Daniel Inouye: “Mr. Secretary, I'll have to go to vote, but may I submit my questions for your response later?”

The Department affects almost all sectors of our Nation's economy and literally touches all of our lives.

It is and has always been Federal law and policy that Indian tribes recognized by the Federal Government stand on an equal footing to each other and to the Federal Government.

We may have our roots in Japan, but we are committed to the United States and we are prepared to fight for this country.

I strongly urge that the Committee take action to assure that laws relating to Native American languages not only include Native Hawaiians in their wording, but also include Native Hawaiians as actual beneficiaries.