the tribe was directed to go to court by assistant secretary larry echohawk, when he said to them in a letter in 2009 that he could not -- the bia could not restore their tribal status. he was correct when he asserted they department have authority to restore the tribal status. he is trying to get them to do something that congress has not given the authority to do. so you have many issues here today which with you are presented. we would ask that you do not see the authority to bureau of ipdian affairs or seat the authority to the courts, an authority that you have alone, which is to restore tribes that have been previously terminated by this congress. thank you very much. >> thank you for your testimony. one of the reasons i'm having this hearing i do believe we have been neglectful as a congress. it's with the congress, not with the executive branch, to do action or not to do action. and that's something that concerns me. by anyone but the department. so i have a great interest in this. chairwoman tucker, you stated in your testimony that the administrative acknowledgment process