Political Quotes

“I would like to take a few minutes while we have an interlude here with the farm bill to speak along with my colleague Senator Sullivan about the nomination of, in my view, an extraordinary Alaskan--Tara MacLean Sweeney, who has been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of Interior. It is certainly my very strong hope that Ms. Sweeney can be confirmed to this position before we leave for the Fourth of July recess. I see no reason why this body should delay confirmation. I want to give just a little bit of background and share, along with my colleague Senator Sullivan, some of the attributes we are talking about here. Ms. Sweeney is truly a noncontroversial nominee. She has support across the political spectrum. She was reported out of the Committee on Indian Affairs by a voice vote. There was no dissent. She is endorsed by the National Congress of American Indians, and she enjoys strong support across Indian Country--not only from Alaska Natives up in our State but truly across Indian Country. She is Inupiaq. She is a very distinguished leader, respected among indigenous peoples not only here in the United States but abroad. She is truly eminently qualified for the position. So I want to share briefly the history of how we got here. It has been many months--many, many months--and I think it is important to know the process she has gone through. The President announced his intent to nominate Ms.…”