Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 478, introduced by our colleague, Representative Tom O'Halleran from Arizona, authorizes the United States to place 55.3 acres of historically and culturally significant land into trust on behalf of the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona. This parcel of land is commonly referred to as the Blackwater Trading Post Land, because it once contained the Ellis family's Blackwater Trading Post which sold goods to members of the Gila River Indian Community since the 1930s. After purchasing the trading post in 2010, the community found around 1,000 cultural artifacts on the property, including 126 Akimel O'odham baskets. Following this discovery, the community decided to apply to take the parcel of land into trust. However, legislation is required for this exchange, as the community's 2004 water settlement explicitly requires that any lands located outside of the community's reservation boundaries be taken into trust through congressional action. Passage of H.R. 478 will ultimately allow the community to preserve a piece of their heritage by incorporating this contiguous parcel of land into its reservation land base. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative O'Halleran for his work on this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.”