Can I have your commitment that you, as the highest ranking political appointee in Indian Affairs at Interior, that you will ensure meaningful tribal consultations occur in the spirit of that Executive Order?

I am honored to serve alongside one of the architects of that Act, Senator John McCain.

Interior owes Indian Country no less than to meet in and with communities that will be hardest hit by this Administration's proposed changes.

Indian gaming has stood the test of time as a proven economic driver.

Senator McCain and Uncle Mo's efforts to pass this landmark legislation were a true showing of bipartisanship, one we need to see more of today.

As I mentioned in my opening, Indian gaming is an important economic engine.

I am really proud to come to the floor today to join my fellow Senator from New Mexico, Tom Udall, to recognize the life and service of the longest serving Senator from our incredible State of New Mexico, Senator Pete Domenici. Senator…

I am joined today by my colleague from New Mexico, Senator Heinrich. We thought we would come to the floor together and talk about Senator Domenici, our former colleague who passed away recently. Pietro Vichi Domenici was born to Italian…

I agree that our tax code must be simpler for families and small businesses.

Should it be revenue-neutral?

I think if you want to go down this slope of picking winners and losers without letting the markets make those decisions, it may take you places you did not expect to go.

Unfortunately, the Republican's starting point seems heavily focused on giving more tax giveaways to large multi-national corporations.

A zip code should not determine a child's success or her chances of starting a business.

The primary goal of reform should be to use the levers we have to level the playing field.

Our focus needs to be on creating better opportunities for the folks on Main Street, not delivering more tax breaks for investment bankers on Wall Street.

We have an opportunity this Congress to work together to craft a bipartisan tax reform package that promotes entrepreneurship.

I certainly hope that we can get some assurances from the committee's leadership that we will have a markup and a hearing on legislation to address this mess.

I think, you know, as Congress considers, you know, making changes to the Tax Code, you have to make some tough decisions.