Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 2208, introduced by Representative Veronica Escobar from Texas, amends the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act of 1987 to clarify that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act applies to both the Pueblo and the Tribe. The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas was federally terminated in 1954. This wrong was followed in 1968 by termination of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, also known as the Tigua Tribe. Congress rightfully restored both the Pueblo and the Tribe by enacting the aforementioned Restoration Act of 1987. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was enacted just one year later, in 1988. The framework that it created should have applied to both the Pueblo and the Tribe, just as it did to every other Tribe. However, since the Restoration Act was passed at a time when Indian gaming was just emerging and Federal regulations had not yet been implemented, it contains a section regarding gaming. We know from the Congressional Record that the intent of this section of the Restoration Act was to clarify Indian gaming policy at the time, not to completely prohibit gaming on these lands in perpetuity. But that is what is occurring.…”