Raúl Grijalva

Since the passage of the land exchange, Chairman Grijalva has introduced legislation (H.R. 665 in this Congress) that would repeal Section 3003, for which we are very grateful.

We have bent the rules, changed the criteria and, basically, jeopardized economic development, water usage, and communities nearby.

This is why it is so important what the San Carlos Tribe is doing and what the Stronghold is doing.

The consequences of that, short-term, you talked about. We don't know when, but it will become a problem.

Arizona, like the other states, are going to have to have some permanence to water usage, conservation, etc.

I think those areas, if anything else, need to be strengthened going forward.

The only way forward, if we are to survive as a Nation, as a society, and as a world, is to respect the rights of all people.

It was a parliamentary maneuver done in the dark, violating the process and the spirit of how we seek to pass legislation for all people.

Culture is the ability to sustain life, to hand down to your children, to your grandchildren, to your great grandchildren.

This is a total desecration of religious rights. This is an insult to what is truly sacred to people.

I am both deeply saddened and angered at the same time that some of the members of this Subcommittee would not take the time to come and hear your story, to understand what is at stake and why this is so important for the San Carlos Tribe…

There was no transparency. There was no honesty. There was no process.

It is past time we do something to ensure every American has access to clean water, regardless of location or income.

CBP must consult extensively with local communities by preparing a full EIS complete with public meetings and ample opportunities for the public and elected officials to understand the impacts.

Thank you. I yield back. Thank you for your indulgence, Mr. Chairman.

The last Congress gave them unusual authority. This Congress hasn't given them unusual authority.

Every single Congressional Representative in the U.S. House with a district on the border has taken a formal stance against the border wall.

Something as important, as enshrined as trust responsibility and nation-to-nation consultation gets routinely waived, ignored.

That trust responsibility is embedded in the work of Congress and in the Constitution.

This meeting of Departmental employees with the Tribe resulted in a tour of the border area, and allowed the Tribe to inform FWS and NPS employees about concerns regarding CBP actions to secure the border.

It is OK for this Administration to try to undo NEPA. It is OK for this Administration to try to undo ESA.

None of that is true. None of that is true, and I think that, if I may, Mr. Chairman, that this discussion has to focus on the jurisdiction this Committee has in terms of Indian Country and the protection of those laws that were put in…

To even imply that this is something other than, I think is a huge mistake.

It is about trust responsibility. And it is about abuse of power.

The necessary debate about the border wall and my opposition to it on many levels is a debate that we have been having and we will continue to have.