Mike Honda: “I think this is what Congress is all about, where we talk about very substantive issues. And this is one of those most…”

“I think this is what Congress is all about, where we talk about very substantive issues. And this is one of those most important issues because it affects our relationship with other countries, other States, and other indigenous people. And in this case, indigenous people who are considered sovereign entities. And this is what we are trying to accomplish for the Native Hawaiians in Hawaii. This is not about race. I think when we use race and other things it sort of muddies up the issues. And I think that our colleague, Congressman Cole, explains it very clearly. I think the people of this country understand clear talk. When they hear clear talk they understand that when we are talking about justice and equality and recognizing indigenous people, it becomes very, very evident which way we should go. This is, like Congressman Cole said, this is about Federal authority under the Constitution. And the 48 States had already done this with indigenous people.”