Rubén Gallego

The Oversight Board do not have the authority to unilaterally repeal a law using a Fiscal Plan or Certified Budget.

Statehood is the only real and viable solution to the challenges Puerto Rico is facing today.

When we ask them to give us information, they don't have it.

I was new to Congress when PROMESA was passed, but actually voted against it, knowing that it was a bad year for Puerto Rico.

Did you speak to any Tribal nations, organizations before you passed that law to try to get their input while you were crafting that legislation?

So we need to make sure that the results of elections are indeed timely.

Could you kind of explain how this more Anglo-centric point of view of family basically disenfranchises your communities?

Did you have Tribal consultation while you were creating that law?

In both Navajo and Gila River tradition, the idea of family is a lot more expansive than an Anglo family.

Have you heard of people basically being disenfranchised because of this law?

There never has been any proven at all accusation of voter fraud when it comes to collection of mail-in ballots.

I think I remember my days at the Arizona State House, and I certainly remember when there were approaches and attempts to stop ballot collection, and one of the things I kept hearing is the potential for voter fraud.

Since Interior sent someone who couldn't answer questions, it seems like Interior is trying to keep this reorganization under wraps.

Can you commit to providing a congressional briefing on this matter before the rule is finalized as requested in the July 19, 2019 letter?

It is very concerning that we have not received any response regarding these issues that we first brought to DOI's attention months ago.

Yes or no, can you commit to producing the documents before any staff begins to move their offices out of Washington, DC?

Not only did the Department forge ahead, despite Congress' concerns, but according to testimony we heard from Chairman Small of the Ute Indian Tribe, you also failed to carry out legal obligations to consult with Indian tribes before doing…

The other concern I still have is also the requests about the potential lack of consultation when it comes to tribal nations.

From what I understand, we did request those documents and we have not received anything in return. This Committee has actually been pushing for this for quite a while.

We want to see actions. If there needs to be follow-up legislation, we will be here to be supportive of legislation.

One of the important things that we do is collaborate with our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners.

As you are aware, there have been jurisdictional challenges that have impeded the prosecution of cases in the past, allowing crime against Indigenous communities to go unpunished.

It is imperative that we continue to work in partnership and create safe communities and arrest the trend of issues plaguing our Native communities.

During our March MMIW hearing, we heard their names: Ashley Loring HeavyRunner, Mackenzie Howard, Ashlynne Mike, and Savanna Greywind.

On reservations, American Indian and Alaska Native women experience murder rates 10 times the national average.