Dave Camp: “I rise in support of the Hayworth amendment in this bipartisan effort to remove the Wolf language creating a Commission…”

“I rise in support of the Hayworth amendment in this bipartisan effort to remove the Wolf language creating a Commission on Native American Policy from the interior appropriations bill. I have great personal respect for the gentleman from Virginia, and we agree on most things; but the Wolf provision is unnecessarily duplicative, and it violates rule XXI by legislating on an appropriations bill. What is particularly troubling to me is that there was no process, no hearings, no authorization, no consultation. The Wolf language would direct available funds from the very tight budget of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to create a commission. Others have said the proposed commission would duplicate existing reports to Congress. If there has been any thread tying together centuries of failed United States Government policy toward the First Americans, it is the lack of consultation. In the name of trying to help Native Americans, there has been untold heartache and much loss of life. At a minimum, Native Americans should be part of any process and have the same respect and opportunity to be heard as any other group who is being considered to have legislation in the United States Congress.”