Thank you very much for your testimony. Thank you very being here.

I'd like to ask a couple of questions, and maybe we can start with Council leadership of the Tribes.

Well, thank you. I want to thank all of you from this panel and I want to thank everyone who came to testify today.

We would like to get everything in the Senate record that everybody wants to have said on this topic.

We work closely together in a bipartisan way to try to find solutions for problems.

I am so grateful that President Joy McFarland allowed us to come here today for this hearing.

Well, I appreciate all of you taking the time to be here, to share your thoughts.

We just think there's got to be a lot more interaction between the BIA and the tribes.

The GAO report said a couple things. One was that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is not accountable to water users.

What would you like to see in that long-term plan for the system?

I want to welcome everyone to the hearing, which is entitled, 'The Wind River Irrigation Project--Issues Arising From and Contributing to Deferred Maintenance and Other Project Management Problems.'

I come to the floor as someone who has practiced medicine in Wyoming, taking care of families all across the Cowboy State for almost one-quarter of a century. I come as a doctor giving a second opinion, as I have done week after week about…

Is there anything else that you would like to share with the Committee?

I understand and appreciate how important this measure is to Senator Tester, and I know it is important to the Little Shell members who support it.

Do you anticipate that there are tribes which have the authority to enter into the surface leases for that term of up to 99 years, if they would be discouraged from taking advantage of the HEARTH Act?

It is a concern when you hear the shortage of 200,000 housing units and the impact on economic activity.

Well, it is my impression that in so many ways Washington gets it wrong. The Senator is correct. I appreciate his leadership. I did have the opportunity to serve in our State legislature in Wyoming for 5 years. The constitution in Wyoming…

I think that would be the only responsible thing to do because right now the Congress is dealing with the budget that was submitted a couple months ago. That is the confines in which we are working. So it will be interesting to hear what…

We don't need a regional system that only serves largely populated urban areas.

There are so many things I think that Washington gets wrong, States get right.

As Senator Baucus has said, Montana and Wyoming allow the flow of commerce to move from coast to coast.

We balanced our budget every year, just like the families in Alabama or Wyoming have to balance their budget every year and have to live within their means. That is what we do. You take a look at the revenue, and then you do not spend any…

Well, they would want to know if whoever would say such a thing was actually still connected to the reality of the real world and trying to live within our means. You cannot do that. You cannot do that for very long at all. When you look…

I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak until 11:30 in morning business. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

My impression is that he should have a responsibility to do that and do it for Congress. Last week, there was going to be a major speech--last week or the week before--on energy at a local university. He went and made a speech on energy…