Angie Craig: “I think it is certainly appropriate, for a few moments, to speak to the issue at hand here on the floor and my support…”

“I think it is certainly appropriate, for a few moments, to speak to the issue at hand here on the floor and my support for what the Senator from Washington has chosen to do with the two issues that he brought to the Interior appropriations bill dealing with native Americans and sovereign immunity. I discussed these issues with him at length and certainly with native Americans of my State--four different tribes. I have spent a good number of hours discussing this issue and how it relates to their rights and how it relates to the rights of all citizens in this country. I am extremely pleased also to have worked very closely with the Senator from Colorado who I respect greatly for his opinions in this area and certainly his long-term knowledge about issues of native Americans because he is so proudly one of those amongst us who can claim that title and does so proudly and represents them so well in this body. I am pleased that we are willing to take this back to hearings.”