[Senate Hearing 117-354]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       S. Hrg. 117-354

              DANIEL-DAVIS, TOUTON, AND BRONIN NOMINATIONS

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                      ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                                   to

   CONSIDER THE NOMINATIONS OF LAURA DANIEL-DAVIS TO BE AN ASSISTANT 
 SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR (LAND AND MINERALS MANAGEMENT), CAMILLE C. 
  TOUTON TO BE COMMISSIONER OF RECLAMATION, AND SARA C. BRONIN TO BE 
       CHAIRMAN OF THE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION

                               __________

                           SEPTEMBER 21, 2021

                               __________

[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                       Printed for the use of the
               Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov       
      
                                __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
45-806                      WASHINGTON : 2022                     
          
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               COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

                JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia, Chairman
RON WYDEN, Oregon                    JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont             MIKE LEE, Utah
MARTIN HEINRICH, New Mexico          STEVE DAINES, Montana
MAZIE K. HIRONO, Hawaii              LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine            JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota
CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada       JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
MARK KELLY, Arizona                  BILL CASSIDY, Louisiana
JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER, Colorado       CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
                                     ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas

                      Renae Black, Staff Director
                      Sam E. Fowler, Chief Counsel
             Richard M. Russell, Republican Staff Director
              Matthew H. Leggett, Republican Chief Counsel
                     Darla Ripchensky, Chief Clerk
                           
                           
                           C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                   Page
Manchin III, Hon. Joe, Chairman and a U.S. Senator from West 
  Virginia.......................................................     1
Barrasso, Hon. John, Ranking Member and a U.S. Senator from 
  Wyoming........................................................     2
Cortez Masto, Hon. Catherine, a U.S. Senator from Nevada.........    31

                               WITNESSES

Blumenthal, Hon. Richard, a U.S. Senator from Connecticut........    31
Murphy, Hon. Christopher, a U.S. Senator from Connecticut........    32
Daniel-Davis, Laura, nominated to be an Assistant Secretary of 
  the Interior (Land and Minerals Management)....................    33
Touton, Camille C., nominated to be Commissioner of Reclamation..    39
Bronin, Sara C., nominated to be Chairman of the Advisory Council 
  on Historic Preservation.......................................    43

          ALPHABETICAL LISTING AND APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED

Abre Croche Cultural Resources LLC et al.:
    Letter for the Record........................................     7
American Rivers:
    Letter for the Record........................................     9
Babbitt, Hon. Bruce:
    Letter for the Record........................................    11
Barrasso, Hon. John:
    Opening Statement............................................     2
Blumenthal, Hon. Richard:
    Introduction.................................................    31
Bronin, Sara C.:
    Opening Statement............................................    43
    Written Testimony............................................    45
    Responses to Questions for the Record........................   121
Central Arizona Water District:
    Letter for the Record........................................   134
Central Utah Water Conservancy District:
    Letter for the Record........................................   135
Columbia Basin Development League:
    Letter for the Record........................................    12
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation:
    Letter for the Record........................................   136
Contra Costa Water District:
    Letter for the Record........................................   137
Cortez Masto, Hon. Catherine:
    Introduction.................................................    31
Daniel-Davis, Laura:
    Opening Statement............................................    33
    Written Testimony............................................    36
    Responses to Questions for the Record........................    81
East Columbia Basin Irrigation District:
    Letter for the Record........................................    13
Fort Belknap Indian Community:
    Resolution No. 159-2021......................................    15
Jewell, Hon. Sally:
    Letter for the Record........................................   138
Kaine, Hon. Tim:
    Letter of Introduction.......................................     5
Lankford, Hon. James:
    Memo from Laura Daniel-Davis dated 3/19/2021.................    71
Manchin III, Hon. Joe:
    Opening Statement............................................     1
Mitamura, Dave:
    Letter for the Record........................................    17
Murphy, Hon. Christopher:
    Introduction.................................................    32
National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers:
    Letter for the Record........................................    18
National Audubon Society:
    Letter for the Record regarding Laura Daniel-Davis...........    19
    Letter for the Record regarding Camille Touton...............    20
National Trust for Historic Preservation:
    Letter for the Record........................................   139
Newhouse, Hon. Dan:
    Letter for the Record........................................    21
Outdoor Recreation Roundtable Association:
    Letter for the Record........................................    23
Regional Water Authority:
    Letter for the Record........................................    25
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District:
    Letter for the Record........................................    64
Southern Nevada Water Authority:
    Letter for the Record........................................   141
Southern Ute Indian Tribe:
    Letter for the Record........................................    63
St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group:
    Letter for the Record........................................    27
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership:
    Letter for the Record........................................   142
Touton, Camille C.:
    Opening Statement............................................    39
    Written Testimony............................................    41
    Responses to Questions for the Record........................   107
Truckee Meadows Water Authority:
    Letter for the Record........................................   143
WateReuse:
    Letter for the Record........................................    28
Weber Basin Water Conservancy District:
    Letter for the Record........................................   144
Yakima Basin Joint Board:
    Letter for the Record........................................    29

 
              DANIEL-DAVIS, TOUTON, AND BRONIN NOMINATIONS

                              ----------                              


                      TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
                 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:02 a.m. in 
Room SD-366, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Joe Manchin 
III, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.

 OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOE MANCHIN III, U.S. SENATOR FROM 
                         WEST VIRGINIA

    The Chairman. We will officially come to order.
    We are meeting today to consider three pending nominations. 
The three nominations are Ms. Laura Daniel-Davis to be the 
Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals 
Management, Ms. Camille Touton to be the Commissioner of 
Reclamation, and Ms. Sara Bronin to be the Chair of the 
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Welcome to all three 
of you and also to your families here today. We want to thank 
you for the willingness to serve in these important positions, 
and welcome, again, to your family members.
    With that, I will go through the nominees that we have.
    The Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management 
nominee, Ms. Laura Daniel-Davis, would oversee four of the 
great bureaus and offices at the Department of the Interior: 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Office of Surface 
Mining (OSMRE), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), 
and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). 
All six of the Department's Assistant Secretaries have broad 
portfolios and perform essential functions, but the 
responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary for Land and 
Minerals Management are especially broad, and they are of 
particular interest to many members of this Committee. 
Fortunately, Ms. Daniel-Davis understands the challenge she is 
taking on. She is not new to the Department of the Interior or 
the issues before it. She served as a Chief of Staff to the 
Deputy Secretary of the Interior during the Clinton 
Administration and as Chief of Staff to Secretary Salazar and 
Secretary Jewell during the Obama Administration. She has been 
serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land 
and Minerals Management since January. Ms. Daniel-Davis will 
bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job.
    Second, we have Ms. Touton. I think I am pronouncing that 
correctly. Is it Touton or Toten? Am I right? Touton, oh, I am 
sorry.
    The same can be said of our next nominee, Camille Touton, 
who has been nominated to be the Commissioner of Reclamation. 
The Commissioner's job is to manage much of the water in the 
Western states and oversee a vast system of nearly 500 dams and 
over 300 reservoirs on which over 30 million Americans depend. 
In addition, the Commissioner is responsible for producing 40 
billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power each year. It is 
a big job, but one for which Ms. Touton is exceptionally well 
prepared. She has worked on these issues on the House Natural 
Resources Committee, the House Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee, and on this Committee when Senator 
Cantwell was our Ranking Member. She also served as Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Water and Science during the Obama 
Administration and has been serving as the Deputy Commissioner 
of Reclamation since January. Like Ms. Daniel-Davis, Ms. Touton 
brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position 
for which she has been nominated.
    Finally, our third nominee is Sara Bronin, who has been 
nominated to Chair the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation. The law that established the Advisory Council was 
enacted with the belief that the spirit and the direction of 
the nation are founded upon and reflected in a historic 
heritage and that our historic foundation should be preserved. 
The Council was created to ensure that other federal agencies 
take our national heritage into account before they take 
actions that might harm or destroy nationally significant 
sites. The Advisory Council is just that, an advisory body, not 
a regulatory one. It cannot command or control. Its powers are 
to advise, to encourage, to recommend, to review, to comment, 
to inform, and, most importantly, to educate. The 24-member 
Council is an extraordinary body. It is made up of the Cabinet 
Secretaries and other agency heads, a governor, a mayor, the 
Architect of the Capitol, the heads of certain historic 
preservation organizations, and several other historic 
preservation experts and citizens appointed by the President.
    The Chairman alone serves full-time as the only member who 
is confirmed by the Senate. For this reason, I think it is 
especially important that the Chair be someone of great ability 
and achievement who will have the respect of the Council she 
must lead and the agency heads she will seek to advise and 
persuade. I believe Ms. Bronin's academic achievements and her 
record of public service show that she is well qualified for 
this important task.
    I want to thank all three nominees for being with us this 
morning and for their willingness to accept these important 
nominations.
    At this point I will recognize Senator Barrasso for his 
opening statement.
    Senator Barrasso.

                STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM WYOMING

    Senator Barrasso. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, 
and I would like to add my welcome to yours to Laura Daniel-
Davis, to Camille Touton, and to Sara Bronin. I want to welcome 
you to the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee, and it 
is nice to see Senators from Connecticut who are here to do 
introductions as well. Well, congratulations to each of you on 
your nomination.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis has a long history working at Interior. 
She previously served at Interior as Chief of Staff for 
Secretaries Ken Salazar and Sally Jewell and in many other 
roles, and currently serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant 
Secretary of Interior for Lands and Mineral Management. Under 
Daniel-Davis' supervision, Interior imposed an oil and gas 
leasing moratorium on federal lands. She has rescinded 
previously granted grazing permits. In March, she directed all 
Interior agencies handling energy and land management decisions 
to go through her office for approval. This action undermines 
energy projects on federal lands. It creates unnecessary 
bureaucracy and backlogs. It causes delays and uncertainty, and 
it causes significant cost and headaches.
    We need someone in this important role who understands and 
supports the need for U.S. energy security. It is all the more 
critical based on the actions that the House Democrats are 
taking on their $3.5 trillion reckless tax and spending 
blowout. The House Natural Resource Committee just passed 
legislation that will effectively kill oil, natural gas, coal, 
and hard rock mineral production on federal lands and in 
federal waters. If enacted, it would surrender America's energy 
independence and make us dependent on OPEC, on Russia, and on 
China. It will cost thousands of U.S. jobs, devastate 
communities in New Mexico, Wyoming, Louisiana, Nevada, 
Colorado, and Montana. We need leadership at the Department of 
the Interior that recognizes the importance to our 
international competitiveness of maintaining robust energy and 
mineral development on federal lands and waters.
    Ms. Touton has been nominated to serve as Commissioner of 
Reclamation at Interior's Bureau of Reclamation. She has 
experience working at Interior on issues relating to the Bureau 
of Reclamation, including the Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau 
of Reclamation since January and as Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Water and Science during the Obama Administration. For much 
of her career she served on Congressional staffs, including the 
democratic professional staff for Senator Cantwell who was 
Ranking Member of this Committee at the time. In Wyoming and 
across the West, there is no more important resource than 
water. Our agriculture industry, cities, forests, and wildlife 
all depend on strong and healthy watersheds. This Committee 
needs a commissioner who will work with members of both parties 
to strengthen desperately needed Western water infrastructure, 
to improve Interior's management of water resources, and to 
listen to state and local officials. I think that she is up to 
the job.
    Last, Ms. Bronin has been nominated to serve as Chairman of 
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. If confirmed, 
she will be in charge with ensuring that historic preservation 
needs are balanced with federal project requirements. She will 
also make recommendations regarding historic preservation to 
the President, to Congress, and to the heads of other federal 
agencies. She currently serves as a Professor of City and 
Regional Planning at Cornell University's College of 
Architecture, Art, and Planning and a Professor at Cornell Law 
School. She has experience in the historic preservation field, 
including serving as an Advisor to the National Trust for 
Historic Preservation. I am interested in hearing more about 
her views on the role of this Council in advising others on the 
designation, preservation, and rehabilitation of historic 
sites. I look forward to hearing her explain her vision for the 
Council.
    So congratulations to each of the nominees. I look forward 
to hearing more about your qualifications, your policy views, 
and your plans for ensuring the work of these agencies, how 
they will benefit all Americans, including those in my home 
State of Wyoming.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Before I recognize my colleagues to make introductions, 
Senator Kaine is not able to join us this morning, but he has 
asked that his letter of support for Ms. Daniel-Davis be 
included. So I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a 
letter of introduction for Ms. Daniel-Davis from Senator Kaine.
    Objection?
    [No response.]
    The Chairman. Without objection, it will be included.
    [Letter of introduction from Senator Kaine for Ms. Daniel-
Davis follows:]

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    The Chairman. In addition, I ask unanimous consent to 
insert additional letters of support for the nominees from 
various tribal organizations, water authorities, and historic 
preservation groups--including two notable letters, one from 
former Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, in support of 
Ms. Daniel-Davis and one from our House colleague, Dan 
Newhouse, the Chairman of the Western Caucus, in support of Ms. 
Touton.
    Hearing no objections, these letters will be inserted into 
the record.
    [Letters of support for the nominees follow:]
    
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    The Chairman. Now I will turn to Senator Cortez Masto to 
introduce Ms. Touton.

