You cannot choose to be undemocratic. You cannot choose yourself out of self-determination.

If there is one thing that I admire most of our friends and leaders from Puerto Rico, it is your absolute passion for this issue now that has been with us for how many years.

I will be glad to yield him a portion of my time for any other questions.

Congress would be more than happy to work out a relationship, if that is what the people of Puerto Rico want.

I do admire your consistency. You have never wavered once for the last 30 years or 40 years in being a strong advocate of statehood.

I never forget what the former delegate from Guam had said, the Brigadier General retired Marine Corps former member of the House, our good friend, Congressman Ben Blaz, he said, we are equal in war but not in peace, and he could not have…

There is nothing in the Constitution that mandates the Congress to say that it will accept statehood for Puerto Rico.

If Congress had acted earlier, if this legislation as authored by Senator Akaka and Congressman Abercrombie had been in existence at the time, I submit there would have been a completely different analysis of it.

I want to associate myself with the most eloquent statement presented by Ms. Hirono before our Committee.

Our first national policy was to kill all the Indians. That was our national policy. Get rid of them. Then the next national policy was to assimilate them, make them as part of America. Then the third policy was to terminate them.

The 200,000 acres were the worst portions of the land given to the Native Hawaiians supposedly to get them back to agriculture.

But one of the great attributes of America has always been the ability to look objectively at our history, learn from it, and when possible, to make amends.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I urge your support of H.R. 2314.

They just want to be treated fairly as other indigenous native peoples.

American Indians and the Native Alaskans fully support this.

This is not a new issue as if it was made up a couple of years ago before the Supreme Court decision.

I think it would be a travesty in justice and fairness to our whole system if this bill is not passed.