Business Meeting on Public Lands, Water Bills, Asst. Secretary Nominations

Committee will come to order. Good morning and welcome. Uh, today we're holding a business meeting to consider both, uh, nominations and some legislation. I support each of these items and urge my colleagues to support them as well. First I'll give my opening statement and then recognize Senator Heinrich, uh, for his ranking member statement. But to accommodate our members' schedules, as soon as there is a, a voting quorum present, uh, I'll, I'll pause briefly, um, uh, with regard to our statements and move along with votes. And then after the voting and the statements are concluded, I'll recognize any senator who may wish to speak on the business listed for today's meeting. Um, President Trump has selected three highly qualified nominees to serve in positions with significant consequences. for American energy, public lands, and national security. William Haig has served as principal deputy assistant secretary for insular international and ocean affairs since May of last year, and brings decades of experience to the job. The office he has been nominated the office, uh, he's been nominated to lead is responsible for America's territories and our relationship with the freely associated states at a time when the Chinese Communist Party is seeking greater influence throughout the Pacific. Kevin Lilley has served as acting assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks since June of last year. He's led major private sector institutions, served the state of Texas and spent decades in military service. The decisions of the office uh he's been nominated to lead affect the management of hundreds of millions of acres of federal land and the communities surrounding them. I'm confident that Mr. Lilly will bring experienced leadership and respect to the people who live closest to that land. Kaveh Har- Farzad brings experience from the Department of Energy's Office of International Affairs and prior service at the State Department. American energy abundance strengthens our economy, supports our allies, and limits the leverage of hostile regimes. Mr. Farzad's background has prepared him to advance American energy interests abroad, protect classified department work from malign foreign influence, and help achieve American energy independence. During their confirmation hearings, each of these nominees demonstrated competence in a firm grasp of the challenges they will face. Each is uniquely qualified to serve in the positions for which they've been nominated and I urge colleagues to support all three. I also want to speak briefly about the small county Pilt Parity Act, sponsored by Senator Daines and Senator Cortes Masto. The federal government owns more than two thirds of land in my state, the state of Utah. Counties cannot collect property taxes on that land because they're prohibited by law from doing so, yet they're charged with maintaining roads, supporting emergency services, conducting search and rescue operations, and otherwise providing for their residents. The federal government owns the land. Local communities carry the cost. Congress created payment in lieu of taxes program fifty years ago to provide partial compensation for the tax base that uh Washington DC has removed from them. I emphasize they are partial, and for many small counties, the current PILT payments remain woefully inadequate. A county may have relatively few residents while maintaining an enormous amount of federally controlled land, and a correspondingly small amount of private land from which tax revenue could be derived. Its population alone may not reflect the cost of providing services across that land. And in countless circumstances, that is the case. The Small County Pilt Parity Act would establish additional payment tiers for counties with fewer than five thousand residents. This reform would allow these communities to receive payments that more accurately reflect the burdens placed upon them. Mass federal land ownership has left public land states on an unequal footing. PILT cannot fully correct that inequality, but Congress should ensure the - the program better reflects the real costs imposed on rural communities. So I applaud Senators Daines and Cortez Masto for advancing this bill. I also want to recognize Senator Murkowski's work on the Alaska Native uh, uh, Landless Equity Act. When Congress enacted the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in nineteen seventy-one, five southeast Alaska Native communities, Haynes, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tanaki, and Wrangell, were excluded from recognition. Other similarly situated communities received corporate status and land, while these five were left out. The legislation would finally recognize those communities and provide them the same opportunity to organize and receive land that Congress extended to others, more than fifty years ago. Senator Murkowski has worked for years to resolve this issue. The committee has examined the legislation through multiple hearings, and reported a similar bill in the hundred and eighteenth Congress. She and her staff have remained persistent on behalf of these communities, and I applaud their work. Yep. Senator Heinrich.

