Murkowski to convene Senate hearing on five tribal water rights bills

Five Water Rights Settlements Head to Committee

Five bills settling Indian water rights claims go before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Wednesday. Alaska's senior senator will run the hearing.

Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Vice Chairman Brian Schatz convene the legislative hearing at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. One measure would amend the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act to modify deadlines for the Regional Water System (S. 3573). A second would settle the water rights claims of the Yavapai-Apache Nation (S. 3617). A third covers the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (S. 4368). A fourth makes technical amendments to the Pechanga Band of Indians settlement (S. 4417). The fifth is the Protecting Indian Water Rights Settlements Act of 2026 (S. 4890).

Sens. Mark Kelly and Alex Padilla are scheduled to testify on the first panel, followed by Interior Department and tribal witnesses.

None of the five bills involve Alaska. Murkowski has pressed the funding question before. At the committee's May 20 business meeting, she said water settlements have to be addressed, adding that "the settlement is nothing more than a piece of paper if we are not actually working to put those dollars in."