Jon Tester

I want to thank you, Madam Chair, for your courtesy, and I want to thank you and Ranking Member Lummis for holding this meeting.

The CHARGE Act makes permanent essential programs that expired in May.

AWP is supportive of the intent of the legislation.

The federal government must honor its commitments to tribal nations.

AWP supports Making Community Care Work legislation, which is similar to the HEALTH Act in many ways.

The bipartisan settlement we are looking at today is the result of years of negotiations between the tribe, local elected officials, irrigators, State legislators, Federal agencies, and other stakeholders to hammer out a fair compromise.

I would recommend the Not Just a Number Act.

Right now the VA is prevented from paying veterans to receive assisted living services. This bill would help address that.

VA's focus should remain on how veterans can receive the care they need, whether it is inside or outside of its facilities.

Thank you for your work and the Administration's work on this settlement.

Senator Boozman and I have the Not Just a Number Act, to require the VA to make a more comprehensive look at veteran suicide.

The St. Mary's canal system, and we call it the Milk River Project, is critical for the Hi-Line communities and agriculture.

I have been critical of past VA administrations because of the failure to do more outreach.

Today's hearing is a testament to hard work and determination getting done if you fight and work for common sense solutions.

We have to get this done, because in Montana we make good on our promises and we work together to get things done and find that common ground.

The goal here is not to have to have an artificial pancreas.

For the purview of the Committee, the St. Mary's project is an engineering marvel.

Look, Senator Moran and myself come from places where health care is hard to find if you are in the VA.

Thank you and applaud you for your leadership and persistence on developing the Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Water Settlement Act of 2023 (S. 1987).

I appreciate that answer. One of the things that we are seeing in Montana that I think is similar is bad actors buying up manufactured housing communities, and then once the buy them they jack up the lot rent because they can.

This is not something we are hearing about the way you are in Minnesota or in Michigan.

The goal here is not to have to have an artificial pancreas.

Thank you and applaud you for your leadership and persistence on developing the Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Water Settlement Act of 2023 (S. 1987).

I want to thank you, Madam Chair, for your courtesy, and I want to thank you and Ranking Member Lummis for holding this meeting.

The Montana Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) thanks and applauds you for your leadership and persistence on developing the Fort Belknap Indian Community (FBIC) Water Settlement Act of 2023 (S. 1987).