On the recordJune 10, 2014
I agree with the gentlelady. Housing is important for the American Indian community. It should be funded. This bill is a decent bill, but flatlining this funding back to the 2004 level is not acceptable. We need this housing in rural areas, as the gentlelady mentioned. I represent approximately 400 small villages. Most do not have running water and the facilities that you are used to every day when you get up. They have the problem of many diseases because of the lack of good facilities. We need new housing. We need the money to be spent. My argument is, if we are putting money in Afghanistan like we have done in the last few years, we ought to be able to put the money into our own Nation and States to have the housing for the native communities. This is an important piece of legislation, but we ought to fund it to the full extent. It is time that we recognize that we have to help those who do not have, especially our first citizens of the United States. I yield back the balance of my time.
