[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 211 (Monday, December 15, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H5844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING LETTY BELIN

  (Ms. Stansbury of New Mexico was recognized to address the House for 
5 minutes.)
  Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, it is undeniable that Letty Belin is 
somebody who will be remembered for her laugh, her kindness, and her 
compassion.
  Even when dealing with the most serious of subjects concerning the 
fate of our Nation's waters, Tribal water rights, the protection of 
lands and ecosystems, and their legal and policy arguments, it was her 
laughter, her love, and her kindness that shined through.
  The last time that I saw Letty was over a meandering cup of coffee, 
as they often were, on Stanford campus, where she was a twice-alum and 
where she contemplated the future of Western water as she often did.
  Letty Belin was most certainly one of the greatest legal and policy 
minds of our generation, working to protect the waters of the West, but 
Letty was also a dear friend and mentor to me and so many others who 
worked on Western water issues.
  She served as the lead counselor to two Deputy Cabinet Secretaries at 
the Department of the Interior; led the Environment Division at the New 
Mexico Attorney General's Office; spent decades practicing water, 
environmental, and Tribal law; and served on numerous boards.
  Above all else, she was a devoted parent to three children, loving 
grandmother, and friend who shared her deep love of wildlands, open 
spaces, and traveling the world.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with the greatest sadness that I rise this morning 
to honor the life of Letty Belin and her passing just a few weeks ago.
  I became close friends with Letty during her time at the Department 
of the Interior, where she served as counsel to Deputy Secretaries 
David Hayes and Mike Connor and as the chair of the Indian Water Rights 
Working Group.
  At the Department of the Interior, she championed the negotiation of 
water settlements to protect the water rights of 15 Tribal nations, 
which most certainly must be a historical record for what are often 
difficult, decades-long cases.
  In fact, so exemplary was her work that President Obama himself 
honored her with a special award for her negotiations involving the 
water rights of the Navajo and Hopi Nations.
  Letty certainly was no stranger to resolving difficult issues and, in 
fact, led on the legal and policy work that transformed water law in 
New Mexico during my lifetime to ensure that stream flows for our 
rivers and streams would remain.
  In fact, for any New Mexican who sat along a river grateful to see 
its waters flow, especially during a time of drought, it was Letty who 
created the legal framework to sustain those waters.
  This is perhaps one of her most enduring legacies, which she led 
after Attorney General Tom Udall, later Senator Udall, hired her to 
lead a brand-new Environment Division at the AG's Office in the 1990s. 
As Senator Udall shared with me just yesterday, Letty was uniquely 
superb at finding those commonsense solutions that people could support 
while still pushing for what needed to happen.
  It was through this lens that she also helped to protect the Middle 
Rio Grande River through a legal challenge under the Endangered Species 
Act. Where some saw only a small, endangered minnow, Letty saw the 
opportunity to save a vital habitat that supports two-thirds of New 
Mexico's species.
  In the process, her work helped save these species from extinction 
and brought a renewed urgency to protecting our beloved Rio Grande. It 
is that same commitment that she brought to her work in the Bay Delta 
in California.
  In fact, decades later, after her years of work as an environmental 
attorney, as a State and Federal civil servant, she would bring that 
same creativity and can-do spirit to her work on behalf of the San 
Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with the greatest sadness that I honor Letty's 
legacy. The impact that she has had on this country is immeasurable. 
From her roots in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to her career defending the 
water resources and lands of the West, her lifetime of service 
continues to influence decisions and communities across the country 
today. Whether hiking through the hills, floating a river, or traveling 
the world, Letty leaves behind a legacy of friendship, wisdom, and 
extraordinary accomplishments.
  I, like so many, am forever grateful for her mentorship and 
friendship and join those who are honoring her memory and mourning her 
loss.
  It is with the deepest condolences and prayers, Mr. Speaker, that I 
send my love to her family, to her community, and to everyone who 
called her friend, mentor, sister, mom, and grandma.

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