Thank you, Chairman. Um, I will be voting no on Mr. Haig and Mr. Farsad's nominations today. Um, my opposition is not to these nominees personally. uh, but frankly to the policies of the Trump administration, which have, um, been nomi- that, which they have been nominated to further. Uh, for the past year and a half, this administration has consistently sought to roll back the nation's programs on climate, on clean energy, on land conservation, and stewardship, and on environmental protection. It has also waged a war on the West by trying to sell public lands in a race our history from our national parks and monuments. I have no reason to believe that these nominees, if confirmed, will chart a different course. I will, however, make an exception for Mister Lilley. He has taken my calls, listened to my concerns, and shown a willingness to work with me on issues of concern. And for that reason, I will vote to report his nomination. Turning to the um to the bills on the agenda, I first want to thank Chairman Lee for putting Senator Bennett and Senator Hickenloopers crystal reservoir bill, uh, agenda item number eighteen on both the agenda and the shortlist. The crystal reservoir bill is a good example of how the committee should operate. It is a bipartisan bill, sponsored by a Republican in the House and two Democrats in the Senate, and the Forest Service has been supporting. It transfers a federal reservoir site to the local government in order to restore what had been an economic engine for the community, while at the same time ensuring the land remains in public ownership with full public access for recreational activities. I also want to thank the Chairman for cosponsoring a substitute amendment which improves the bill by addressing several technical concerns that were raised by the Forest Service. As I said, this is how we should be doing our work, and it should serve as an example of how we can work together to move beneficial legislation. It also stands in stark contrast to the treatment of fourteen other bills on the agenda that are not on the short list and will not be considered today. Like the Crystal Reservoir bill, they too deserve the committee's attention and favorable consideration. Lastly, I want to acknowledge the good faith discussions that I have had with uh Senator Murkowski on S twenty-five fifty-four. Um, while we are not yet in a place where I can vote yes today, I am committed to working with Senator Murkowski to find a path forward. And I've looked forward to our continued conversations.

Thanks so much, Senator Heinrich. We're, we're now just one member shy of a voting quorum, but I'm told that we'll Yep.

Yeah, uh, I'm told that should be resolved within a couple of minutes, but uh, we we can start into the process, uh, n- now in any event. What what we're gonna do is we're gonna have um, voice votes on amendments to four of the bills.

followed by voice votes on the bills themselves, and then proceed with a roll call um, uh, a series of roll call votes on today's pending nominations. And then afterwards I'll recognize any member of the committee who may wish to speak. Um, I'm told that without the reporting quorum present, we can go ahead and proceed with the, uh, four voice votes on the amendments, um, uh, themselves. And if, um, i- if by then we still don't have a, uh, reporting quorum we may have to pause for a moment, but, uh, let's go ahead and do these. Unless any member feels compelled to speak on any of the amendments prior to voting, I ask that we proceed to a voice vote on the four amendments and block. Those amendments are amendment ten A to agenda item ten, amendment seventeen A to agenda item seventeen, amendment eighteen A to agenda item eighteen, and amendment twenty A to agenda item twenty. Committee will vote by voice and block on these amendments. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed say nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. And the amendments are agreed to. Uh, and now, uh, uh, any moment we will proceed to, um, uh, uh, voice votes on the bills as amended as soon as the reporting, um, uh, quorum is present. Senator Deans.

Just to redeem the times, Chairman, um, thanks for the, uh, the kind words about the, um, small county pil parity act that you mentioned just brief background the problem we have is we've got large counties out west they're very low populations and the calculation is driven primarily by population not not square miles so this is really a fairness issue i can tell you there's some real small counties out in montana that are bigger than new mexico or utah that's not quite right but they seem that big

hmm

and um And consequently, they feel like their voice is never heard back here in Washington. Uh, and - and this is gonna be a true boost forward here to help them, cuz they've gotta deliver the same services and so forth, no matter the size of the county, uh, which, you know, high percentages of federal land, so this is a - would be a big win for a bunch of big county geograph- from a geography viewpoint but very small by population. So thanks for the support on that.

Thank you. Uh, it is a very useful bill. Um,

Yep.

we- we've got counties in- in Utah including Daggett County, uh, including Wayne County and Paiute County, uh, that, uh, could really benefit from this approach. And, um, you know, when - when you've got, uh, especially when you've got a very small population, and you've got the double whammy where you've got like ninety plus percent of the land in that county being federal, leaves a tiny tax base, very little money, and a big problem. So thanks for working to address this.

