Betty McCollum

I do not necessarily agree that the President has the right to revoke a national monument.

Let's come up with a different name so that we can talk about it in public and put it in writing.

Because you can always refuse to have it tested, but if no one offers to have it tested, you don't know to ask.

I am very proud of the Great Lakes Nations who have been up here testifying--but it just goes to show the obligation for maintaining clean water.

Once again, I think you summarized some of the issues really well.

You basically have to live on the reservation close to the school to teach there?

Well, I know you are trying really hard, all of you, and I live in the cities, but coming from Minnesota, I understand the rural community.

Mr. Trump is currently announcing his executive order to start rolling back the Clean Water rules of the United States.

There are ways. There are health groups, bipartisan, caucuses, that put together hearings quite often.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think a theme that we were not hearing as articulately put until you raised it, Mr. Miller, is your very rural areas and rural schools--whether tribal nation schools, or rural schools, or rural hospitals--are all…

children who learn a second language do much better in school.

I hope that our colleagues will be supporting not only Mr. Simpson's fire bill, but also supporting PILT go back where it belongs in Ways and Means as mandatory spending.

But Mr. Cole is fighting for every penny he can get.

So who pays for this? You are paying these teachers $9,000 a year. Are you providing housing?

As they are making their budgetary decisions, we should encourage them to think of how it is going to affect the Native community.

I share your concern about that, especially Native languages.

The EPA has a role both in sulfate and in mercury regulation--mercury in fish, sulfate affects wild rice.

There was very poor consultation with all the Tribes when the State was looking at changing the sulfate standard levels.

The problem besides it poisoning people and destroying people's lives, is the toxic residue you mentioned in the houses.

The sooner we start predicting the cost and putting up a budget for this, the better.

Stopping that permanent damage is cost savings for the healthcare system, but it is the cost savings to you as a human being.

The fact that someone wearing a Green Bay pin would kind of, you know, pooh-pooh cheese was very interesting.

I think the Department of Interior should be getting a handle on that.

I think one of the frustrations, besides what the chairman mentioned, is that we are trying to figure out different financing mechanisms, loans, repayments, grants, and such.

We need to make sure the full commitment for the funding is there for those colleges.