  STATEMENT OF HON. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, U.S. SENATOR FROM 
                             NEVADA

    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    It is my pleasure to be able to introduce today President 
Biden's nominee for Commissioner of the United States Bureau of 
Reclamation and fellow Nevadan and UNLV grad, Camille Touton. 
Camille, who currently is the Deputy Commissioner at the Bureau 
of Reclamation, has spent her career focusing on water policy. 
Prior to joining Interior, Camille served as the senior 
professional staff for the U.S. House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure and also served as 
professional staff on this Committee, the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources, where I got to know her in my 
former capacity as the Ranking Member for the Subcommittee on 
Water and Power in the last Congress. Camille was also 
previously a staff member for the House Natural Resources 
Committee and served as the Department of the Interior Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in the Obama 
Administration. She holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a 
B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Nevada Las 
Vegas and a Master of Public Policy from George Mason 
University. And while I know her heart is in the West, Camille 
and her husband, Matthew, and their daughters call Arlington, 
Virginia home.
    Camille is a knowledgeable and experienced public servant 
who truly understands Reclamation policy. She understands the 
needs and concerns of the people from the West and, being from 
the driest state in the nation, she understands just how 
important and vital water and water management is to the 
lifeblood of our Western states. The West is in a prolonged 
drought that is increasingly exacerbated by the climate crisis. 
Our water resources are being ever stretched to support growing 
populations, and we need an expert in this role who has lived 
this experience firsthand. I know Camille will be an advocate 
for sound and thoughtful water policy, and I know she will 
provide a strong Western voice inside the Interior Department 
that is looking out for our water needs.
    And with that, I welcome Camille back to the Committee 
today and want to express my sincere congratulations to you on 
your nomination.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    And now, we are fortunate to be joined by our two 
colleagues from Connecticut, Senator Blumenthal and Senator 
Murphy, who will now introduce Ms. Bronin.
    Senator Blumenthal.

             STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL,
                 U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT

    Senator Blumenthal. I am deeply honored and enthusiastic to 
be here, and thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Barrasso, 
and all of the Committee. You have detailed some of Sara 
Bronin's qualifications, but we could easily spend the next 
hour going through all of what she has done in a truly 
extraordinary career so far. She is joined today by members of 
her family, her husband, Luke Bronin, the Mayor of Hartford, 
Connecticut, and two of their three children. Their family and 
mine have been long-standing friends, and I am very proud of 
that personal connection. I could not imagine someone better 
qualified to be the nominee to chair the Advisory Council on 
Historic Preservation.
    She has demonstrated--as a graduate of the University of 
Texas, with a degree in architecture and a degree in law--that 
she has an understanding of both the legal and the technical 
facets that are required for someone in this leadership 
position. She has deep and broad experience in Connecticut. She 
served for 10 years as Chair of Preservation Connecticut's 
Board, where that group has successfully championed the 
protection of many important community assets all over the 
state by leveraging funding, advocating and forming 
partnerships, and promoting stewardship. That really is the 
mark of her service and understanding of the physical and 
tangible importance of these preservation assets but also a 
devotion to equity and inclusiveness as core interests and 
values in her work. She has earned three preservation design 
awards for her restoration of a Civil War-era brownstone in 
downtown Hartford, Connecticut that her family knows well, and 
as an architect, she is knowledgeable about many of the more 
advanced technological improvements that are important in this 
work.
    She is a seventh-generation Texan. She grew up working in 
her family's Mexican restaurant, and she is now a Professor. 
She has been an architect, attorney, and policymaker, and I 
think she is extraordinarily well qualified for this position. 
I thank the Chair and Ranking Member for considering her 
favorably. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Now we have Senator Murphy.

             STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER MURPHY,
                 U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT

    Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. This is 
my inaugural appearance before the Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, and I appreciate you letting Senator Blumenthal and 
I just say a few words in support of our good friend, Sara 
Bronin. I think Senator Blumenthal has covered it well.
    You know, we are fortunate that smart people from all over 
the world come to Connecticut to get their education. We have a 
number of excellent schools, one of them being Yale University, 
and occasionally people spend time in Connecticut and then go 
back to their home state, as Senator Barrasso did. Sara 
Bronin's affection for Connecticut was such that she stayed. 
She came to Connecticut to go to school, and she has been one 
of the most important contributors to our state's discussion 
around historic preservation and zoning reform during the last 
several decades. Senator Blumenthal said it, I think very 
well--you really could not pick somebody better suited for this 
role. She is a nationally acknowledged expert on zoning and 
land use law. She is an architect, so she understands the 
practicality of buildings and building. But she also is 
somebody that has a history of being able to bring folks 
together around these ideas.
    In Hartford, the city that I live in, she was able to lead 
an effort to redesign the city plan and the city's zoning laws, 
and it ended up being adopted in a unanimous vote, which is not 
easy in a place like Hartford that has lots of different ideas 
about historic preservation, development, and affordable 
housing. So I think you will find someone here who has the 
right background, the right expertise, but also the ability to 
take some of the politics and controversy out of these ideas 
and bring people together. I am just grateful that you allowed 
us the opportunity to come and introduce her to you today.
    The Chairman. Well, we appreciate both of you taking time 
to come and introduce these wonderful people. I know your 
schedules are busy, so I know you have to be exiting here. 
Thank you, Senator.
    The rules of the Committee, which apply to all nominees, 
require that they be sworn in connection with their testimony. 
So if you all will stand and raise your right hand.
    Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to 
give to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 
so help you God?
    [All nominees respond yes.]
    The Chairman. You may be seated.
    Before you begin your statements, I will ask three 
questions addressed to each nominee before this Committee.
    Will you be available to appear before this Committee and 
other Congressional committees to represent departmental 
positions and respond to issues of concern to the Congress?
    [Nominees all respond yes.]
    The Chairman. Are you aware of any personal holdings, 
investments, or interests that could constitute a conflict of 
interest or create the appearance of such a conflict should you 
be confirmed and assume the office to which you have been 
nominated by the President?
    [Nominees all respond no.]
    The Chairman. Are you involved or do you have any assets 
held in a blind trust?
    [Nominees all respond no.]
    The Chairman. Thank you.
    So let us begin with Ms. Daniel-Davis. You are recognized 
to make your statement. Please proceed.

 STATEMENT OF LAURA DANIEL-DAVIS, NOMINATED TO BE AN ASSISTANT 
    SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR (LAND AND MINERALS MANAGEMENT)

    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Good morning, Chairman Manchin, Ranking 
Member Barrasso, and members of the Committee. I'm honored to 
appear before you as President Biden's nominee to be the 
Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the 
Department of the Interior, and I'm very grateful for the 
Committee's consideration of my nomination.
    I'm joined today by my husband, Mark, and my mom and dad. 
Our daughter is in her first year of college so is 
unfortunately unable to be here with us today. My parents 
provided the example of public service that has guided me 
throughout my career, my mother as a high school teacher and 
later a high school principal. My father was an aide here in 
the Senate and was, for many years, a curator at the 
Smithsonian National Museum of American History. My sister and 
I spent all of our time outside when we were growing up. We 
were really lucky. There was so much open space in our 
community, and it was the beginning of my appreciation for 
nature and wildlife, which has such a positive impact on both 
your mind and your physical well-being.
    In addition to my family, the Department of the Interior 
has been one of the most significant influences on my life. The 
leadership positions I have held there have given me deep 
knowledge of public lands and energy programs both onshore and 
offshore, a deep understanding of the Department's operations, 
and the importance of collaboration. I first came to the 
Department in 1993 as an aide to Interior Secretary Bruce 
Babbitt. That's when I first saw how much this Department 
touches people's lives in very real ways every day, whether we 
live in the West or in any other region of the country. I 
returned to the Department in 2009 to work for Secretary Ken 
Salazar. Many of you knew him as Senator Salazar. He's now 
Ambassador Salazar. And I learned from Secretary Salazar to 
aspire to embody the servant-leader model, which is that we 
never forget that our government service is on behalf of anyone 
but ourselves.
    As the Department's Chief of Staff, I helped support the 
transition to Secretary Sally Jewell, who ensured we were 
leading with equity and fairness every day, and, in between my 
service at Interior, I worked in the House of Representatives 
for Congressman Mark Udall before he was one of your colleagues 
here in the Senate. Congressman Udall exemplified the 
bipartisan spirit that I value so much, and from him I learned 
the key Mo Udall-ism, which is that we can disagree without 
being disagreeable in this work that we do together. And now 
I'm back at the Department, of course, humbled and grateful to 
be working for Secretary Deb Haaland. She's inspirational, and, 
once again, I'm learning something every day in my time at the 
Department.
    My previous time there provided me with something of a 
bird's eye view of departmental operations and a really deep 
respect for the 70,000 plus employees. I rolled up my sleeves 
on a lot of issues from Klamath Basin restoration to the Deep 
Water Horizon oil spill response to ensuring that we were 
conducting tribal consultation in an appropriate manner. I also 
gained a real appreciation for the bureaus I've been nominated 
to help lead: the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of 
Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental 
Enforcement, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and 
Enforcement. I really value and appreciate the BLM's multiple-
use mission. It's uniquely important for resource development 
and recreation and providing economic opportunities for working 
families as it manages the federal acreage under its 
jurisdiction, offshore, the important work of BOEM and BSEE to 
responsibly and safely develop energy resources on the Outer 
Continental Shelf, helps to assure our country's energy 
independence. And OSMRE provides crucial support to coal 
communities for reclamation of former mining lands and economic 
development opportunities, making sure states have the tools to 
oversee their transitioning programs.
    If I'm confirmed in this role, I'm committed to supporting 
these bureaus and to working with them to understand how I can 
help, best help them be successful in their missions and for 
the American public. During my time at the National Wildlife 
Federation, I was proud to help support the great work of so 
many of you on the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act. 
That's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you have given 
Americans to address maintenance needs across agencies and 
conserve and restore lands in our communities for access, 
recreation, and reflection. I strive to have an open door. I 
like to be available to different points of view. I'm always 
looking for information that can guide me to a more thoughtful 
decision. And if I'm confirmed, I commit to working with this 
Committee, with the communities you serve, with states and 
tribes, and the variety of other interests in our work and the 
shared challenges we face.
    Thank you for allowing me to appear here today, and I look 
forward to answering your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Daniel-Davis follows:]
    
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    The Chairman. Thank you very much. I just noticed my 
colleague here has a cast on him. I was wondering what happened 
to him. I hope you are feeling better.
    Now we are going to hear from Ms. Touton.

