participate willy nilly.

This bill establishes something unique in U.S. history: monument management councils that give all the teams a voice in land management.

A lot more protection.

Thank you very much. I am going to mess up this name, as well. Once again, I will apologize in advance.

Chairman Bishop sharply questioned whether the Ute Indian Tribe and the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition had a strong and ongoing relationship to the lands and resources contained within the Bears Ears National Monument.

I am pleased to announce that I am initiating a process to develop Federal legislation.

I believe the bill put forward by Congressman Curtis is fair, inclusive, and it is necessary.

What we are talking about is, how do we empower people who actually have a close tie, an ancestral tie, a family tie to be able to make real decisions, not mock decisions, but real decisions?