Well, it's been some, they've raised, the commissioners have raised it for years. and uh their voice is finally broken through mr. chairman and um i wanna thank uh senator cortez Masto for being a great partner in this as well.

great

We need to scroll down to five to do that.

Yep. Yep. Yep.

Um. What's happening to McCormick?

Hey, where's McCormick going?

Uh, he's gone, he's way back from Pennsylvania. Um.

It happens.

Well, he just said, Yeah. Yeah, we have projects. you know, he he has all these events in Pennsylvania during the week.

This one. This one.

Finally. No, that's not, cuz that's not it.

This one.

Um. For that, you know, previously discussed, right?

the previously discussed National Park Subcommittee hearing was not noticed on Tuesday.

Uh-huh.

So you need to ask that UC if you want to.

Yep. All right, uh, we'll take care of one other, uh, procedural matter while we're waiting. Uh, the, the previously discussed National Park Subcommittee hearing was not noticed for members on Tuesday. For that reason, in accordance with Rule Four A of the committee rules, I ask unanimous consent that this subcommittee hearing be noticed following today's

Mister Chairman.

Senator Wienkowski.

Mister Chairman, if we're just um marking time here, I'm I'm happy to

Sing.

uh I'm either sing or tap dance, whichever you would prefer,

Great.

both are gonna be bad, but I can talk very eloquently about uh my my particular bill if it's appropriate at this time, and then when we do achieve a quorum I'm happy to to suspend my my comments,

Good.

but I wanna thank you uh as the chairman and your team as well as Senator Heinrich for including S uh two five five four this is the Alaska Native Landless Equity Act um Uh, this is no stranger to this committee. We've had actually seven hearings on this matter since twenty thirteen. Um, so it is, it is well known. The history in Alaska is also well known, and unfortunately, um, a really, a really kind of a sad history. Um, as you have mentioned in your comments, there are five small communities in southeastern Alaska. Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Teneke and Wrangell. that were just omitted when we passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act back in nineteen seventy-one. Nobody really knows why we've asked for uh uh a review and an understanding uh of that, but uh the fact of the matter is that you've got about thirty-five thousand Alaska Natives in this part of the state that have not received any of their lands under the settlement act. Um and so what you have is is an inequity, an unfairness that has existed s- for some fifty years now. And so to remedy all of this, we have been working again for years, um, for decades really, to - to complete this - this settlement and to allow for the formation of five what we call urban uh native corporations. We, in this legislation, specify the exact parcels of land that would fulfill these native communities' uh land entitlements. And believe me, that's not an easy process. We had to vet these parcels, we had to solicit uh uh address the the local input. Uh we had to ensure that public process and valid existing rights, including fish fishing, hunting, recreation assistance were allowed for, and we have done so. Uh we worked to get this legislation in a place where most everyone can can support it. Uh, but it's taken a lot of work. And now that, uh, my colleague to the right of me has sat down, I'm gonna suspend here so that we can, uh, move forward, recognizing that, uh, people can have places to go and, uh, other votes to cast. But I would like to, to pick up where I left off when we've concluded the votes.

Yes. Yes, of course. Thank you very much. We'll now turn to the confirmation vote votes on the three Pending nominations, they are Mr. William Haig, and Mr. Kevin Lilley to be Assistant Secretaries of the Interior, and Mr. Kave Farza to be Assistant Secretary of Energy. Uh, first is agenda item number one, the nomination of uh, Mr. William Haig of Washington to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular International and Ocean Affairs the clerk will call the roll.

Mr. Lee.

Aye.

Mr. Barrasso.

Aye.

Mr. Rish.

Aye.

Mr. Daines.

Aye.

Mr. Cotton.

Aye.

Mr. McCormick.

How about how about proxy?

Mister Justice.

Alright.

Mister Cassidy.

No.

Miss Hyde-Smith. Miss Murkowski. Mister Hoven. Mister Heinrich.

No.

Mister Wyden.

No by proxy.

Miss Canwell.

No by proxy.

Miss Hirono.

No by proxy.

Mister King.

No by proxy.

Miss Cortez Masto.

No by proxy.

Mister Hickenlooper.

No.

Mister Padilla.

No by proxy.

Mister Gallego.

