Political Quotes

“there will be quite a spirited debate on this issue. There is no question that we have shortcomings in the Indian Health Service. We could use more dollars there. In fact, we added dollars this year to that particular item. Was it enough? Probably not. But who knows how much is enough, whenever we start allotting dollars and we take a look at the challenge we have, especially in Indian health care. We know diabetes is one great challenge we have on our reservations across this country. We should also talk about the merits of the trust reform, too. Number one, the administration is talking veto if this amendment is allowed to be successful. Number two, it is tied up in court. There are actions and proceedings underway. The Senator from South Dakota is exactly right. This has spanned the years through all administrations, through all Secretaries. They have all been sued and held in contempt of court because they did not live up to their responsibilities of managing this trust. We also have to be concerned about those in Indian country, of the thousands and thousands of Native Americans who are denied payment from this trust because it is in such a mess. Some reform or some system has to be set in place before anything can happen. The plaintiffs now in the court action are saying the total payment in the country could be as high as $176 billion if we do not fix this system and make it work for those who have money due them.”