Paul Cook: “We have gotta change this and we have gotta change it now.”

In today's hearing, we will discuss the serious challenges facing schools that provide education to Native American and Alaskan Native students.

This Committee would do well to focus on innovative solutions to address pollution, promote jobs, and opportunity for Native Americans and Alaska Natives, and lower, not raise, the cost of energy in tribal communities.

I encourage my colleagues that we do not shift away from the primary focus, which is the education of children.

Access to natural resources can be a lifeline to prosperity and opportunity for Native communities.