Deb Haaland

I am disappointed that it is coming as a UFR, especially given the well-documented need for these personnel.

I was proud to have worked with my colleagues, Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney, a member of this committee; Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz; and Congresswoman Norma Torres to make this positive change for our staff and visitors.

Investing in infrastructure on Indian lands will unlock significant economic potential, spurring short-term job creation through construction-related jobs.

New Mexico relies on the funding provided in the FAST Act in order to improve our transportation system.

It is an environmental injustice.

In New Mexico, the minority population is the majority. So, our New Mexico reality really resonates.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

So, in hindsight, would we have allowed the largest uranium mine to open on Laguna? I think that people would think twice about that.

He has been so oppressive about this that the Interior Department carried on with the permitting process for oil and gas drilling even while the Federal Government was shut down.

The regulations needed to protect me and my family go beyond fines and violations, they must ensure that all generations now and in the future are considered and treated with respect in their right to clean air and clean water.

Good-faith consultation with tribal governments is a really important aspect of our work...

Thank you, Chairman. And thank you all for coming here. We are so grateful.

I encourage everyone to do that.

I would love for us to explore other ways for folks to make a living.

But I also feel that the health effects that this industry is having on people's health, you can't get that back many times either.

I don't want any New Mexican to go without an opportunity to support their families.

I highly urge this Committee to consider the extent of your responsibility to me and to every single living person affected by oil and gas extraction development on the Navajo Nation and in New Mexico.

We should not have to suffer every time the price of oil goes down.

Instead, President Trump wants to expand drilling and logging across precious and fragile landscapes.

I know what it is like to be poor.

I urge the Committee members to push back against the Administration's mistaken legal and scientific rationale for undoing these common-sense regulations.

I intend to lead a New Mexico where we take our environmental destiny into our own hands.

Unfortunately, we are dealing with a president who has slashed funding for programs to protect intact ecosystems.

Thank you very much for speaking your truth.

We are working hard to make sure that that happens.