No, by proxy.

On this vote, the yeas are eleven, the nays are nine.

Yes. The uh nomination will be reported.

Lid favorably to the Senate. The second um matter is agenda item number two, the nomination of Mister Kevin Lilley of Texas to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lee.

Aye.

Mister Barrasso.

Aye.

Mister Rish.

Aye.

Mister Daines.

Aye.

Mister Cotton.

Aye.

Mister McCormick.

I by proxy.

Mister Justice.

Aye.

Mister Cassidy.

Aye.

Miss Hyde-Smith.

Aye.

Miss Murkowski.

Aye.

Mister Hoven.

Aye.

Mister Heinrich.

Aye.

Mister Wyden.

No by proxy.

Miss Cantwell.

No by proxy.

Miss Hirono.

No by proxy.

Mister King.

No by proxy.

Miss Cortez Masto.

No by proxy.

Mister Hickenlooper. Mister Padilla.

No by proxy.

Mister Gallego.

No, by proxy.

On this vote the yeas are twelve, the nays are eight.

The yeas have it. The nomination will be reported favorably to the Senate. And our final confirmation vote is agenda item number three, the nomination of Mister. to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs. The clerk will call the roll.

Mister Lee.

Aye.

Mister Barrasso.

Aye.

Mister Rish.

Aye.

Mister Daines.

Aye.

Mister Cotton.

Aye.

Mister McCormick.

I'll be a proxy.

Mister Justice.

Aye.

Mister Cassidy.

Aye.

Miss Hyde-Smith.

Aye.

Miss Murkowski.

Aye.

Mister Hoven.

Aye.

Mister Heinrich.

No.

Mister Wyden.

No, by proxy.

Miss Cantwell.

No, by proxy.

Miss Hirono.

No, by proxy.

Mister King.

No, by proxy.

Miss Cortez Masto.

No, by proxy.

Mister Hickenlooper. Mister Padilla.

No, by proxy.

Mister Gallego.

No, by proxy.

On this vote, the yeas are eleven, the nays are nine.

Uh, the ayes have it, it'll be reported favorably to the Senate. Now, um, we will now proceed to the bills. As amendment, the bills are agenda items number ten, thirteen, seventeen, eighteen, and twenty. Those are respectively S eleven seventy-five, sponsored by Senator Daines, as fourteen thirteen, uh, by Senator Padilla, as twenty-five fifty-four by Senator Murkowski, and as, uh, twenty-seven fifty-four by Senator Bennett, as Thirty seven, twenty five, by Leader Thune. The committee will vote on these five bills, end blocked by voice, as amended uh, for these five bills as a block. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye. Aye. All opposed, nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. These five bills will be reported favorably to the Senate.

Miss, Mister Chairman,

Senator Heinrich.

uh, I would ask that Senator Cantwell and myself, uh, be recorded as a no on agenda item seventeen.

Duly noted. Thank you. That um,

Yes. OK.

All right, so what we'll do now, uh, we'll go to Senator Hickenlooper and then back to Senator Murkowski and anyone else who wants to speak after that. Senator Hickenlooper, you're recognized. Thanks for your cooperation, everyone.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to thank you, uh, as the chair and and ranking member, Heinrich, uh, for including a bill in today's mark-up that'll help the city uh, of Uray, the town of Uray, Colorado, boost its recreation economy while making its water supply more resilient. Crystal Reservoir Conveyance Act, which Senator Bennett and I introduced last year, would transfer a a beloved uh destination, popular for fishing, hiking, even weddings, uh, would transfer it to the city of Urey. The Forest Service recently owns uh, has owned the Crystal Reservoir and the land it sits on. In recent years, the agency has drained the reservoir due to concerns about its condition. But that's left the local community without this key resource for tourism, for water supply, for wildfire response. Transferring the reservoir as water rights will allow the city of Uray to step up and make fixes at the dam and restore this valuable water storage facility for the, the town's uh drought resilience capability. It's also going to implement the vision of local governments, water managers, recreational groups, and citizens who worked uh diligently to develop this locally-led solution and return this popular destination to its former glory. Also pleased to see the small county Pilt Parity Act, led by Senators Daines and Cortez Masto on the agenda, a a bill I'm pleased to cosponsor. Rural Colorado knows how critical Pilt is to maintaining their operations, and this is particularly true for the counties with the smallest populations, which this bill would serve. I'm grateful to the chair for helping advance these two bills, and I hope you will continue to work with us on other bills like our Serv- Service Creek Wilderness Completion Act, uh, which we've requested for today's mark-up and other past mark-ups as well. Um, that bill has strong on-the-ground support, very strong throughout the community. Um, hopeful that we can take that next step and advance it through this committee, uh, in the follow- in the year to come. Again, thank you.

