Tom Udall

I am hopeful that a constructive dialogue over the State of New Mexico's fines for the Department can continue along that line.

Will you commit to ensuring DOE does not repeat these mistakes again and expose workers to unsafe situations as well as radioactivity?

I think you understand this very well.

Does the Native American Affairs Program under the Bureau of Reclamation aim to address some of these issues?

Could you talk a little bit about water leasing and why it is important?

This is an important program. I am hoping to work with you to ensure this program is funded.

It is important that the Corps continues to work with local interests and listen to local people.

I want to take a minute to congratulate Commissioner Estevan Lopez, the new Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.

If it were not for leasing water, the river would go dry, and there would be no water to sustain the endangered species in the river.

Many native communities in New Mexico do not have adequate water infrastructure, and in some cases, no running water at all.

It is a big issue, and it is more than just the $10 million to the City of Rio Rancho.

I really appreciate your good bipartisan work.

Programs that help provide sustainable water management are crucial and need to be adequately funded.

Today American citizens, businesses, and government agencies face what I think are very serious cyber threats.

I would like to express my support for the extradition of Charlie Hill. Extradition of criminals, I think, is an important part of any normal relations between countries.

The Cuban Government fundamentally has to make decisions, and we obviously want to encourage in every way possible that information and access to the Internet be made easier, cheaper, available, and open for the Cuban people.

I very much support this policy of normalization. I think we are turning the page on a failed policy that has been going on since the early 1960s.

I think one of the things that is so important is opening Cuba up to travel, and there could not be better ambassadors than our citizens going down to Cuba and visiting about what we are all about in terms of democracy and human rights and…

The goal, as I think you said in your testimony, Madam Secretary, of the Cuban Government is to have Internet access for 50 percent of its population by 2020.

As Senator Rubio pointed out, they are now, at least rhetorically, trying to put conditions on that.

The important point here is we are trying to empower the Cuban people.

I believe President Obama, with his actions in December, has taken the courageous step toward true change here by opening up the island to Americans.

I would ask specifically, with regard to these interactions and entrepreneurship down there...

I strongly believe that these new policies will help. A growing number of Cuban entrepreneurs can connect with Americans and Cuban Americans and support the free market.

It now depends on them, on their willingness to unleash this stuff, and they may not be willing to do that.