I need you to commit to working with our Alaska Native leadership to educate Fish and Wildlife service personnel on the need to treat elephant ivory different than walrus ivory.

Village Built Clinics have had an important role in Alaska.

Your budget doesn't use gimmicks--it proposes real cuts to programs.

I am a little bit confused about why there would be a specific reduction in this area where again the need is so great.

I look forward to continuing our work together as a subcommittee and to continued cooperation on a bipartisan basis.

Year, after year, after year, it is the same, sad story and the frustration that Senator Tester has clearly portrayed here today followed up by Senator Daines.

When we look at these proposed cuts, we see that it hits Alaska pretty hard with regards to that support for fire staff in leadership positions.

I appreciate that. And this is something that as we move forward, you as Secretary here, know that I am going to be on you and your folks to make sure that we have a serious commitment of resources and prioritization to clean these wells…

My experiences have taught me that healthcare in Indian country suffers from generations of underfunding.

Making sure the Forest Service is continuing to modernize and to really make progress with the demand that is out there remains a priority of mine.

The Supreme Court comes back and says, 'Yes, in fact, you do have to pay full funding for contract support costs.'

I think that would be helpful in terms of sharing the information, but also making sure that as we are moving forward, again, the resources are there to allow for the level of inventory that we are all talking about.

Fairbanks was fortunate. They wrote a very strong application last year under the Targeted Airshed Program Grants. They got a $2.5 million grant to do a woodstove changeout.

Quite honestly, we get tired of these decade long battles.

If we had waited for the administrative solution, we would be waiting a long while here.

I cannot stand down knowing that our system is failing so many of our Native people around the country.

I believe very strongly that this inventory should have been done prior to the Tongass plan being locked in.

If it is not a new project and you recognize it as something that has been committed to, how can we prioritize this so that we complete this land acquisition as was laid out over 2 years ago now?

I certainly prefer that relationship to being a landlord, but I think we recognize that when a Department has authority over 220 million acres in a State like mine...

I was not aware there was this process where those outside the country, those with H-2Bs, could come in and effectively be the fire crews.

I hope troops are coming too.

Thank you, Senator Daines.

What we received through the State fire assistance and the volunteer assistance programs, as you know, Chief, is great support for us.

I'm troubled by many of the proposed reductions to the BIA--particularly the elimination of the Tribal Courts program for which I secured funds for the first time in fiscal year 2016.

this is not acceptable.