I would like to take a second just to focus in on an issue that Chief Francis raised, something I have been working on for 20 years since I got here.

There is no question that our treaty trust responsibilities are not getting the investments that they are obligated to get.

Thank you, Chair Pingree, for I am going to get back into Natural Resources and talk about boarding schools and what we need to do to get the history right on that.

we need to have ASAP

I think something that has been very frustrating for all of us in a nonpartisan fashion is as we want to move Indian Country forward.

the tribes had a right to participate on that

the Federal Government to work in a serious partnership with Tribal Nations to manage their resources

I hear you loud and clear. So, we, as authorizers and appropriators, have a job to do to make sure that tribes have the tools in their toolbox, both in authorization and in appropriations.

Native Americans were displaced from their homelands. They lost their practices.

Environmental justice for me though doesn't mean just correcting those exposures to toxic pollution that the communities face.

The health and environmental burdens of the Gulf, fossil fuels and the petroleum industry have disproportionately harmed communities.

I believe that Congress has to take responsibility for helping all those communities recover.