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Michael Connor. Photo from Bureau of Reclamation

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold an oversight hearing tomorrow to focus on water rights.

The hearing marks the second appearance by Michael Connor, the deputy secretary of the Interior Department, before the committee. He has extensive experience in water rights, having previously served as commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.

Six water rights settlements have been finalized since President Barack Obama came on board in January 2009, DOI said in a press release in February. According to the Secretary's Indian Water Rights Office, the administration is working on 38 potential settlements across the western U.S.

Tomorrow's hearing takes place at 2:15pm in Room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The witness list follows:

Panel 1
•The Honorable Michael L. Connor
Deputy Secretary-U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC

•Mr. Jay Weiner
Assistant Attorney General-State of Montana, Helena, MT

•The Honorable Mark Macarro
Chairman-Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, Temecula, CA

•Mr. Steven C. Moore
Senior Staff Attorney-Native American Rights Fund, Boulder, CO

Committee Notice:
Oversight Hearing on "Addressing the Needs of Native Communities Through Indian Water Rights Settlements" (May 20, 2015)

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Senate Committee on Indian Affairs sets two more hearings (5/18)