Darrell Issa: “Mr. Speaker, this is one of countless examples of Indian sovereignty that has in fact been put below the sovereignty of…”

“Mr. Speaker, this is one of countless examples of Indian sovereignty that has in fact been put below the sovereignty of any other landowner, the sovereignty of any other city, municipality or county. This is an important bill, but I think in passage today and tomorrow it is very clear that it marks a trend back toward recognizing that Native American tribes have had things taken from them in the past, had to go to court, in Federal Court win, and then find that they have to continue year after year in order to get these rights. Had this been a normal county or private landowner, I strongly suspect this would have been restored years earlier. So I commend the gentlewoman, my colleague in an adjacent district, for bringing this important legislation, ending once and for all an injustice.”