STATEMENT OF CAMILLE C. TOUTON, NOMINATED TO BE COMMISSIONER OF 
                          RECLAMATION

    Ms. Touton. Good morning, Chairman Manchin, Ranking Member 
Barrasso, and members of this Committee. Thank you, Senator 
Cortez Masto for that kind introduction and for your leadership 
in Nevada and in the nation. Thank you also for your guidance 
throughout the years. And thank you, Senator Cantwell, as well 
for your guidance and Congresswoman Napolitano. My name is 
Camille Calimlim Touton. I'm joined here today by my husband, 
Matthew, my mother, Marlene, and virtually by our daughters, 
families, and friends across the country and the world. It is 
by the grace of God and with the love and support of my family 
and friends that I am before you today as the Biden-Harris 
nominee for the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.
    From the start my grandparents instilled in me the values 
of family and service to your community and to your country. My 
grandmother, Eddie, was a homemaker with a high school 
education, who supported all eight of her children graduating 
college. My grandmother, Juanita, was an elementary school 
teacher, who was later elected as the Capitana of the Barangay 
Tebeng, Philippines. Both my grandfathers served in the 
military, and it is their sacrifices and their values that I 
bring with me here today.
    The United States Air Force, through my father, brought us 
to my adopted hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. It was there that 
I would meet the love of my life and also find my life's work 
in water. I recognize that my strengths were to take my 
engineering background and take and understand that technical 
information and communicate its impact to policymakers. This 
recognition and passion to serve is what brought me here today. 
Over the last 15 years I've had the great privilege to be a 
part of every major legislation impacting the Bureau of 
Reclamation. This included my time as professional staff for 
the House Natural Resources Committee and supported the 
enactment of the settlement of the Claims Resolution Act, 
legislation that settled the water rights for seven Indian 
tribes and pueblos. I've had the great fortune of calling this 
Committee my professional home and helped to support the 
enactment of Phase III of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan, 
support for the Klamath Project Title Transfer, and other 
Reclamation provisions as part of the Dingle Act. Last 
Congress, I worked for the House Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee and helped to support the enactment of 
WRDA (Water Resources Development Act) 2020, the authorization 
committee--the authorization legislation for the Army Corps of 
Engineers.
    The very same laws I've helped to support I've also helped 
to implement and execute. During my time in the Obama 
Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary, I oversaw USGS 
(United States Geological Survey) and also led Interior's 
efforts into the finalization of the MOU (Memorandum of 
Understanding) for the Salton Sea. I also led the completion of 
the Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental Management Plan. 
Since I joined the Biden-Harris Administration in January, 
Reclamation has implemented four title transfers, funded the 
Drought Relief Act, recommended new water recycling, 
desalination, and storage projects under the WIN Act, and 
funded activities under the Drought Contingency Plan for the 
Colorado River. Each of these successes requires an 
understanding of complex issues, the ability to work across the 
aisle and collaborate with a diverse set of stakeholders, and 
requires the ability and, more importantly, the desire to build 
trust and understanding with all of our partners to communicate 
intent, manage expectations, and produce results, and that's 
the skills I bring to you today.
    I also recognize a constellation of challenges ahead of 
this agency are unlike any before, and managing water in the 
West is complex, even in a good water year. The unprecedented 
drought has made the task even more challenging as major 
reservoirs are at their lowest levels since filling, and the 
prospects of relief in the face of climate change are not 
encouraging, but I am honored to work alongside our 
stakeholders, our partners, and the 5,400 public servants that 
make up the Bureau of Reclamation in meeting our mission in one 
of the toughest water years and during a global pandemic. The 
drought has very real implications on people and the 
environment. Farmers, whose life's work is to put food on 
America's table, are worried about the ability to put food on 
their own. Tribal communities who fear for the security of 
their water rights and the loss of species of cultural 
significance. Communities who see the low reservoirs and worry 
about their water supply. Ecosystem and species stressed to the 
brink. If confirmed, I bring to this position a proven track 
record of collaboration and communication, and I face these 
challenges with humility and a commitment to work with you, our 
partners, and the American public in solving these challenges.
    Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Touton follows:]

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    The Chairman. Thank you.
    And now, we will hear from Ms. Bronin.

 STATEMENT OF SARA C. BRONIN, NOMINATED TO BE CHAIRMAN OF THE 
           ADVISORY COUNCIL ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION

    Ms. Bronin. Thank you very much. Is this on?
    The Chairman. Yes, now you are.
    Ms. Bronin. Perfect. Okay.
    Good morning, Chairman Rankin--Chairman Manchin, Ranking 
Member Barrasso, and the distinguished members of this 
Committee. It is my honor to be here today as President Biden's 
nominee to Chair the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 
and I thank Senators Murphy and Blumenthal for their very kind 
introductions. Joining me today are my husband, Luke, himself a 
public servant and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and two 
of our three children. Our third child is watching with her 
grandparents in Connecticut, and my parents, two sisters, and 
two grandmothers, Romana and Oralia, are watching from Texas. 
My heart tells me my grandfathers are watching from above. I 
bring to this hearing table the lessons of my teachers, 
Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, the University of Texas, 
Oxford, and Yale and of my students, and I am grateful for 
every one of them.
    It is a special privilege to be speaking before this 
Committee, which has long demonstrated a bipartisan commitment 
to historic preservation. Senators, many of you are already 
familiar with the Advisory Council through the process known as 
Section 106. Both the agency and the process were created as 
part of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 to 
ensure that historic resources are considered when federal 
agencies are undertaking certain programs and projects. In 
these reviews, the Advisory Council does not play a decision-
making role but one of a convener, collaborator, and advisor. 
As Chair, I would be honored to ensure that the agency 
continues to play this role with integrity and in keeping with 
Congressional direction. The Advisory Council also has a key, 
another key statutory role, to advise the President and 
Congress on historic preservation policy.
    As I prepared for this hearing today, I talked with some of 
you and your staff about ways the agency may strengthen its 
relationship with Congress through this advisory function. 
Members expressed an interest in better tailoring disaster 
recovery response to historic places, developing procedural 
efficiencies, and better supporting the 59 state and 
territorial historic preservation offices, 574 federally 
recognized tribes, including 204 tribal historic preservation 
offices, and native Hawaiian organizations, and you also 
expressed enthusiasm for facilitating private investment in 
preservation, whether through leasing or transferring federal 
historic properties or through making the historic tax credit, 
which has generated over $173 billion in private economic 
development more accessible to rural Main Street and 
underserved communities. The Advisory Council has already made 
progress in some of these regards. If confirmed as its Chair, I 
will gladly work with members of this Committee and others in 
Congress to further improve the Federal Government's 
effectiveness in these regards.
    My passion for preservation comes from the recognition that 
historic, tribal, and cultural resources benefit us in unique 
ways. They connect us with our past and give us a sense of 
continuity, identity, and belonging. They generate economic 
activity, both during rehabilitation projects and for many 
years after, and they offer us a chance to be more sustainable. 
As is often said, the greenest building is one that is already 
built. And perhaps most importantly, they guide our faith and 
center our spirits. Throughout my work I have tried to ensure 
that communities of all kinds can benefit from preservation. As 
an architect, attorney, professor, and public servant, I have 
written, critiqued, and implemented laws regarding historic 
preservation. I have both rehabilitated historic buildings and 
advocated for them. And by participating in organizations like 
Preservation Connecticut and the Latinos in Heritage 
Conservation, I have found that there are many, many people who 
share our common commitment to protecting and celebrating the 
rich and complex stories that make us American. With this 
multifaceted experience, I hope to ensure the Advisory Council 
on Historic Preservation continues to take a leadership role in 
advancing and modernizing preservation practice nationally.
    From my ancestor's lands on the Texas/Mexico border to 
colonial Connecticut where I live today, from indigenous 
homelands to fragile, archeological resources, the Advisory 
Council urges protection of it all. It would be a deep honor 
and a tremendous joy to serve as its Chair. Thank you for the 
opportunity to testify today. I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Bronin follows:]

