Well, it signals that it is a bigger problem than we feel because Navajo Nation, No. 1, is the biggest Indian Nation in the country.

This hearing could not come at a more critical time.

We urge the Subcommittee to demand that the Department of the Interior commit to abide by the wishes of the tribal government when it comes to re-opening schools.

I don't believe so, sir. I live in a community that has in the local area about five different BIE schools.

I would say, no, they did not. It was more of, I guess, a directive that they open the school rather than the safety and the well-being of the students that were to attend.

The Federal Communications Commission found that only 65 percent of tribal lands have broadband networks and are the most digitally disconnected lands in the United States.

Oh, yes, there is a lot of support for in-person learning.

Regardless of what you say, this Administration is bulldozing through and desecrating sacred sites with little to no consultation with the tribes.

We need more public investment.

I stand ready to work with the chairman, full chairman, subcommittee chairman, and all the ranking members to try to achieve that goal.

The transportation needs of Indian country, like rural America, are great.