Tom Udall

I believe we can find common ground on these important issues.

We are trying to bring certainty, as Mr. Tubbs said, to the process

The importance of these settlements to providing certainty to both Indian and non-Indian communities cannot be overstated, particularly when climate change and drought threaten water supplies throughout the West.

The Hualapai settlement will also end up somewhere in that range.

The CSKT settlement from the last Congress will possibly cost more than $2 billion.

I find it very difficult, knowing the current funding constraints we face in Congress, to fund these Indian water rights settlements solely through discretionary spending.

The Navajo Utah legislation will cost upwards of $200 million.

Water is for fighting

Moving on to my bill, S. 3168 would permanently extend the Reclamation Water Settlements Fund in order to meet our trust responsibility to Indian Country.

I believe we have a responsibility to uphold our commitments to Native American tribes.

This Administration and Congress have said they are committed to Indian water rights settlements versus costly litigation. However, we need that commitment tied to a true financial commitment.

The repeal of this law, which does not apply to State lands, would remove needless barriers to economic development in Indian Country and provide parity for tribes.

These settlement funds, which come on line in 2020, will go a long way towards paying for the $1.6 billion backlog to complete just five of the currently authorized Indian water rights settlements.

The three bills before us today cover two issues of great importance to Indian Country, economic development and tribal water rights settlements.

These three bills give Congress a chance to do the right thing by those tribal communities to whom we owe legal, financial and moral obligations.

Ultimately, the bill would secure the tribe's current and future access to water, the life blood of the community.

I think it would further the relationship.

I have heard from some tribes in New Mexico about stewardship contracts. These contracts can be difficult and sometimes inflexible.

The bill before us today addresses an issue of great importance to Indian Country, restoration of tribal homelands.

Climate change can have dramatic impacts on everything from water, forests to wildlife, all of which do not follow land management boundaries.

With this legislation, Congress has the opportunity to right a historic wrong by returning stewardship of these lands to the people most capable, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

Arm is working with the U.S. Government more proactively than was done when addressing the original Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.

Do you believe that NIST can serve as a pre-disclosure clearinghouse that could help test possible patches and assess the damages that could occur from a vulnerability such as Spectre and Meltdown?

I think you are right. I am perfectly happy to work with you and have the Commerce Committee do all of the work on cybersecurity.

There is no doubt about that. How serious a threat are these vulnerabilities for our State and local election systems?