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    The Chairman. Thank you all for your statements. Now we are 
going to start with our questions, and I will start mine with 
Ms. Daniel-Davis.
    Within a week of taking office, President Biden issued an 
Executive Order that directed the Secretary of the Interior to 
pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and 
offshore waters, pending a comprehensive review of the 
Secretary's stewardship responsibilities, including climate 
impacts from oil and gas developments. Several states 
challenged the Order, and in June a Federal District Court 
granted a preliminary injunction against the leasing pause. The 
Justice Department is appealing the District Court's decision 
in the Fifth Circuit, but the Department has said that oil and 
gas leasing, both onshore and offshore, will continue in the 
meantime. So could you give me the current status of the 
leasing program? Is the pause still in place, or has leasing 
resumed as before?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman for the 
question and confirming that leasing, the leasing program 
onshore and offshore, is going forward per the court's 
direction.
    The Chairman. Also, are we producing as much oil and gas as 
we were before the pause?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I appreciate that follow up, and, in 
fact, we are. The production has stayed at levels consistent 
with past administrations, and, as you know, the pause did not 
impact ongoing permitting on legally held leases. So that has 
continued. The jobs associated with that have continued. So 
we've got about 9,000 plus permits available for use as well.
    The Chairman. The other thing, something that has bothered 
me more than any of them, is that the review of the leasing 
program was supposed to result in the release of a report 
earlier this summer. But that report, as you know, still has 
not been released. What is the status of the report?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you so much for that question, Mr. 
Chairman. The report, as you know, is being developed as part 
of the comprehensive review that the President asked us to do 
under an Executive Order. We've had a really robust engagement 
process. There is a lot to review. Reports like this that come 
at the direction of an Executive Order do go through an 
appropriate interagency and White House review process, and 
that is where we are.
    The Chairman. So it is at the White House as far as 
reviewing the report that you all have, or is yours completed 
now?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Well, it is undergoing the interagency 
and White House review process, and, of course, there's new 
information that is developed that we can continue to review 
and include.
    The Chairman. Okay, and when should we expect it?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I'm hoping we'll be able to get it out 
the door very soon.
    The Chairman. Well, we are past summer, so that means in 
the fall?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Yes, sir.
    The Chairman. Well, we are going to be asking for it. We 
want to see that. It will really be helpful for all of us.
    Ms. Touton, we are fortunate that President Biden has 
chosen to place Western water policy in the hands of two former 
members of our committee staff, and we have a lot of interest 
in this, and they have dire need. I have plenty of water in 
West Virginia. We would love to be able to ship it out to you 
all any way we could, if we could get it there, but that is the 
deal. We will put that line in. That is one pipeline we can all 
agree on.
    I spoke earlier in my opening remarks about the number of 
dams and reservoirs the Bureau of Reclamation manages, but do 
you agree that the job of Commissioner of Reclamation is not so 
much about managing dams and reservoirs as protecting the water 
supplies that millions of Americans depend on?
    Ms. Touton. Thank you for that question, Senator. I agree 
with you completely that my time in service to the members of 
this Committee has best prepared me for this position. Though, 
I must say, this is the first time I've viewed the room from 
this angle.
    I agree with you. As a Westerner, as a Nevadan, there's 
nothing more important than your water and the management of 
your water supplies. The Bureau of Reclamation is the largest 
deliverer of water in the nation. And so, part of that is being 
able to utilize our significant infrastructure, but the most 
important part of managing your water supplies is working with 
your partners, with the states, with the tribes, and with all 
of the communities on this important resource in the West----
    The Chairman. I am sure you are aware of the critical 
situation that we have out West?
    Ms. Touton. Yes, Senator.
    The Chairman. Okay, and the people are in dire need. We are 
going to have Senators that will go more in depth on that, I am 
sure. But anyway, we appreciate your experience and willingness 
to serve.
    Ms. Bronin, if I may?
    If confirmed, you are going to be the 12th person to Chair 
the Advisory Council, but only the second to be confirmed by 
the Senate. That is because for over 50 years, the President 
was able to appoint the Chair without Senate confirmation. We 
changed the law five years ago to require Senate confirmation 
and make the office a full-time salary position in order to 
raise the stature of the office. I recognize that you are not a 
member of the Council yet, but from what you have been able to 
observe of the Council over the past five years, do you believe 
these reforms have made a difference?
    Ms. Bronin. First, thank you so much for doing that. It 
will make a big difference in the coming years to have a full-
time Chair, and I think you did that as Congress in recognition 
of the fact that preservation, in addition to the full-time 
staff that already does a great job at the agency itself, 
really needs a full-time champion. The first full-time chair 
only served for 18 months, so I think we're still figuring out 
exactly what the responsibilities and opportunities there are. 
When Congress first passed the National Historic Preservation 
Act it recognized in the statute itself that preservation cuts 
across many different federal policy areas, including housing, 
energy efficiency, transportation, taxation, and more.
    So I look forward to seeing what we can do in this role 
together, working with agencies, working with Congress and----
    The Chairman. Well, all of us have areas in our state that 
have historic sites. And sometimes, I have been told, it costs 
more to preserve one than it would to raze it and start over, 
but then you lose the whole cultural effect. But does that ever 
come into play, where just the structure, the bones, are not 
good enough to save it? Do you get to make those decisions?
    Ms. Bronin. The Advisory Council doesn't play that kind of 
decision-making role. It's up to the individual agencies and 
their stewardship of historic properties to determine, but 
certainly you do see cases of demolition by neglect. And that's 
one of the reasons the Historic Preservation Act was passed in 
the first place back in the 1960s.
    The Chairman. That is great. Thank you.
    Senator Barrasso.
    Senator Barrasso. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
    Prior to this hearing each of you swore under oath that 
your answers to the Committee's written questionnaire are 
current, accurate, and complete. So I am sorry to have to ask 
this, but would each of you verbally affirm that your answers 
to the questionnaires are actually current, accurate, and 
complete?
    [All nominees respond yes.]
    Senator Barrasso. Thank you.
    Any of you ever threaten the physical safety of federal 
officials verbally or in writing?
    [All nominees respond no.]
    Senator Barrasso. Any of you ever been affiliated or 
collaborated with an organization that uses violence against 
fellow Americans?
    [All nominees respond no.]
    Senator Barrasso. Ms. Daniel-Davis, a couple questions for 
you, and please respond briefly.
    On balance, is it better that we develop oil and natural 
gas resources on federal lands here in the United States than 
import oil from OPEC and Russia?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you, Senator.
    The President believes in energy independence and energy 
security, and so do I.
    Senator Barrasso. So, on balance, is it better that we 
develop our oil and natural gas resources on federal lands than 
import it from OPEC and Russia? It is a yes or no.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Yes, sir, and the Secretary has 
clarified.
    Senator Barrasso. Okay, thank you.
    So, on balance, is it better that we develop critical 
mineral resources on federal lands than import critical 
minerals from China?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. This is another issue the President has 
prioritized for us, yes.
    Senator Barrasso. Okay.
    On balance, is it better that we develop uranium resources 
on federal lands than import uranium from Russia or Kazakhstan?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Responsible development of minerals is 
important and appropriate.
    Senator Barrasso. On balance, is it better that we develop 
helium resources on federal lands than import helium from the 
Middle East or Russia?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. The helium program is in transition, 
Senator, but yes.
    Senator Barrasso. Do you agree that the Department should 
not pursue policies that drive producers of these resources off 
of our federal lands and overseas?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I think we're strong supporters of 
responsible production of minerals on public lands.
    Senator Barrasso. So a follow up on Senator Manchin's 
question. Since the Federal Court's decision in June that said 
you had to stop this, has the Department actually issued any 
new notices for onshore oil and gas lease sales?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. We have issued parcels. As you know, this 
is managed by BLM state offices, and they have each, where they 
have parcels available, have put them forward for scoping is 
where we are in the process.
    Senator Barrasso. So you have not really issued any new 
notices for onshore lease, specifically the sale?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. No, sir. We are in the beginning of a 
review process associated with----
    Senator Barrasso. Well, I want to talk about that because 
in February a Federal Court blocked the Trump Administration's 
decision to reopen, you know, 10 million acres to hard rock 
mining. In response, the Bureau plans to reissue six-year-old 
environmental analysis, supports stopping hard rock mining. 
Separately in June, a Federal Court blocked the Biden 
Administration's oil and gas sales, which is what the focus is 
here. In response, the Bureau restarted its environmental 
analysis which had been completed just last year. So the 
environmental--and you said, no, if we are going to throw that 
out, all the money, all the time, everything that has been 
spent on these environmental analyses last year, tough. We are 
going to make you start over on oil and gas lease sales.
    In other words, your Bureau seems to be cherry picking its 
data to suit a political agenda by the Biden Administration. 
Now, you oversee the Bureau of Land Management. Why is the 
Bureau playing politics with the environmental review process 
under your current watch?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So thank you so much for that question, 
Senator. And I think it's really important to think about the 
process associated with oil and gas leasing, a process that 
ensures that we have relevant and appropriate and thorough 
environmental review, we have community input, we have 
appropriate formal consultation with tribes. And I think the 
way that we determined that we could be sure that all of those 
conversations and reviews happen because, I think, as you know, 
there's a lot of litigation around this program, and courts 
have found that in many cases the environmental review has not 
been adequate, and that has really impacted, in my view, 
certainty for the program and consistency. So we decided that 
the best way to be sure that we can provide that certainty and 
consistency and appropriate review is to start and have a fresh 
look and undertake the process.
    Senator Barrasso. Okay, so throw out all of the things that 
have been done in the past, block all the oil, offer no new 
lease sales, delay a report that Senator Manchin, as Chairman 
of the Committee, just asked about that we had been promised to 
be done through the summer. Still have not seen it. You said it 
is going to be here soon. We have heard that from other bureaus 
under previous administrations, and reports seem to be delayed 
indefinitely.
    Ms. Bronin, last December you wrote that we should rethink 
how we determine whose history is protected to begin with. The 
criteria, you said, and process for historic designation must 
be retooled. You suggested that oral histories, cultural 
narratives, and less technical descriptions of site meanings 
should suffice instead of what we currently require which is 
detailed architectural and social histories. I think you 
concluded your writing by saying preservationists have started 
to see past the formalities that have too long prevented us 
from recognizing diverse histories, but we must go further to 
tackle the legal structures that devalue the stories we all 
need to hear.
    So, if confirmed, how would you advise the President and 
Congress to reform programs like, I will give you a couple, the 
National Register of Historic Places, the Secretary of 
Interior's standards for treatment of historic properties, and 
even the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit?
    Ms. Bronin. Thank you so much for that question, Ranking 
Member.
    So I appreciate that, and if confirmed as Chair of the 
Advisory Council, our responsibility is to advise the President 
and Congress and other agencies about what opportunities they 
might have to change the rules. So you raised the Secretary's 
standards as one example. That is the standard that is used to 
judge historic tax credits. It's used on federal projects, and 
it could be modernized. It has not been modernized over the 
last couple of decades in any significant way to address 
current challenges, including disaster response which we're 
seeing a greater need for. As for the National Register, that 
too, the criteria have been in place for many, many years, and 
actually it's turned out to be increasingly expensive to get a 
property listed on the National Register. So in rural 
communities, underserved communities, you might need a little 
bit more flexibility, and that's one of the things that as 
Chair of the Advisory Council, I hope to convince my fellow 24 
members that that might be something that we look at and, of 
course, work with the Department of the Interior and the 
National Park Service to take a look and open up those 
criteria.
    Senator Barrasso. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman. Senator Heinrich.
    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, as you know, the New Mexico delegation as 
well as our Governor and our Land Commissioner have really 
worked for years to protect the Greater Chaco Canyon landscape 
from development. I know that Secretary Haaland has been a 
great supporter of that effort over the years. While we 
continue to work on permanent protection here in Congress, I 
believe that protection through an administrative withdrawal 
would provide necessary and important interim protection as 
well as certainty. If confirmed, would you work with myself and 
other members of the New Mexico delegation to consider an 
administrative withdrawal of that area?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thanks so much, Senator Heinrich, and I 
appreciated your letter on this topic. I do commit to working 
with you and members of the delegation on this matter, should I 
be confirmed.
    Senator Heinrich. Thank you.
    Ms. Touton, the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project is the 
cornerstone of the Navajo water rights settlement on the San 
Juan River. I know you are very familiar with this project and 
its history. It has the capacity to bring drinking water to a 
quarter of a million people, many of whom have never had 
drinking water in their homes before. I think that is hard for 
most Americans to even wrap their heads around. But project 
redesigns and increases in expected costs mean that the 
spending cap and the deadline in the original settlement are 
