This is an unprecedented giveaway of Indian assets that every member of this committee should oppose.

Mr. Chairman, having visited with Sioux leadership and the folks at the encampment at Standing Rock, a word of both caution and to look at this question with an entirely different set of eyes.

So, to some extent SITLA is betting on Uncompahgre. If the litigation goes a certain way, then those lands would be there to appropriate into whatever value SITLA feels those 100,000 acres have--possibly to develop gas and oil, who knows?

This legislation impacts the administration of about 18 million acres of public land.

H.R. 5780 also includes proposals with significant impacts on Indian land, including the transfer of 100,000 acres of the Ute Indian Tribe's reservation to the state of Utah.

Time and again, the proposal tilts the scales dramatically in favor of development and motorized use.

I believe there is language in the bill to make things whole for the tribe and for the trust lands at the same time.

Unfortunately, the bill which resulted from that process is a non-starter.

In too many instances, rather than seeking appropriate management of Federal lands in Utah, H.R. 5780 seeks to resolve the management conflicts by simply giving Federal land away.

It is my understanding that the Ute Indian Tribe is very directly impacted by these land exchanges that are being mandated.

H.R. 5780 falls far short of what it would take to reach a legitimate compromise and leaves many of the stakeholders, including the region's Native American communities, no choice but to oppose the legislation.