February 18, 2021

The Honorable III The Honorable Chairman Ranking Member Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources United States Senate 306 Hart Senate Office Building 307 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chairman Manchin and Ranking Member Barrasso,

The City of Portland, Multnomah County, and Metro Regional Government respectfully write to express strong support for the confirmation of Representative Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior. Her confirmation for this important position will be historic; she will be the first Native American Cabinet Secretary and the third woman to serve in this seat since the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) inception in 1849. We are aligned with Rep. Haaland’s statement that it is time to “listen to Indigenous people when it comes to climate change [and] our environment.” This is a moment in our Nation’s history to pursue environmental and racial justice.

Our governments also hold these values. We believe that Rep. Haaland has the foresight, resolve, and lived experience that will be pivotal to accomplishing the vision of the DOI. Rep. Haaland’s accomplishments and voting record in the House have demonstrated that her values align with the values of our respective local governments here in the Portland Metropolitan area.

Her commitments to the following are also our commitments:

• Upholding tribal treaty rights & trust responsibility • Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women • Ensuring genuine and meaningful tribal consultation • Confronting the climate crisis • Conservation, restoration & land management

We urge the Committee to approve Rep. Haaland’s historic nomination to lead the Department of Interior and take our country in a direction that accomplishes the DOI Strategic 2018-2022 Plan and beyond by protecting our Nation’s natural and cultural resources, and honors the Nation’s trust responsibility and treaty rights of American Indian and Alaska Native sovereign tribal nations.

Sincerely,

Mayor Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty Commissioner Dan Ryan City of Portland City of Portland City of Portland

Commissioner Carmen Rubio Commissioner Mingus Mapps City of Portland City of Portland

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Chair Deborah Kafoury Commissioner Sharon Meieran Commissioner Susheela Jayapal Multnomah County Multnomah County Multnomah County

Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson Commissioner Lori Stegmann Multnomah County Multnomah County

President Lynn Peterson Councilor Shirley Craddick Councilor Bob Stacey Metro Regional Government Metro Regional Government Metro Regional Government

Councilor Juan Carlos González Councilor Christine Lewis Councilor Mary Nolan Metro Regional Government Metro Regional Government Metro Regional Government

Councilor Gerritt Rosenthal Metro Regional Government

cc: President Joe Biden Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Senator Jeff Merkley Senator

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