likely to need to be extended.
    If confirmed, will you work with the Navajo Nation, the 
State of New Mexico, the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the City 
of Gallup in New Mexico to come to an agreement between all 
these parties that facilitate the very important completion of 
that project?
    Ms. Touton. Good morning, Senator. It's good to see you 
today.
    Senator Manchin. Good to see you.
    Ms. Touton. As you mentioned, this project is something I'm 
familiar with and supporting it, its enactment, when you were 
in the House and I was part of the Natural Resources Committee, 
and it's amazing because, when we had the hearing on it, kids 
drew pictures of where they thought their water came from, and 
they thought it was trucks. I know that you were just there 
visiting our staff this summer and actually tasted some of the 
product in the pipes, and we're actually getting some water in 
people's homes is where American children should think their 
water comes from. So, if confirmed, I commit to working with 
you and our partners and the stakeholders in completing this 
important project.
    Senator Heinrich. I look forward to that.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, I also want to ask you, the Bureau of 
Land Management is finishing work on the resource management 
plan for the Rio Puerto District in Central New Mexico. One 
decision at issue there in that plan is whether to open an area 
that is commonly referred to as the Buffalo Tract, in Placitas, 
New Mexico, to new gravel mining. Now it is an area where local 
residents, the Pueblos of San Filipe and Santa Ana, the San 
Antonio de las Huertas land grant, Sandoval County, the Town of 
Bernalillo, and a number of homeowners' groups all oppose new 
gravel mining because it is becoming so suburban and because of 
the natural values that this last track of undeveloped land 
has. If confirmed, will you ensure that these concerns are 
given the consideration they deserve in the BLM's final 
decision on whether or not to allow a gravel mine on the 
Buffalo Tract?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you, Senator Heinrich, and we are, 
you know, this is one of the couple reasons we are taking a 
harder look at that resource management plan. I know that folks 
have been waiting for it for a while, but the issues that you 
raise are incredibly important, and I understand that this 
area, as well, we've had a lot of conversations about it and 
appreciate you raising it as well as, you know, the importance 
of the Chaco area as well.
    Senator Heinrich. Yes, and I, frankly, would rather get it 
right than rush it to a conclusion.
    Ms. Bronin, my last few seconds here I will direct to you. 
You know, every federal agency that takes an action that might 
affect historical objects or places has an obligation to review 
that action under the National Historic Preservation Act. But 
in my view, too often that review has been either perfunctory--
it has been, sort of, a check the box and often does not 
meaningfully involve tribal communities, even when the 
historical or cultural resources at stake are directly related 
to those tribes. As Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation, how would it be possible to hold agencies more 
accountable to those obligations under the National Historic 
Preservation Act, especially when it comes to actions that 
directly impact tribes and tribal communities?
    Ms. Bronin. Thank you, Senator, for your question. So, as 
you point out, tribal consultation is an important part of the 
Section 106 review process. It's written into the statute and 
the regulations. The Advisory Council sees about 120,000 
federal undertakings every year, looking at handling all of 
those with a great, but small staff. So part of, so there's a 
few things that they're already doing. I mean, really, the 
Advisory Council's leadership in bringing tribes to the table 
has been recognized by other federal agencies. It's issued a 
series of, again, advice, advice memoranda on sacred sites, on 
traditional knowledge, and on other aspects of the government-
to-government relationship which we have as the Federal 
Government with tribal nations.
    If I were confirmed as Chair of the Advisory Council, I 
would certainly continue to ensure that tribes are consulted 
early and often. It would be a very high priority to me, 
already working with the National Association of Tribal 
Historic Preservation Officers, advocating for increases in 
funding for those groups so that they can and meaningfully 
consult in an important way, in a meaningful way. These are 
things that the Advisory Council has long advocated for, and as 
its Chair, if lucky enough to be confirmed, I would certainly 
continue to do that because, frankly, it makes the process 
better for everybody, if everybody is given a meaningful chance 
to consult early, and we avoid a lot of issues later on.
    Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Chairman.
    The Chairman. Senator Daines.
    Senator Daines. Chairman Manchin, thank you.
    And to start I'd like to extend a warm invitation to all of 
you, if confirmed, to come out to Montana to see firsthand the 
impact of decisions that are made here in Washington, how it 
affects rural states like Montana. These decisions include the 
continued ban of oil and gas lease sales in Montana, which is 
something I am very concerned about. Despite a federal judge 
telling the Biden Administration to resume leasing, we are now 
nine months into the year, and not one of the four required 
lease sales has commenced, not a single one. This is having a 
real and direct impact on Montana, our jobs, our revenue for 
our communities, and for our state. In fact, rural communities 
in Montana receive 50 percent of the revenue generated from 
federal oil and gas lease sales. So when this Administration 
continued to skirt the law, it means that Montana schools, our 
teachers, our communities receive less money, and that is 
unacceptable.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, I know that you had a direct role in the 
leasing moratorium, and I hope you will resume leasing, as is 
required by law, immediately.
    With that said, I want to move on to another important 
issue for the country, and that is domestic critical mineral 
production. Ms. Daniel-Davis, the Biden Administration has a 
goal to move the U.S. to all-carbon-free electricity by 2035. 
Yet, despite this, President Biden and our House Democrats have 
taken every step, every step they can, to make it harder to 
domestically produce the raw materials needed to build new 
energy and storage solutions. As you know, batteries, turbines, 
solar cells take huge amounts of critical minerals and 
materials, but in this current tax and spend bill being written 
in the House, there are dozens of provisions that would halt 
current and future domestic mining, meaning we will be 
dependent on countries like China for the vast majority of the 
materials we need to build new energy sources. These anti-
mining policies, they kill jobs in Montana, and they will 
further intensify the growing national security threat posed by 
our import dependence for these critical minerals.
    My question is this, if confirmed, what steps will you take 
to increase domestic production of critical minerals to meet 
the demand for this new renewable energy?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Senator, thank you so much for that 
question. And it's nice to see you.
    The President has made it clear to all of us that critical 
minerals development and production is a priority for the 
country. There were, I'm sure you saw a series of reports that 
were released earlier in the summer that went to this point. I 
want to say how much I appreciate the support this Committee 
provided in the bipartisan infrastructure bill for critical 
minerals-related activities, research and likewise at USGS, 
which would not be under this position, but will be very 
important to determining, helping us do a better job.
    Senator Daines. Let me ask a specific question.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Yes, sir.
    Senator Daines. What is the Administration doing then to 
try to bring some sense to what is going on in the House at the 
moment with all these provisions that would do the exactly 
opposite of what you just talked about?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So I do know, with the reconciliation 
bill that it's a process that's ongoing. There are a lot of 
ideas being put forward with regard to reform. I know the 
Administration looks forward to continuing. This is an ongoing 
process.
    Senator Daines. You have said they are doing all they can, 
yet where is the Administration at now when we need them to 
rein in these very radical provisions that are being promoted 
by the House Democrats?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So, Senator, all I can do is reconfirm to 
you that the critical minerals issue is a priority for me and 
that I do work directly with the BLM offices and the BLM 
leadership to be sure we understand what's coming in the door 
and how we can responsibly manage that permitting.
    Senator Daines. No, I appreciate your voice there. Do you 
think the United States should rely on China? I think China 
becomes the new, you know, OPEC, if you will, as it relates to 
critical minerals and that important supply chain. These are 
countries that have terrible environmental standards, terrible 
labor standards, or do you think the U.S. should be the global 
leaders in critical mineral mining and production?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I believe that's the President's 
position, and I do support and appreciate that he has 
prioritized that for me and other appointees, and, should I be 
confirmed, I commit to you I'll continue to work on this issue.
    Senator Daines. Thank you, appreciate that.
    In the time I have left I want to talk about what President 
Biden has done where he issued a proclamation calling for 
increased utilization of the Wilderness Act. Ms. Daniel-Davis, 
he did this at a time when catastrophic wildfires were 
threatening populations across the West. He did this under the 
guise of the 30 by 30 initiative. I'm advocating we refocus 
this initiative on pursuing healthy landscapes not ambiguous 
land statutes.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, why would the Administration call for an 
increased use of the Wilderness Act, something that is under 
the sole jurisdiction of Congress, as part of the 30 by 30 
initiative, and should we expect this to be the direction of 
the Administration as they pursue this initiative?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Senator, thanks so much for that 
question, and I just want to, I want to pick up something that 
you said and say that the healthy forests and healthy lands is 
my priority and will continue to be my priority, if I'm 
confirmed. As far as the 30 by 30 or America the Beautiful 
initiative, it's really meant to be inclusive, and it's not all 
about federal lands. It's about, you know, tribal conservation 
interests and state and local interests, but I really want to 
reiterate to you with regard to wildfires and land and forest 
health. I think that's important to prioritize. I appreciate 
the work you did on the fire fix a few years ago. It has made 
it, the BLM and Forest Service, as far as I'm told, are able to 
much better prioritize, you know, appropriate treatments and 
management of those lands.
    Senator Daines. Thank you.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Cortez Masto.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Congratulations to the nominees. Welcome to your family 
that are both here and joining us virtually.
    Let me start with Ms. Touton. Yes, we are going to start 
with and talk about water in the West, because as you well 
know, it is an important issue we are dealing with right now. 
On August 16th, the Bureau of Reclamation released the Colorado 
River Basin August projections, which, as you know, are used to 
set annual water allocations for both Lake Powell and Lake Mead 
for next year. And as expected, the Bureau of Reclamation 
declared a Tier 1 shortage condition for Lake Mead. Under those 
conditions, the associated water allocation includes cuts for 
the lower basin that would be implemented in January 2022.
    Ms. Touton, what does this shortage mean for the Western 
states, and, if confirmed, how will you go about working with 
the Colorado River basin states to mitigate drought and adapt 
to water reductions?
    Ms. Touton. Thank you for that question, Senator.
    First, I'd like to thank your leadership in getting the 
Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) enacted last Congress because 
that was a tool that we were able to use that builds upon 
existing agreements within the states and utilize it as soon as 
it is enacted to help shore up the levels in Lake Mead and Lake 
Powell, and those efforts and while we've declared our first 
shortage in the river, the efforts that we've taken under DCP 
have stopped a shortage from happening sooner. But what's 
important is while we have this declared shortage, the first 
one in the Lower Colorado River Basin, it's also the first 
shortage that Mexico is taking under our treaty. It is 
something that we've planned for. And so, in moving forward and 
how we operate within the, until 2026, we commit to working 
with you and certainly commit to working with the states and 
all stakeholders that are interested in the Colorado River.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
    Just recently, if passed, the Senate's Bipartisan 
Infrastructure package would invest $8.3 billion in Western 
water infrastructure, including $450 million that I was able to 
include to create large-scale water recycling facilities, plus 
$300 million to implement the Drought Contingency Plan. Can you 
talk a little bit about how the BOR is utilizing these existing 
drought authorities and how you will utilize these funds in the 
future?
    Ms. Touton. Thank you for this Committee's support of, be 
it the Bureau of Reclamation as part of that infrastructure 
plan. The $450 million in large-scale water recycling is a tool 
that helps us to build resiliency because every drop of water 
that we can conserve or reuse is a drop of water that we can 
keep behind our reservoirs, especially the $300 million in 
drought contingency planning and us being able to partner with 
the states to take on more conservation efforts and more 
programs where we can help to shore up these critical levels at 
Lake Mead and Lake Powell. And, if confirmed, I commit to 
working with you and all members of this Congress to ensure 
that those provisions and all of the provisions in the 
infrastructure bill.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
    The Administration recently launched an Interagency Drought 
Relief Working Group. Can you share with the Committee the 
near-term actions that the working group plans to take?
    Ms. Touton. Thank you. The Drought Interagency Working 
Group is chaired by the Department of Interior and the United 
States Department of Agriculture. And it's important because it 
brings our resources, both financially and technical, to target 
specific areas. A good example of that this year is us, the 
Bureau of Reclamation, bringing our resources to the Klamath 
project, being coupled with the resources of the Department of 
Agriculture. And so it's just a good form and opportunity where 
we can really target areas that need assistance and bring the 
full weight of the Federal Government behind that.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
    And then, Ms. Daniel-Davis, thank you for taking the time 
to speak with me over the phone. In recent years, the BLM has 
spent an inordinate amount of time and resources offering vast 
acreages for oil and gas development on lands where the oil and 
gas industry does not really have any development interest and 
on lands that have little to no potential for development. 
Making these lands available for leasing only fuels the 
speculation industry, and it really wastes BLM resources while 
locking up the land from being managed for other purposes, like 
wildlife habitat preservation, outdoor recreation, or grazing. 
So I introduced the End Speculative Oil and Gas Leasing Act 
that would prohibit BLM from offering leases on lands 
determined to have low-or-no drilling potential. Do you think 
Interior should reevaluate the policy when it comes to allowing 
these low-potential lands to be utilized and available for oil 
and gas leasing?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you so much for that question, 
Senator, and I'm familiar with your bill, and I appreciate the 
