Whether or not we pass this bill is a huge pivot point for the direction of America.

the reason the Republican establishment in the Senate is opposing this is because that their power stems from a corrupted voting process, from the gerrymandering, from the dark money, from the voter suppression, and they want to maintain…

if we fail to protect the election process, then we have failed to defend the core foundation for the vision of government of by and for the people.

This crackdown on voting rights is like nothing we`ve seen in a generation.

It is designed to keep the voter fraud argument going both to change the laws in the states and to stop this bill in the Senate.

Thank you very much.

I would like to see a dialogue that leads to a comprehensive plan, because right now it's: the water system goes down, emergency repairs, people are out of water for a couple months, it is repaired, then it breaks down immediately again.

This should never happen. If it happened in the way it was reported, it is an abuse of the public trust.

I think loan repayment, we have to do a little bit more analysis on that, but I definitely think that is our most effective tool at this time.

We have such a high responsibility to protect our children.

broadband and water infrastructure are absolutely essential and desperately need to be improved, expanded, provided in Indian Country.

I know both of us have significant Native American communities in our respective States, and we are--have a collective sense of wanting to make sure that the--our government honors its responsibilities in a whole series of fields related…

Native COVID mortality rates are twice as high as non-Native populations.

Thank you very much, Senator Murkowski. And we will be looking forward to the responses.

I am going to press this issue, because I am not yet satisfied that there are reasons not to release the report if sensitive information has to be redacted, that can be done.

Thank you very much. I wanted to turn to water infrastructure.

I would like to highlight for my colleagues, and others, that the hearing record will be open until two weeks after the arrival of the President's fiscal year 2022 budget request, so that everyone will get a chance to review it.

How much of that is driven by higher infection rates? And how much is driven by higher risk factors, like diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and so forth that reflected a broader set of health challenges?

I would be very curious, which ones create the most effective per cost?

I would like to get details on these strategies.

Native Americans and Alaska Natives are hospitalized due to COVID-19 complications at a rate four times higher than non-Hispanic, White individuals.

Native communities have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is transparency is so important in these situations.

And it is hard for me to imagine Indian Health Services issuing a contract that did not specify that the masks had to come from a certified supplier to make sure that they actually met--met standards.

I cannot see any reason for that. And I will ask for a follow up showing what those recommendations were and how you have implemented them.