Thank you. Senator Murkowski, I'll go back to you, and it, it, this really is a, a stunning anomaly in history with those five being left out. Of course, Uh, you wouldn't be you wouldn't be born for another twenty years after that uh legislation was passed, but uh uh but it's good that you fixed it now.

But of course.

So, go ahead.

Well, thank you, Miss Chairman, and and indeed we are trying to fix this. And again, this has been one of those efforts that when you think about legislation that you have worked over the course of a legislative career, the engagement that goes on within the communities, the engagement that goes on with different groups, the engagement that goes on with legislators, uh, this dais changes. um from time to time from Congress to Congress and so I have had an opportunity to work with various ranking members on this and now with Senator Heinrich as we work to again educate and and try to to reinforce uh the the wrong that we are attempting to write here. And and I think oftentimes when you think about the Alaska Native Claims settlement you think, OK, a settlement is a settlement. uh fifty years ago, one and done, uh and in fairness it is all about ensuring that the terms of the settlement, as we're agreed to, actually translate into um into the opportunities that that settlement was was intended to do. So, um I mentioned the the outreach that we have been engaged in. Uh at the beginning it was very much viewed as a uh a fight between can re- giving back federal land into the hands of individuals. Uh, the environmental concerns were expressed that, oh, we're going to uh, we're gonna allow for uh, an an untrammed untrammed um uh, environmental uh degradation uh of the land, and lots of concerns and I think a lot of scare tactics that were there. Um, there are no better stewards of of our uh Alaska lands than the people who have lived on them for thousands of years. Uh we have we have been able to not only engage with but turn the views of many of the initial opponents to this legislation, among them the Wilderness Society, uh the Nature Conservancy, some of the strongest protectors of environmental values in the Tongass, both have written letters of support for this bill. recognizing that we need to find this balance, but we also must address the inequities of the Native people who have been left out. So I I added those letters uh of of uh letters from uh Nature Conservancy and the Wilderness Society to our hearing record in February, so I don't feel like I need to add them here, but I'll just remind that this should not be the controversial measure that uh, that it has historically been viewed, uh, at. Uh, I think all you need to do is look at the, the House and their recent actions on this. They, they worked on this bill together, across the aisle, reported it from, from full committee a month ago, uh, well, I guess a couple months ago. The, the full chamber has now passed it on suspension by a voice vote, with no recorded opposition. So I'm just gonna remind you, no opposition in the House, in this current House, where we don't see a lot of measures that, particularly lands measures that go without that. And I think there's good reason for that, because it comes back to the inequity that we have seen, uh, and in an effort to do right by the Alaska Native Peoples who were excluded so many decades ago. So, again, I wanna thank all who have continued to work with us, and I want to thank Senator Heinrich, for your engagement on this. Uh, I understand your view towards conservation. And, uh, and - and we respect those - the concern that we have from so many back home is that when we're - when we're looking at an area where we already have so much of our, uh, land that is federal, so much of our lands that are already in conservation status, There's just not a lot left over. And so, uh, again, making sure that we can get ourselves to a good place with this is is most appreciated. I appreciate your willingness to have this this measure move out by voice today. Uh, I acknowledge that you have asked to be recorded as a no, and my goal and my ambition and that of our teams, uh, is to to help you and and your teams get to a place where where we can all be supportive. um, in rectifying this long, uh, overdue wrong. With that, I, I thank the committee and I look forward to further, further engagement in moving this and passing it into law.

Thank you very much. Do you wanna see your things? Good. Uh, with that, today's business meeting is concluded, and I wanna thank my colleagues for their participation. We stand adjourned.

Thank you.