points you're raising and I do agree. I think that having lands 
that have a low potential available through the leasing program 
does lead to speculation. I think it is burdensome for BLM 
employees in terms of the review that's required. One other 
important issue I would raise is that we see in studies from 
the GAO that these too are lands that are not typically timely 
produced and such.
    So your, the return to the taxpayer that might otherwise be 
available as lands go into production and revenue is produced 
that's then shared with states, as you know, for some 
conservation programs, you don't get there. And I think that's 
really important as well because that's, sort of, one of the 
signal priorities for the Administration is to be sure that 
this oil and gas leasing program provides a fair return to the 
taxpayer. I think that's lacking too, and I appreciate and I 
think you're on the completely right track on this issue.
    Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. I know my time is up. I 
will submit the rest of my questions for the record for the 
nominees.
    Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Hyde-Smith.
    Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you 
to our witnesses willing to testify and participate in this 
process today, and if you are confirmed, your energy, going 
forward, is certainly appreciated and admired.
    My question will be for Mrs. Daniel-Davis. As we have 
already discussed and most of us aware of, federal onshore and 
offshore oil and gas leasing has been under attack from the 
Biden Administration moratoriums. For offshore leasing there is 
still more to be done in order to fully comply with the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act and to ensure that the five-year 
plan is completed before a quickly approaching deadline that we 
have discussed. The Gulf of Mexico is vital to our nation's 
energy security by providing approximately 20 percent of 
America's oil and natural gas production. Given the detrimental 
impact that pausing offshore oil and gas leasing has for Gulf 
Coast states, such as Mississippi and the nation, how do you 
view the Gulf of Mexico in terms of American oil and gas 
production now and in the future?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you so much, Senator, for that 
question.
    And I do want to note and as you know that leasing has 
moved forward with the next Gulf lease sale, and what we have 
also seen is that, with regard to activity in the Gulf, that 
production has continued at historic levels, you know, 
sometimes higher, sometimes lower than we saw in the previous 
Administration, and I think it is certainly accurate that the 
Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activity is, sort of, the focus of 
offshore activity in America, and I think I'll, sort of, refer 
to what the Secretary said one of the times or maybe more than 
one of the times she appeared here that oil and gas is going to 
remain a part of our economy for some time.
    Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you.
    While serving as Chief of Policy and Advocacy at the 
National Wildlife Federation you stated, ``The wildly popular 
Land and Water Conservation Fund is America's most successful 
and effective tool for keeping nature and wildlife within reach 
for millions of Americans.'' As I am sure you are aware of, the 
primary source of revenue for the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund (LWCF) is from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer 
Continental Shelf. If confirmed, how do you intend to ensure 
continued funding for important conservation efforts like LWCF 
when moratoriums restrict energy production and correlating 
royalty payments to the Federal Government?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you, Senator, and I stand by those 
words and really, and the importance of the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund and, you know, making wildlife and special 
places available for our kids and grandkids. We have resumed 
leasing and you know, permitting and production has stayed of 
pace. So I'm not aware of any impacts to revenue with regard to 
those programs or, of course, you know, revenue that goes to 
the states. I know those programs and, you know, with leasing 
having resumed and production ongoing, I think we're positioned 
well to support those programs.
    Senator Hyde-Smith. And my third question, as my time is 
dwindling. Congress enacted the Outer Continental Shelf Land 
Act primarily to facilitate the Federal Government's leasing of 
its offshore mineral resources and energy resources. In this 
law, Congress stated expressly that offshore resources should 
be made available for expeditious and orderly development. What 
assurances will you give us that the Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management will not impose burdensome stipulations that make 
new leases economically unfeasible and therefore, effectively 
unavailable for development contrary to clear Congressional 
intent?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you much, very much, Senator. And I 
think what I would say is that, you know, what my management 
approach is to be always be sure that the actions that I'm 
taking and that bureaus are taking but I might be overseeing 
are in compliance with the law--as you know, has a very complex 
set of factors that get taken into account, and they, sort of, 
point you toward consideration of a lot of different equities, 
you know, including, you know, development appropriateness, you 
know, where the resource is, consideration of, you know, marine 
wildlife, marine habitat, community engagement. So I, what I 
like to think of, when I think of that program is that to be 
sure that in the conversations that I'm having with the Bureau 
of Ocean and Energy Management and with the Bureau of Safety, 
Environmental Enforcement on the permitting side, that they are 
taking all of that into consideration and following the law. 
And I, my sense is that that's very much where those bureaus 
are every day, moving forward with implementing the law.
    Senator Hyde-Smith. Thank you for that.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Chairman.
    Senator Cortez Masto [presiding]. Thank you.
    Senator Cantwell is recognized.
    Senator Cantwell. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    And again, congratulations to all the nominees. Ms. Touton, 
thank you for your hard work on the Yakima Basin Integrated 
Plan and for understanding a holistic approach to water issues. 
Obviously, these past few years have gotten everybody focused 
on the fact that we have a warmer but wetter environment. For 
us that means less snow pack and that means, even for us in a 
state that is 70 percent reliant on hydropower, that you have 
to do something else. If it is not going to be stored on top of 
the mountains, where is it going to be stored? So aquifers, I 
believe, are one of the things that could help us. Senator 
Risch and I created a program in the bipartisan infrastructure 
bill that would allow the Bureau of Reclamation to help states 
manage aquifers through aquifer recharge and developing 
alternative water sources.
    Can you talk about what you think that might do for the 
West? Are you supportive of this language, and what do you 
think aquifers can really do in helping us with this changing 
environment?
    Ms. Touton. Good morning, Senator. It's good to see you 
again.
    I learned from you that it's important to look at water 
storage, both at the surface, but also at groundwater storage. 
And one of the things that we looked at, that we completed just 
this summer was EL 47.5 (East Low Canal 47.5) which is an 
important pump station for the Odessa Sub Aquifer Partnership 
we have with Washington State Ecology to bring more resiliency 
to that system and less reliability and management of, less 
reliability on groundwater, but a co-management of groundwater 
and surface water. And so thank you for your support in those 
provisions in the bipartisan infrastructure framework. 
Washington State has been the model in being able to use 
groundwater and surface water.
    And, should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with 
you to enact that.
    Senator Cantwell. So I take it you support the aquifer 
provisions.
    Ms. Touton. Yes, Senator.
    Senator Cantwell. I mean, to me this seems like a layout. 
This seems like it, but again, for a state with a lot of 
snowpack and a hydroelectric system. So we are very keen on 
what we can do, too, on those resources. Do you think that 
these kinds of programs hold value for other states as a very 
cost-effective, simple way to help us with, again, what the 
scientists are saying are warmer and wetter conditions?
    Ms. Touton. I certainly think that other states could 
utilize this authority to be able to manage their water 
resources.
    Senator Cantwell. Okay. And what do you think that we need 
to do on the holistic front to stimulate more of what was so 
amazing on the Yakima Basin? These are people that literally 
chose not to go the legal route and fight each other for 
decades but instead chose, even though they were at varying 
viewpoints and oftentimes in conflict with each other, chose to 
work together, collaboratively, and came up with a more 
holistic approach. What else do we need to be doing to 
encourage that holistic approach?
    Ms. Touton. The Yakima Basin Integrated Plan is the model 
for the West. It balances the needs of agriculture along with 
the restoration of the largest salmon run in the continental 
United States and values the cultural significance of the 
Yakima Nation. And so, moving forward we need to be able to 
support these types of activities that look at agriculture, 
that look at ecosystems, that look at cultural resources and 
move those forward. That is a provision that you worked on, 
that was worked on in the House with Congressman Newhouse. And 
so, if confirmed, I look forward to working with you in 
implementing that, but also, that type of model across the 
West.
    Senator Cantwell. Thank you.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman [presiding]. Thank you, Senator.
    And now we have Senator Marshall.
    Senator Marshall. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Chairman, so 
much.
    My first question is for Ms. Bronin. The Chisholm Trail 
started in 1885. It originated in the Red River Station in San 
Antonio, Texas. It weaved through Texas and Oklahoma and 
through some famous cattle cities in Kansas, including Dodge 
and Wellington and Wichita and Ellsworth, and then it ended at 
a railroad head in Abilene, Kansas, the home of our 34th 
President, Dwight David Eisenhower. Additionally, not one but 
two films staring John Wayne were made about the Chisholm 
Trail. And it would be my humble opinion that any trail which 
John Wayne made two movies about deserves to be on the National 
Historic Trail. We just wondered if you would help us support 
that project?
    Ms. Bronin. Senator, that sounds like a very fun activity 
to be doing as Chair of the Advisory Council, and certainly my 
son and husband, who love these kinds of movies who are here 
today with me, would agree that it would be something that I'd 
be happy to work with your office to consider putting on that 
list and I appreciate the question.
    Senator Marshall. Well, that is great. A 1948 movie and a 
1970 movie by the Duke has to be on everyone's watchlist. So I 
hope you enjoy them.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Marshall. My next question for Ms. Daniel-Davis. I 
am looking for a simple yes or no here. Do you agree that 
public service is a public trust?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Yes, Senator.
    Senator Marshall. I am glad you agree. It is important for 
the public to be able to trust their appointed officials in 
government and looking out for the public interest. When 
appointees work on issues that they have advocated for on 
behalf of private groups in the past, it erodes the public 
confidence that appointees can separate themselves from their 
previous work. A recent E&E (Environment & Energy Publishing) 
news article discussed BLM's Deputy Director of Policy concern 
about an IG investigation to whether political appointee at DOI 
has violated ethic laws while working on issues pertaining to 
Alaska, raised my concerns on these important ethical 
requirements are being ignored and not taken as serious as they 
should be.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, have you ever sought or plan to seek a 
waiver or impartiality determination pertaining to your former 
employer?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you, Senator, for that question, 
and I have been guided every step of the way since I rejoined 
the Department in January by our ethics official. I am formally 
recused from my interactions with the National Wildlife 
Federation, and, moreover, I just want to be sure that you know 
and that everyone knows that the Secretary has made it very 
clear to all of us, her expectations that we will be regularly 
engaged with the ethics lawyers and follow their advice 
carefully.
    Senator Marshall. And then, as a supervisor, is it your 
responsibility to ensure that employees under you understand to 
take ethics requirements seriously?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Yes, sir.
    Senator Marshall. Okay.
    I want to talk about energy policy for a second. In 
listening to some of your answers to Ranking Member Barrasso 
about, you know, the goals of energy policy. And if I 
paraphrase, I thought I heard you say that you think energy, 
American energy independence is a good thing. If we look at 
where we are right now in America, that we are importing more 
oil from Russia than Alaska, that we are asking OPEC to make 
more oil, that the price of gasoline is up, I do not know, 40 
percent, I would suppose, since this Administration took over. 
Would you think that--what from the policies, White House 
policies, has driven those results?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I think I'm probably most comfortable 
talking about the Department of the Interior and what we're 
doing there and of course, the President did ask us to 
undertake a comprehensive review of the oil and gas leasing 
system, be sure that it was providing a fair return to the 
taxpayer and that also it was accounting for climate cost. I 
think it's really important that we undertake that review, the 
program. There have been a lot of reviews over the years, 
independent reviews from the GAO, from our own IG that suggest 
that the program could use some modernization both on the 
physical terms and in how it undertakes environmental reviews. 
And that's really what we're focused on, and I think it, I 
would hope and imagine, that any type of modernization would 
improve the program and its engagement with----
    Senator Marshall. Okay. One more quick question in my time 
left here. When we compare mining minerals in the United States 
versus China, apples and apples as best you can, is there a 
difference in the environmental impact the way China mines 
minerals versus the standards and the environmental impact of 
mining minerals in the United States?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So I think the President's charged us to 
develop critical minerals in a responsible fashion that takes 
into account the environment, the laws, community input, and 
that is what we are seeking to do.
    Senator Marshall. Thank you, Chairman. I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Now we have Senator Hickenlooper.
    Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
    I first want to thank everybody for your public service and 
your willingness to go through, not just this hearing, but to 
dedicate your lives and the next few years to public good.
    Ms. Touton, I wanted to just first start and say that I 
have two letters that I would like to submit to the 
Congressional Record. Both are in support of you for 
Commissioner of Reclamation. The first comes from the Southern 
Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado, the second from the Southeastern 
Colorado Water Conservancy District. Both speak incredibly 
highly of the public service work that Ms. Touton has done, her 
mastery of complex Western water issues that defy any rules of 
complexity, and her unique ability to work with diverse parties 
toward productive solutions. And she has a long record of 
success. My staff has shared electronic versions with the 
Committee, and I certainly hope Committee members get a chance 
to look at these, and I appreciate your including these in the 
record.
    [Letters of support for Ms. Touton follow:]

