Political Quotes

“Mr. President, one of the issues that has been highlighted by the two very capable Senators who are here on the floor, Senator Cortez Masto and Senator Smith, is that all of us--and I know that the Presiding Officer from the State of Utah also has many Tribes. All of us need to work in a very conscientious and deliberative way to try to make sure that we are able to do everything we can to bring forward the effort of the Federal Government to lower the violence level in Native American communities. The thing I saw over and over again in the State of New Mexico as I dealt with Tribes and then at the national level--I worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office for several years as an assistant U.S. attorney. I saw over and over again that we were unable to prosecute some cases, but we were well aware that the Tribes, if they were given the authority, would be able to move forward because they were closer to the circumstances and would be able to do the job. That is why it is so important that 16 former U.S. attorneys who have jurisdiction across the United States--full jurisdictions of an area-- have stepped forward and said that they really feel that these pieces of legislation that Senator Cortez Masto, Senator Smith, Senator Klobuchar, and many others are sponsoring and that the House has actually sent over to us are ready to go. I see my good friend Senator Tester is here.…”