John Barrasso

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

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

I'd like to see the BIA and the irrigation department and the BIA realty department collaborate to help us with our land and water issues.

Do you think that Crowheart model components apply to other units?

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

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

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.

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

Thank you. And as you say, we want to get whole different viewpoints so I appreciate you expressing your thoughts and concerns here.

I think it's helpful for you to describe where the salaries go and water on the ground and people and different places.

Let the record reflect that they do.

I know there's concerns among the water users in this room about how the BIA spends operation and maintenance fees.

Do you believe the Wind River Irrigation Project can meet the Wind River demands with out additional capital?

I would recommend to you to try to get to that and move that up in the priority list of things that need to be done, because it's troubling when you read an assessment.

Words like slowly and working down the list, that's not something that the folks here--people in Wyoming kind of like when they see a problem, they fix it, and move onto the next thing.

One of the most ominous findings in the 2006 report was that the BIA had no long-term plan to address the deferred maintenance issue.

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.'

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, 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…

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

Any cessation or any loss of Federal funds is going to have a dramatic impact on that.

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.