Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the Senate has a solemn duty to exercise and fulfill U.S. Federal trust responsibility. This duty is the guiding principle for all our work on behalf of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. So as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, it is my job to prioritize and push Tribal and Native communities' legislative priorities toward the finish line and ultimately to actually enact legislation. The Indian Affairs Committee has a strong tradition of bipartisanship going back decades. Committee Members on both sides of the aisle routinely work together to achieve their own Native communities' goals. When there are disagreements, we do everything we can to work them out internally and to find common ground so that Members aren't forced to air their disagreements when bills get to the floor. In fact, just last night, the Senate passed eight Indian Affairs bills unanimously. Those bills would, among other things, promote economic development, protect Native children, honor Tribal self- determination--goals that we all agreed take important steps toward fulfilling our shared Federal trust responsibilities. Time and again, we have shown that the Indian Affairs bills can rise above partisan logjams. That compromise can be found. But here we are. H.R. 478, which passed the House on May 12, 2021, under suspension of the rules, would help to rebuild Tribal homelands; and S.…”