[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

  Senator Hickenlooper. Ms. Daniel-Davis, last week we saw 
the BLM's long-awaited announcement on its headquarters, and 
the announcement of a second, regional headquarters out West. I 
think this helps ensure that Westerners are going to have a 
direct say in how the Federal Government oversees much of that 
Western land. But I think it is important that leadership be 
out there and reside in that Western headquarters. So I wanted 
to ask you whether you could just speak for a moment. I realize 
that the appropriators are going to have a large role in this, 
but can you speak to the value you see for the Western states, 
the country, and for BLM in having some senior BLM leadership 
located out in Grand Junction, Colorado?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Senator, thanks so much for asking that 
question, and I really appreciated your engagement and input in 
the conversations we've had on this issue, and I think, as you 
know, the Secretary has asked us to prioritize both the 
functionality of BLM, which was really impacted by a 
reorganization that led to literally hundreds of personnel 
departing the agency and the promises of job creation in Grand 
Junction were not realized. So I think in our analysis and our 
process where we talked to a lot of employees, we talked to 
many, many stakeholders, including in Grand Junction. I heard 
the Secretary was there with you on a visit, and we undertook 
formal tribal consultation. I think we were trying to 
understand how we could best help the Bureau to be successful. 
We ask it to do an awful lot.
    As far as the Western headquarters in Grand Junction, I 
think we agree that we want it to be a robust presence there. 
That's very important. We want it to grow and agree that we 
should have senior BLM leaders there. As you point out, we have 
yet to progress but hope to start soon the formal reprogramming 
process with the appropriators. I hope that we'll stay engaged 
with you and the rest of the delegation in talking about this, 
but I think we're in agreement about what that--we want it to 
be a robust Western headquarters while at the same time feeling 
that it's important that BLM have its key leadership also in 
Washington along with the rest of the other land agencies.
    Senator Hickenlooper. Absolutely. The Secretary is now 
legendary in Colorado because when she came to visit, she not 
only showed up in advance in very small towns, but she stayed, 
and that was noticed and reported all over the state. I do not 
think we have seen a Cabinet Secretary go out into the 
community in the same way that she did and really listen to 
people. So very impressive.
    I will finish with this. I think it is a value, not just to 
Colorado but to all the Western states, to have a Deputy 
Director there. I know at one point there was some discussion 
about a third Deputy Director being created and looking at 
things like conservation, land management, and the relationship 
with the tribes as a possibility.
    Now just quickly, Ms. Bronin, I could not help but note 
that you are an Advisor to the National Trust for Historic 
Preservation. A little known fact in my previous life is that I 
took historic buildings and turned them into brew pubs. And in, 
I think it was 1997, I got the national award of honor from the 
National Trust for Historic Preservation. I saw that you were 
an advisor to that, and I just wanted to ask you a question as 
to the role of historic preservation in economic development. 
You only have about 10 seconds, so we will give you an extra 10 
seconds, if the Chair will allow you to run over just a little 
bit.
    Ms. Bronin. Thank you, Senator. And yes, I'm familiar. It's 
not a little-known fact with the way that you transformed 
downtown Denver through your conversions and including, I 
believe, the use of the federal historic preservation tax 
credit----
    Senator Hickenlooper. Absolutely.
    Ms. Bronin [continuing]. In your projects.
    Preservation has a significant role in economic 
development. You see that through the tax credit and, as I 
mentioned in my opening remarks, $173 billion in private 
development. You see that in the jobs that have been created. 
You see that, again, just looking at the federal tax credit 
alone, not even counting state tax credits, the creation of 
172,000 units of low-income and moderate, affordable housing. 
So besides the rehabilitation jobs, besides the jobs that your 
projects and others around the country have created, we see 
heritage tourism being a tremendous force already, one that is 
increasingly jeopardized by disaster response issues that I'm 
happy to talk about maybe later. But this is something that we 
need to protect. It's something that our laws need to protect, 
and it's something that, as Chair of the Advisory Council, I 
hope to ensure that we're looking at from all angles to ensure 
that private investment continues.
    Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you. Thank you very much. I 
yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    And now we have Senator Lee.
    Senator Lee. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, I'd like to start with you, if that is 
alright. I am looking forward to seeing the results of your 
review of the oil and gas leasing program. One of the things 
that I am concerned about is, I want to make sure that certain 
actions are not undertaken that could end up inhibiting bidding 
to a degree that would essentially amount to a de facto ban. 
Would you agree that that sort of thing can happen if you 
increase burdens on the program sufficiently, you could end up 
with a de facto ban? For example, if developers do not have 
adequate time to develop under the terms or if you add enough 
reviews to slow down the process even further, if you raise 
royalty rates above market, at some point you could see these 
factors combining enough to the point you would have a de facto 
ban, couldn't you?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Senator, I'm always hesitant to comment 
on market factors. I think what I would say is that I think 
that the process of review as--with oil and gas leasing is 
important, you know, and for the onshore program, you know, you 
have a program where royalty rates haven't been raised in 100 
years. So, you know, those kinds of fiscal underpinnings which 
have been looked at carefully by the GAO and our own IG, are 
things that we are looking at.
    Senator Lee. Yes, I understand that, and I appreciate that, 
and I appreciate your commitment to doing it and to being 
thorough, and I understand that you cannot forecast now what 
the conclusions are going to be. I am just asking a more 
theoretical question, at some point you could add to the 
regulatory obligations attending it to the point that you could 
end up really chilling activity or even thwarting it. In 
theory, if somebody raised the royalty rates high enough to 
make it not economical, for example.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Yes, I think, I mean, the main thing that 
I'm concerned about is that we are providing a fair return to 
taxpayers for the use of what's a shared, public resource. So I 
think if we're fair and balanced in our approach and what we're 
looking at and include conclusions we reach, I don't, I know 
that state royalty rates are significantly higher. So I think 
if we're careful and fair in our analysis and conclusions we 
draw, I'd expect that activity will continue.
    Senator Lee. Okay, so in that case you can commit that 
federal leasing and development will continue and that changes 
to the program will not be put in place to make it uneconomical 
to continue.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I think, as you know, we talked about 
we're still in the process of review, and we are, again, we're 
looking at a lot of different aspects of the program from, you 
know, the fiscal aspects to transparency issues to compliance 
with environmental laws and accounting for climate impacts. And 
we are in the middle of that review. We hope to complete it 
very soon.
    Senator Lee. But you are willing to commit that you are not 
going to deliberately make it uneconomical by virtue of 
regulatory restrictions?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I think that that's not the purpose of 
our process at all, no.
    Senator Lee. Now, in conducting the review of the oil and 
gas leasing program, has the Department assessed or will it 
assess what potential changes to fuel prices that new 
regulations might bring about? And, if so, can you talk to us 
about what your findings were on that?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Yes, thank you, Senator. And I, you know, 
again, I'm not, you know, really in a position to talk about 
findings or conclusions. We've tried to undertake a really 
comprehensive review, have talked directly to industry, many, 
many other stakeholders, tribal consultation, you know, state, 
state officials and, again, are trying to, you know, complete a 
comprehensive review that takes into account, you know, all of 
the factors associated with the program, many of which you've 
just mentioned.
    Senator Lee. Okay and that is great that you are willing to 
consider them. Again, consistent with my earlier questions that 
dealt specifically with the need to not add regulations, I 
would hope that that would be a factor you'd take into account. 
If the cumulative burden of the regulatory obligations that are 
placed on there by the government, taking into account 
fluctuations in fuel prices, I hope those things could be taken 
into account and that you'd be willing to share your findings 
on that when you do get to a conclusion.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Senator, if we do undertake a regulatory 
process, that kind of analysis is going to be very, very 
important.
    Senator Lee. And then, finally, will comments submitted to 
the Department of the Interior on the Department's review of 
the oil and gas program ever be made public? And if so, when?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thanks for that follow up.
    And our intention, again when the process is complete and 
the report is made public, we do intend to make comments public 
that we've received, yes.
    Senator Lee. Great. Thank you.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    And now we have Senator Kelly.
    Senator Kelly. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    This first question is for Ms. Touton. It is good to be 
speaking with you again. As you stated in your testimony, the 
Interior Department recently announced its first ever drought 
restrictions on the Colorado River. These cutbacks hit Arizona 
the hardest. We expected that. Beginning next year, Arizona 
will lose 18 percent of our Colorado River water supply, and we 
get 40 percent of our water from the Colorado River. So 
fortunately, Arizona is prepared for these initial cutbacks 
under the Drought Contingency Plan that Congress authorized in 
2019. DCP funds drought mitigation projects that help states 
absorb these Tier 1 shortages, and last month we passed, in the 
Senate, the bipartisan infrastructure bill. It fully funds the 
DCP and provides another $8 billion to repair our aging Western 
water infrastructure. It also promotes water recycling and 
water storage projects as well as desalination. We worked very 
hard to get that funding included.
    So, if confirmed, how quickly do you feel that Reclamation 
can get this assistance out to Arizona?
    Ms. Touton. Good morning, Senator.
    First, as an engineer, it's amazing to be represented as 
someone with a technical background, like yourself, though my 
projects are stationary and yours are literally out of this 
world. Regarding how quickly we can get that assistance out. 
First, this year, we want to commend the State of Arizona and 
all of your stakeholders and your constituents for what they're 
doing, recognizing what next year might look like.
    So we reprogrammed roughly $100 million for assistance this 
year, including an additional $20 million for DCP and $7 
million to complete the 242 half-wells in Arizona to help bring 
water online as early as next year. But the bipartisan 
infrastructure framework is a completely different level of 
investment in the Bureau of Reclamation, and should it be 
enacted into law, Senator, I commit to working with you, if 
confirmed, in moving those resources as expeditiously as 
possible.
    Senator Kelly. Well, thank you.
    Lake Mead, as of this week, is at about 1,066 feet above 
sea level. So it is Tier 1. If it gets down to 1,050 feet, then 
we wind up in Tier 2 with further cutbacks not only affecting 
Arizona but some other states as well. So this funding in the 
bipartisan infrastructure bill is what we need. We have not 
seen a drought like this, as you know, in centuries. We are 20 
years into this now, and it is impossible to predict what is 
going to happen here in the future.
    So even with help from the DCP, farmers in Central Arizona, 
primarily in Penal County, will see cutbacks in water 
deliveries. Most of these farms are the main source of feed for 
dairy cattle, which is the largest agricultural commodity in 
our state. What assistance can Reclamation provide to help 
farmers in Central Arizona?
    Ms. Touton. Thank you for that question.
    First, we have an amazing team in Phoenix in our area 
office who are engaged with your constituents, specifically the 
Penal County farmers on a weekly, if not daily, basis on 
technical assistance. A part of our reprogramming was also 
Drought Relief Act funding that we've made available that 
certainly those farmers can also apply for. And finally, 
investments in WaterSMART that they can also apply for which 
was also included in the bipartisan infrastructure framework is 
another assistance. And finally, projects like completing 242 
half-wells bringing real water when it's needed.
    Senator Kelly. Most of those WaterSMART grants tend to go 
to California. It would be nice to see some equity there in how 
they are distributed, based on need. So hopefully, if 
confirmed, you can take a close look at that because Central 
Arizona is, as far as Tier 1 of the Drought Contingency, 
Central Arizona farmers are really feeling it the most. So 
thank you, and I yield back.
    Ms. Touton. Thank you, Senator.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Now we have Senator Lankford.
    Senator Lankford. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all 
of you and your families going through this process that you 
are going through.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, I want to be able to just bring up a 
statement on something. You will be leading the area that has 
oversight of the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation. That 
is important to us in Oklahoma in a whole new way because after 
the McGirt decision, which I am sure you are very familiar 
with, the State of Oklahoma, the tribes all received a letter 
from the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation that 
surprised everyone that it came in redefining a section of 
McGirt that is a criminal decision that also moved to a 
regulatory issue.
    Now I have engaged with the Solicitor's Office to see what 
else is coming, and they have given me assurances nothing else 
is coming, but the key thing that I want to really be able to 
ask you is, we all understand there is an ongoing conversation 
about McGirt, but we do not like being caught off guard and for 
things just showing up from the Federal Government without some 
consultation with the state or with the tribes. So what I just 
want to be able to make a statement back to you is in Oklahoma 
we hate surprises. I am assuming that everybody is going to 
stick to their word on this to say if there is a conversation 
about things that are connected to McGirt that the tribes and 
the state will be kept in the loop. Is that correct?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Senator, thank you. I, too, hate 
surprises. So I hear you. And I commit that we will be in touch 
and not surprise you.
    Senator Lankford. That is great. We will just stay in 
contact on that in the days ahead.
    There is an interesting thing that came down actually that 
was a memo that you put out March the 19th of 2021 this year 
from the Department of the Interior, and it deals with how 
people actually get permission to be able to do routine matters 
in oil and gas development.
    [The memo referred to follows:]

