Thank you for your attention to H.R. 934, a bill that conveys certain submerged lands to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), which I introduced on February 10, 2009.

The CNMI is the only U.S. jurisdiction that does not have ownership of the submerged lands three miles off its shores.

I wanted to preserve the terms and conditions that were negotiated between the CNMI government and the federal government under the Proclamation while, at the same time, gaining control of the submerged lands around the Mariana Islands.

Well obviously at least it strikes me at first impression that we ought to be requiring that they do measure those types of issues.

We ought to be requiring that they do adopt these best practices where there's general agreement that these are best practices.

ACLI thanks Senators Kohl, Bingaman and Isakson for their bi-partisan sponsorship of S. 2832, the Lifetime Income Disclosure Act.

For far too long, the Native American communities... have been left far behind.

I'm sorry that we are losing Senator Salazar as a member of this committee and a member of the Senate, but I'm delighted by his nomination.

So, we will have a balanced approach to the development of our natural resources.

The water challenges of America are important to all of us.

In my view, President-elect Obama could not have chosen a better nominee.