Raúl Grijalva

Of course, we want to be at the table because right now we are just the menu.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And I just want to associate with some of your comments and the Ranking Member's comments, where you said that this Subcommittee does have a history and a tradition, and we are not just talking about bipartisanship…

We must do better for our tribal members, for our citizens, and for our country.

It is time to act so Native lives are no longer jeopardized by the lack of communication between HHS agencies.

No policy about us without us.

Our suicide rate has increased 20 percent. We need this policy and full funding to support Indian Country's public health emergency.

This is an important step in the histories of the United States and the Oceti Sakowin.

This is an important step for the healing of the people of our Oceti Sakowin.

We believe H.R. 3371 represents another important step in that process.

Our people have grieved for well over a century the loss of life and the genocidal attack on our people and our way of life that took place at Wounded Knee.

Chaco Canyon and the withdrawal would be an example of that, in terms of protecting that sacred site.

The Biden administration has previously testified before this Committee in support of returning traditional and sacred sites to tribes.

The legislation referencing the conferring with UIOs that would apply department-wide to HHS, not just to Indian Health Services, a department-wide confer policy that would be looking at improving health, health care policies and…

But legislation that addresses lands, like the Wounded Knee legislation, for example, I think it is important because it represents not only the Department of the Interior's act to solidify that connection and to demonstrate respect.

H.R. 630 is a bill that passed on suspension in the House with bipartisan support last session, didn't make it through the gauntlet at the Senate as they were putting their final package together.

We want to be at the table and not the menu.

I think you could say the same thing for New Mexico.

The tribal proposal is a by-product, a very direct by-product of the toxic legacy that uranium mining inflicted on those areas.

It creates a balance. It is a necessary balance.

We are encouraged that the administration will consider how to strengthen protections, and we hope that the administration will use this opportunity to take bold action to protect the Western Arctic.

Cuts in these areas would negatively impact those students who need it most.

This investment budget that you are bringing before the Committee today versus what is a budget that devastates Title I

The republican budget, or the illusion of a budget, which calls for a 22 percent cut

I thank Mr. Thompson for yielding me time. All to further hardship and accept ethnic and racial prejudices as criteria in our immigration laws and policies, bringing to life those echoes of the past. The values and the common ground that…

I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for yielding. I happen to represent every border community and every port of entry along the Arizona-Mexico border. It is my home, where I grew up, and that is where I live. That is where I have…