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    Senator Lankford. There was a Secretarial Order that was 
put in place, 3395, and that expired in March. It was replaced 
with this memo which you signed on it basically saying that the 
office that you are now being nominated for would be the office 
that would have to clear all these different requests, and you 
gave a long list of the different things. But then, you added 
this statement to it, ``This is not an exhaustive list of 
actions requiring review by the ASL, Assistant Secretary Land 
and Minerals.''
    So the question that I have is, there has been a lot of 
confusion about this memo, about what it includes and what it 
does not include because you included a long list, but say, 
hey, it is not exhaustive on this. Now that you are moving to 
that position, can you help us bring some clarity? What does 
this include because as I have talked to some of the folks that 
do oil and gas development, they said they were routine 
requests that were put in like gas gathering lines and other 
things that were routine that were decided down by career 
professionals that are now being pushed up, and they are a lot 
slower to be able to get those approvals now. So I guess this 
is really a twofold question. What all is going to be included 
in this? Are the routine items no longer routine, they all have 
to be pushed up to the Assistant Secretary's level? Are the 
career folks going to be cut out of all this decision-making? 
And how long is it going to take to be able to get answers back 
to basic routine questions that were simple to get in the past 
but are no longer simple?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you so much, Senator, for the 
opportunity to provide some clarity to that memo.
    I think, first of all, wanted to, the Secretarial Order 
3395 which provided for elevated review at the beginning of the 
Administration, that was really an opportunity for us, as new 
appointees, to get a handle on what was happening out across 
the agency, across the Department in various activities. It 
expired, and the memo is actually a return, sort of, a return 
to consistent practice across the Administration. And we, I 
just want to assure you we value our career employees, our 
career partners so much we actually talked to them about this 
and said--and my management philosophy is that the more clarity 
you can bring to process these and sharing of your expectations 
so that people know what their, how they're trying to meet the 
goals of a new Administration the better, and we sought input 
and asked whether a memo like this, that, you know, 
acknowledged that with frequency across the Administration 
significant matters are elevated for departmental level review, 
but it is not the business of this office to be in the day-to-
day permitting business.
    And I think there was some confusion during the period of 
the Secretarial Order, but again, this is, the memo, it's both 
consistent with my management approach. I think it's consistent 
we're told with, how previous Administration's manage and make 
clear that, you know, significant matters should be elevated 
and, again, providing the kind of clarity for people going 
forward in their work.
    Senator Lankford. I would only say when I have talked to 
folks in the industry, they have noticed a significant 
difference that they are not getting answers back to questions 
anymore that used to be routine, that used to be fairly rapid 
turnaround to be predictable in the time period. Now it is an 
unpredictable time period.
    So I have heard before, hey, this goes back to previous, 
but for folks in the industry, they are saying no, this is not 
functioning as it did previously. Routine matters are not being 
solved routinely anymore. And as you know well from business, 
you have to have some kind of predictability. It does kill 
investment to just say we will get a decision to you when we 
get it to you because in oil and gas it is very dependent on 
capital, it is very dependent on the price at that time period. 
And if you start to do development then you do not know when 
you are going to get an answer, you just will not do 
development on it. So an easy way to be able to cut off 
development is just to cut off or make it unpredictable when 
you will get an answer to a question. But it is different than 
what has happened in the past.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you very much for that feedback, 
Senator. My view from where I sit has been that permitting and 
things like permitting of gathering lines has proceeded at 
pace, but I appreciate the feedback and----
    Senator Lankford. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Senator Murkowski.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you all 
for being here this morning.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, I want to follow on what Senator Lankford 
has been asking with regards to this memo. You have indicated 
that you are seeking to, basically, continue the practice 
across previous Administrations and seeking to build out 
clarity, and you have told Senator Lankford you appreciate his 
input here, and I will add to that input in terms of, again, 
the lack of certainty, the delays that come with it, just not 
knowing when and who, effectively, is the decision-maker here. 
When we had Secretary Haaland before the Committee, she made 
very clear, I think, to each and every one of us on this 
Committee that it was going to be her practice to follow the 
science. It was going to be her practice to place the trust in 
the field experts that we have out there. Not that Alaska is 
that much more unique than Oklahoma, but it is unique in many, 
many ways when it comes to accessing our resources and some of 
the laws that have overlay there.
    This particular issue is very concerning to us, because it 
does not appear that you are allowing for that guidance from 
the field to be adhered to. You are not allowing the science to 
be adhered to. You are basically pulling everything back to 
Washington, DC for a political review. And whether it is with 
regards to the action in the NPRA, what we saw with the public 
land orders. You know how intense many of us feel about that 
decision--the oil and gas program leasing in the 1002 area. So 
I am not certain that your response to Senator Lankford has 
provided any more clarity to me about what you really mean this 
process to be because the direction that you seem to be taking, 
that the Administration seems to be taking, is that we are 
going to pull things back to Washington, DC and if it takes 
longer, it takes longer. And if those that are seeking to 
invest the capital look at this and say, this is not worth the 
investment, it is, kind of, a well, that is too bad, type of an 
approach. Tell me why I should feel differently about my 
perspective right now?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you so much, Senator, for the 
question. It's nice to see you again.
    I think that, generally, we do, we are committed to 
following those lines. We're committed to following the law. 
Specific to the permitting issues that have been raised, I'm 
not aware of any ongoing permitting delays. So I just, I want 
to be clear about that in terms of the work that is done at the 
state level and the work that those offices do.
    Senator Murkowski. If we can, I am sure we would be happy 
to provide some examples, and Senator Lankford, I am sure you 
can probably provide some from Oklahoma as well. Again, there 
is a concern that it used to be that you could count on your 
Alaska BLM folks. You could go to them, walk it through, and 
get an answer back. We are not seeing that anymore. So I do not 
know where that has gone to, but it certainly is not in place 
right now.
    Let me move on because I do have a whole host of different 
issues. I have to bring up the Willow Project because, as you 
know, this is probably the singular most important development 
project in the State of Alaska right now and going forward. We 
do appreciate the Secretary and the Department and their 
efforts to defend the Willow permitting process that has been 
conducted. We are working through next steps with regard to the 
court decision on the litigation. But I just want you to commit 
to me that you intend to prioritize these processes and keep 
them on a reasonable and a predictable schedule.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you, Senator. I know how important 
this project is to you, and we intend to work closely with the 
BLM Alaska office who is looking at the ruling and moving 
forward with next steps in a timely manner.
    Senator Murkowski. Well, know that this is not just 
important to me, but it is important to the entire state.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Understood.
    Senator Murkowski. During our meeting a couple months ago 
now, I raised my frustration, and I think you sensed not only 
frustration but real anger about some of the reports that I had 
received regarding virtual consultations held by BLM with some 
of our native tribes and corporations to discuss the potential 
revocations or modifications of our public land orders. I 
raised these concerns about these tribal consultations because 
we had learned that there were uninvited environmental 
organizations that were listening in on these consultations, 
including a former employee of one of the BLM political 
officials that was leading the consultation. You indicated that 
you agreed that this was absolutely inappropriate, you would 
find out what was going on, and you would report back to us. So 
this is now your opportunity to report back to us. What did you 
do when you got back to the Department and raised this, and how 
can you assure me that, really, you are going to take tribal 
consultation as seriously as it needs to be taken if you are 
confirmed?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Thank you, Senator. And I appreciated 
your raising that issue to me because as I said to you at the 
time and I'll reiterate here, it is inconsistent with 
appropriate formal consultation practice to have anyone, other 
than tribal leaders or tribal member that the leader has asked 
to appear or, you know, as you know, sometimes, you know, sort 
of, a consultant or a lawyer may appear, but again, as asked to 
by the tribal leader. So I did go back and ask and understood 
that it may be have been that the folks managing the 
consultation weren't aware in a timely manner of, sort of, 
unauthorized people on the phone.
    Senator Murkowski. Do you find that acceptable?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I don't. And what we did is we have 
reminded everyone of the ground rules for formal consultation, 
and we have also reminded people that it, sort of, is 
imperative to police such things and that they have the ability 
and should exercise it to dump people off the call. I guess 
I'll say it that way. And we have had to, you know, talk about 
this across the Department because, as you know, you know, 
every program is engaging in formal tribal consultation. So I 
appreciate, again, your bringing it to our attention. It's 
allowed us, in this remote environment, to make what we think 
and hope are improvements to the consultation process. We do 
take it very seriously.
    Senator Murkowski. Well, you should take it seriously. I 
found it shocking, just really shocking and disturbing, and it 
just sends a message, unfortunately, that the consultation is 
not being handled in a manner that most of us would expect.
    Mr. Chairman, I have several more questions. My time has 
expired. So I will submit these for the record.
    But Ms. Daniel-Davis, you had indicated, in response to a 
previous Senator here that this oil and gas report that we have 
been waiting and waiting and waiting for was going to be in 
early summer. Secretary Haaland testified before the Committee 
that it is being finalized internally, and we are going to be 
seeing it very soon. I am told that in your response to yet 
another inquiry today, you say it is going to be out here soon. 
I have given up asking on this because it is almost laughable 
at this point in time in terms of what the answers are. I am 
assuming you still do not have anything more definitive that 
you can give in terms of an actual date that we can look 
forward to?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So thanks for the opportunity to talk 
about where we are in the process. And as I said previously, a 
report like this that occurs at the direction of an Executive 
Order of the President, does--is reviewed by the interagency 
and White House process and that's appropriate and expected, 
and we are working our way through that and, you know, 
incorporating additional information as it comes forward. And I 
don't have a hard date for you as far as release.
    Senator Murkowski. Sounds like it is taking even longer 
than the Secretary had thought earlier this summer.
    Mr. Chairman, my time is expired. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Hoeven.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate it.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, you were involved with the implementation 
of the leasing moratorium, is that correct?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Senator, I was guided by the Executive 
Order from the President. We did pause leasing for a period of 
time, yes.
    Senator Hoeven. Do you agree with the Biden 
Administration's call on OPEC plus, including Saudi Arabia and 
Russia, to increase their production to stabilize energy 
prices? So do you agree with the Biden Administration's 
approach that we should not produce oil and gas in this country 
where we have better environmental standards and instead ask 
Russia and Saudi Arabia to increase their production where they 
have worse environmental standards so that we can rely on them 
instead of produce it here at home? Do you agree with that 
approach? Is that the right energy approach for this country?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So I don't really feel confident in the 
foreign affairs space, but I can say that we have moved forward 
with leasing both onshore and offshore.
    Senator Hoeven. Pardon me?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. We're moving forward with leasing onshore 
and offshore.
    Senator Hoeven. Because the court ordered you to.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. That's correct.
    Senator Hoeven. My question was do you agree with an 
approach where we force energy development offshore to our 
adversaries and become dependent on them? Do you think that is 
a good approach for our energy policies and places where there 
are worse environmental standards?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So I think the President's view is that 
there's a global energy market and a global climate crisis, and 
he has measures that he's taking and undertaking to address 
both of those. And again, foreign affairs is not really my 
space. So I can tell you that I'm comfortable with the path 
we're taking in moving forward with responsible oil and gas 
leasing that takes into account environmental concerns and 
requirements.
    Senator Hoeven. I am sorry. I did not mean to interrupt.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Not at all.
    Senator Hoeven. So your approach is that the solution to 
the greenhouse gas emissions and environmental standards is to 
force energy production out of this country to countries with 
worse environmental standards, and you think that is the right 
approach?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So we've looked actually carefully at the 
numbers, and production has continued to pace, that is, at the 
same level, sometimes even higher than the previous 
Administration, and permitting has continued at the same level 
as well. So the oil and gas leasing program on federal lands is 
ongoing.
    Senator Hoeven. So it is your contention that if you put a 
moratorium to prevent more development just as much energy will 
be developed? That is what you are saying?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I'm saying that there's not a pause or a 
moratorium. And while I'm aware that production has continued 
at an even, consistent level across the board----
    Senator Hoeven. In spite of your efforts, in spite of the 
Administration's efforts to curtail it, is what you are saying?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis [continuing]. So production was actually 
not part of the leasing program, and it was never ongoing. 
Permits continued to be processed. And indeed, we've processed 
over 4,000 this fiscal year, and there are 9,000 available for 
use. So we have continued to pace with the program.
    Senator Hoeven. So it is your contention that you continued 
the moratorium that would not reduce energy production in this 
country?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I'm not really comfortable speculating 
about something that hasn't happened and may not happen, so I'd 
rather not go there. I just want to reiterate----
    Senator Hoeven. So you are--I am sorry.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. No, no, sir.
    Senator Hoeven. So you are completely comfortable with the 
approach we have just discussed?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I may be a little bit lost in the 
approach. The approach with continuing leasing and production 
staying on pace?
    Senator Hoeven. Curtailing energy production here, forcing 
it to countries, our adversaries, where they have lower 
environmental standards and then becoming dependent on them for 
our energy? You are comfortable with that approach?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. So we are moving, production has 
continued, and we are moving forward with leasing. And so I----
    Senator Hoeven. Again, because you were forced to by the 
court.
    The Chairman. Senator Hoeven, if I could just interrupt 
because I think you were not here earlier. I had asked those 
questions. You might want to reiterate. Is our production the 
same or greater than it had been before the pause?
    Senator Hoeven. Well, Mr. Chairman, she answered that, but 
the point is if you continue the moratorium, you are going to 
reduce production.
    The Chairman. Oh.
    Senator Hoeven. But I appreciate your point.
    The Chairman. Okay, I know where you are going.
    Senator Hoeven. Yes, and I did pick up her making that 
point.
    Do you realize also, Ms. Daniel-Davis, that if somebody has 
private minerals and there are federal minerals intertwined, 
that that moratorium holds up that private individual's ability 
to develop their own resources as well? Are you aware of that? 
So you also are affecting private individuals and their 
ability, you know, to utilize their property lawfully. Are you 
aware of that?
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. I am familiar with the split, the state 
issue, which I believe you're referencing. Yes.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you.
    Ms. Touton, we have a lot of water projects going in our 
state, very important to us. I guess my question is will you 
work with us on funding those projects, and will you come to 
our state to learn about them and work with us?
    Ms. Touton. Good morning, Senator. It's good to see you 
again. I've enjoyed working with you and your office in the 
past, and, if confirmed, I look forward to visiting your state 
and working with you on these issues in the future.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you. I appreciate you working with us 
in the past, and I want to extend that invitation for you to 
come see us, you know, when it works for you.
    Ms. Touton. Thank you.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you.
    Ms. Bronin, in our parks we are working on a number of 
things regarding tourism, Roosevelt Library, a number of things 
there, and then also, of course, we have five reservations in 
our state. And so I would like to invite you to our state as 
well and ask that you would work with us, both in our, 
obviously with our Native American population in North Dakota 
and their tribal preservation activities as well as in our 
national parks in our state? So again, would you work with us, 
and will you come to our state and visit us so you can learn 
more about what we are doing?
    Ms. Bronin. Senator, thank you so much for the invitation, 
and I look forward to working with your office and visiting. 
Thank you.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis, I appreciate your answers. Obviously we 
have a disagreement in approach, but I do appreciate your 
responding to me. Thank you.
    Ms. Daniel-Davis. Senator, I appreciate the questions very 
much. Thank you.
    Senator Hoeven. Thank you.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Senator.
    I want to thank all three of our nominees and your families 
for enduring this, and I think it was a very good hearing. You 
all did a great job. We appreciate it very much.
    Members will have until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow to submit 
additional questions for the record.
    And the Committee officially stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 12:03 p.m. the committee adjourned.]

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