Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today the Senate can make history in Montana. The Senate has the opportunity to send the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act to the President for his signature with the passage of this WRDA bill, an issue I have been working on since I first came to Congress. Modern efforts to settle the Blackfeet tribe's water rights date back to 1979. After long negotiations and after being introduced four times in the Congress since 2010, this year, the compact passed the Senate for the very first time, and with the passage of this bill, it will finally become law. The Blackfeet Tribe has waited long enough. It is time to get this compact across the finish line, and we are very, very close. This compact will not only establish the tribe's water rights but irrigation for neighboring farmlands. We call that area Montana's Golden Triangle. It is some of the most productive farmland in our State. In fact, it is where my great-great-grandmother homesteaded. Today is a historic day for the Blackfeet Tribe, for Montana farmers, and for Montana families. The Blackfeet water compact will update decades-old infrastructure, and it will strengthen irrigation for agriculture, while also protecting habitat. I want to commend the Blackfeet Tribe and its chairman, Harry Barnes, who have been diligent and patient in seeing this settlement forward. I commend our State for its commitment to the Blackfeet Tribe and Indian Country in Montana.…”