On the recordNovember 21, 2024
Mr. President, Senator Rounds--I call him Mike--we are good friends. We came into the Senate together in 2014. We got to know each other before we even got here. He is a man of honor, and he is a man of his word. I have no doubt that he would not stand in the way should I allow this measure to go forward today. The problem is, the Tribes that he represents will. They will continue to work to spread the misinformation to smear a Tribe that deserves recognition, and they want the respect that they have been entitled to for over 130 years when they first got recognition, short of Federal recognition. So if I had a Senate and a Congress--if I had 535 Mike Rounds--I would not have objected to this today. If I had Tribal leaders who were not lying to constituents and misinforming them on the background of the Lumbee Tribe and knowing that they will continue to, I have no other option than what I did today. It gives me no pleasure to do it to one of my favorite people in the U.S. Senate. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the original request? Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senate will proceed to the measures en bloc. There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bills en bloc, which had been reported from the Committee on Indian Affairs, with an amendment to S. 1322 to strike all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.…





