Byron Dorgan: “I want to make note that Senator Mikulski and Senator Shelby already added funding to accounts the President had decided…”

“I want to make note that Senator Mikulski and Senator Shelby already added funding to accounts the President had decided to zero out. These accounts are accounts dealing with law enforcement on Indian reservations. We just held a hearing on these issues in the Indian Affairs Committee here in the Senate. It is pretty stark, when you hear from folks who talk about the crisis on reservations with respect to law enforcement. The U.S. Government made a decision a long time ago, well over a century ago, that law enforcement on Indian reservations is a responsibility of the Federal Government. Our country has a legal obligation to be involved in preventing crime on Indian lands.”