Remarks

Today, the Subcommittee will hold an open hearing, in which all Members of the House have been invited to testify on their priorities for the Fiscal Year 2026 Department of Defense Appropriations Act.

Good afternoon and welcome to the second session of our public witness hearing specifically focused on American Indian and Alaska Native programs. I would like to welcome all the distinguished Tribal elders and leaders here today and thank our witnesses for appearing before the Committee to share their perspectives on these important topics.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you all for being here this week and for taking the time to testify on the important issues affecting your communities. As an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, Tribal issues have always been at the forefront of the policy decisions I make as a Member of Congress and as a Member of this important Committee.

It is my pleasure to welcome Lieutenant General Butch Graham, the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to discuss the state of the civil works program. Joining General Graham are:

Good morning and welcome to the first of our public witness hearings dedicated to American Indian and Alaska Native programs. I would like to welcome all the distinguished Tribal elders and leaders here today.  This year, we had an unprecedented number of requests, requiring us to expand to a third day to accommodate around 100 Tribes and Tribal organizations.

Good morning. Thank you to our witnesses who have come to testify before us today on the topic of career preparation, and the importance of maximizing students’ employment and earnings potential. I look forward to hearing about what you have identified works for students and what we should bear in mind as we evaluate programs in the subcommittee’s jurisdiction.

Good morning and welcome to the first meeting of the Committee on Appropriations for the 119th Congress. The business today is to consider the Committee rules and subcommittee jurisdictions.

I rise today in support of H.R. 10545, the American Relief Act, 2025. This bill provides continuing appropriations to keep the government open and operating through March 14, 2025. When the House Appropriations Committee began our process of drafting bills for fiscal year 2025, we knew we had to work quickly to put the House in the best position possible. To that end, we successfully reported all twelve of our annual appropriations bills out of the Committee and succeeded in passing five of them across the floor of the House by the end of July.