Political Quotes

“I stand to object to the proposed provision in the appropriations for 2003, the Interior appropriations bill, and I express my strong support to the amendment offered by our authorizing committee, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth), and this is in reference to the establishment of a commission with reference to needs of Native Americans. Mr. Chairman, I will not question Members' motives and wanting to give assistance to Native American Indians, but this provision goes too far. The provision will limit billions of dollars of claims against the Federal Government for mismanaging Indian trust funds by limiting the accounting from 1985 forward. Further, the provisions will presume the balances as of 1985 were correct, even though the government admits that money has been mismanaged for decades. The provision would overturn a central provision of the American Indian Trust Management Reform Act, legislation enacted in 1994 requiring the Secretary of the Interior to provide a full accounting. We have already expended over $20 million plus even trying to get an auditing report from the Department of Interior which they have failed to do. We owe the Native Americans. It is their money. We were the trustees, and we failed in that responsibility.”