To allow the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation to enter into a lease or other temporary conveyance of water rights recognized under the Fort Peck-Montana Compact for the purpose of meeting the water needs of the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Incorporated, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2978) to allow the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation to enter into a lease or other temporary conveyance of water rights recognized under the Fort Peck-Montana Compact for the purpose of meeting the water needs of the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Incorporated, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 2978, introduced by our colleague Dennis Rehberg of Montana, allows two Fort Peck Indian Reservation Tribes to lease water to nearby nonIndian communities.

In northeastern Montana, water supplies are very scarce. For this reason Congress authorized a rural water supply protection for the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and some of its neighbors a few years ago. As the project is now under construction, water users realize that the underlying law needs to be clarified in order to ensure a water transfer. This bill makes this commonsense clarification on the Federal level. The State Water Commission has already approved the conveyance, and I urge my colleagues to support this noncontroversial bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1219) to authorize certain tribes in the State of Montana to enter into a lease or other temporary conveyance of water rights to meet the water needs of the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association, Inc

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 1219, introduced by Senator Conrad Burns and supported by our Montana colleague, Mr. Dennis Rehberg, allows two Fort Peck Indian Reservation tribes to lease water to nearby non-Indian communities. Because water supplies are very scarce in northern Montana, Congress authorized the construction of a rural water supply project for the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and some of its neighbors.

With the project now under way, water users realize that the underlying law needs to be clarified to ensure a water transfer can be made. This bill makes this commonsense clarification on a Federal level. The State Water Commission has already approved the conveyance.

I urge my colleagues to support this noncontroversial bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, simply put, H.R. 2978 brings much-needed clean drinking water to over 31,000 residents of northeastern Montana. It does so by bringing together the plans of these tribes and the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association to convey water from an area of surplus to an area of need, with no compensation being asked and with full recognition and protection of the tribes' water rights.

Too often in this body, we are witness to conflicts over resources, and this is especially true for the limited precious water supply that we have. This bill is a welcomed departure from all of that.

Madam Speaker, we strongly support the adoption of H.R. 2978.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is the companion to H.R. 2978, a bill that passed the House of Representatives this past May. S. 1219 offers a sensible and a cooperative solution to a water supply problem in eastern Montana. Too often in this body we are witness to conflicts over resources, especially when it comes to water problems in our western States. This bill is a welcome departure from that.

Mr. Speaker, we strongly support the adoption of the Senate bill 1219.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.