Tom Udall: “thank you for the recognition. I just want to say to my colleague from Minnesota that we very much appreciate her…”

“thank you for the recognition. I just want to say to my colleague from Minnesota that we very much appreciate her efforts on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. She has been a great member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. On all of these issues that are so pressing, whether it is violence or the lack of education or budgets that aren't adequate to support so many activities out in Indian Country, she has just been a terrific advocate. I know that she has followed this issue very closely in the years she has worked in government. One of the things that is really clear is we have given the Tribes an opportunity--and I know Senator Smith knows this very well--to undertake law enforcement in their communities as a result of VAWA 2013. Now is our chance to improve upon that, to lower the level of violence in Native American communities. I yield to the Senator to talk about what she has seen as a State- elected official--again, just as a citizen in Minnesota--to make sure that laws that have been passed are working well and working better, and there is a lot more we need to do. I yield to Senator Smith from Minnesota. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.”