Tom Udall

We are a sovereign nation. We consider ourselves a sovereign nation.

The two bills you have today coming before the Committee I think are of great importance to many communities of Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

The question, after I kept asking the question in place after place, to group after group, they said, we were waiting for America to find a permanent solution.

Frequently that is hurting the tribes. The other non-Indian users are gaining water.

Settling, in your testimony, Native American Water claims, has had the added benefit of building positive relationships between States, tribes and the Federal Government

Funding needs to be there and it needs to be timely.

We need additional resources in a number of areas here in order to really bring justice to Native American water rights claims.

I can't think of anything more important to Indian Country than the settling of water rights.

I hope that we can still commit to negotiating and implementing water settlements without pitting tribe against tribe in a competition for funds.

Water is life, and we need to protect our water rights.

But if the Federal Government isn't willing to step up and put funding into it, then the settlement really doesn't mean anything.

I wanted to ask the panel a question about the, if you reach an impasse about negotiation.

The Department will not, and I think I am quoting you accurately now, David, will not allow 'legalistic interpretations of the law to stand in the way of extending basic Indian rights.'

It is my hope that we can identify ways to make the process of settling tribal water claims faster.

I believe that ensuring that tribal water rights are secure is a trust responsibility of the Federal Government.

I think very strongly that the future for the Park Service is going to be in partnerships.

We cannot have everything owned by the Federal Government.

And thank you, Chairman Nelson and Senator Hutchison, for those strong statements on the NASA budget.

Women's rights are human rights.

I defy anyone's assertion that women's empowerment should take a back seat to any other so-called more important priorities.

I want to extend a thank you to the Forest Service for working in Colorado in response to the call I put forth to allow mutual cancelation of some timber sale contracts.

We need to reduce hazardous fuels, particularly where wildfire poses real risks to water storage projects, transmission lines.

Losing so many lives on the Costa Concordia is devastating and unacceptable.

The science on climate change is getting stronger and the impacts we are facing in the future look increasingly dire.

I have been a proponent of an accelerated transition in Afghanistan, and I believe it is important that Afghans begin to take a lead role in protecting their country.