Deb Haaland

I invite the current Congress to have the fortitude your predecessors have lacked.

Discontinue (and certainly do not expand) the extraction of fossil fuels from Federal lands for use in energy generation.

We begin that leadership today as we confront the most pressing issue facing our Nation--climate change.

We will hold up our public lands as a point of pride that all Americans share in and co-own.

Unfortunately, the Trump administration has failed to provide this leadership.

It is time for America to act on climate change, and our public lands are one of the best resources for us to do so.

These special places will serve as refuge for our highest values, and as places of growth toward our Nation's future.

We will uphold our public lands as a point of pride that all Americans can share and co-own.

Today is an exciting day. It will be the first of a new era for this Committee and for this Congress, an era of inclusion, where the diverse voices of the American people are clearly heard in these halls.

I think we really need to be proactive and address those things proactively rather than reactively.

I believe it is essential that we focus on environmental justice as we make this transition to reduce our carbon footprint.

I am committed to protecting our sacred lands, addressing climate change, and moving renewable energy forward.

Methane is more than 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat, and is responsible for about a quarter of the warming we are experiencing today.

I look forward to working with you and my colleagues to protect our public lands and to meet our obligations to our indigenous communities.

Right now, the EPA and Interior Department are run by former lobbyists for coal and oil companies.

Climate change has forced us to live in a new normal, in which fires, floods, droughts, and hurricanes wreck our communities and our national heritage.

Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to our communities and our environment.

Thank you, Chairman. Welcome to all of you and thank you so much for taking time to be with us today.

The question is: will legislation aid our communities' future survival or hinder it. I hope for all our sakes it will be the former.

Simply put, we must have legislation that clearly prioritizes investments in scalable projects like those mentioned today that reduce emissions at the source and address the historical harm and discrimination communities like mine have…

We passed a resolution--I introduce it every year--to make May 5th a national day of awareness of missing and murdered Native women and girls.