The Senate Indian Affairs Committee scheduled a business meeting and hearing this afternoon.

The business meeting, however, was canceled at the last minute due to a lack of a quorum. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), the chairwoman of the committee, said the funding resolution could be considered at a later date.

The committee went ahead with a hearing on three bills, all affecting water and water issues. They are:

• S.1448, to provide for equitable compensation to the Spokane Tribe of Indians of the Spokane Reservation for the use of tribal land for the production of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam, and for other purposes

• S.1219, to authorize the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians Water Rights Settlement, and for other purposes

• S. 1447, to make technical corrections to certain Native American water rights settlements in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes.

The committee is hearing from a panel of tribal leaders and other officials. The witness list follows:

The Honorable Kevin Washburn
Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs

The Honorable Rudy J. Peone
Chairman, Spokane Tribe of Indians

Marian Wynecoop
Tribal Elder, Spokane Tribe of Indians,

The Honorable Mark Macarro
Chairman, Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians

Matthew Stone
General Manager, Rancho California Water District

The hearing lasted about 53 minutes. Audio can be found on the Indianz.Com SoundCloud:

Committee Notices:
BUSINESS MEETING to adopt the Committee's funding resolution from October 1, 2013, through February 28, 2015 (September 10, 2013)
LEGISLATIVE HEARING to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 1448, S. 1219, S. 1447 (September 10, 2013)