[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 73 (Monday, May 21, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3330-S3331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TESTER:
  S. 3209. A bill to provide for the settlement of the water rights 
claims of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Indian Affairs.
  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, water is the foundation for life. That is 
true in every community, but especially in American Indian Country. 
Water plays a particularly important role in Native American life--past 
and present--in history, culture and religion. That is why I am proud 
to introduce the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap 
Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2012.
  Not every issue relating to this important compact is resolved. I 
very much appreciate the perspective of those who say that changes are 
still needed. My goal in introducing this legislation is to get all 
interested parties to negotiate on the issues that must still be 
resolved. By introducing this bill today, the Ft. Belknap Indian 
community, surrounding counties and the State of Montana indicate to 
the United States that we are ready to negotiate in earnest. During 
that process, Montanans and I will work to gain support from the 
Department of the Interior, State of Montana, the Tribe, and local 
communities as we address individual concerns.
  The current federal policy to determine Indian water rights is to 
negotiate, rather than litigate. Montana has had a similar policy since 
it created the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission in 
1979. Both governments recognize that litigating every water right on 
Montana's vast Indian reservations is cost prohibitive and time 
consuming. Negotiated settlements are cheaper for everybody. They are 
much faster than litigation. They allow individuals to participate in 
the outcome. They provide a greater degree of certainty to everybody 
involved. Folks working on this settlement and I intend this 
legislation to fulfill the spirit of those policies.
  Since the Supreme Court's 1908 decision in Winters, the United States 
has had a responsibility to provide water to the land it reserves for 
specific purposes, such as reservations for American Indian homelands. 
This legislation fulfills that responsibility. It will empower the 
Tribe to create jobs and stronger communities by improving critical 
infrastructure.
  More importantly, it strikes the proper balance to achieve a fair, 
equitable, and final settlement of claims to water rights in the State 
of Montana between the State, the Tribe, and the United States for the 
benefit for the Tribe and allottees.
  There is more work to do to ensure that all interested parties can 
support a final agreement. I understand that. However, hundreds of 
hours of deliberation over more than a decade have been put into 
shaping the terms of this Compact and Settlement. Although we have made 
good progress during that time, we still have a lot of work left. I 
look forward to working with my tribal, local, state and federal 
partners to get this done. It is the right thing to do for the United 
States, the Tribe and the State of Montana.
  In 2001, as a member of the Montana legislature, I was happy to 
support

[[Page S3331]]

state ratification of the Fort Belknap Water Rights Compact. I look 
forward to assisting the parties in moving this Compact over the next 
hurdle--congressional authorization.

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