Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I would like to thank the chairman for his extraordinary work on this legislation. Furthermore, both he and Chairman Bishop of the Committee on Natural Resources have graciously tried to resolve a matter of great significance to Indian Country. Beginning in the late 16th century, the size of so-called Indian Country, in what later became the United States, has steadily diminished. To reverse this trend, in 1934 Congress passed a law which allowed the Federal Government to take land into trust for the benefit of Indian tribes. Interior has done so for the past 82 years. Interior's ability to take land into trust for all tribes was questioned in 2009 following the Supreme Court's opinion in the Carcieri v. Salazar decision. The Carcieri opinion cast doubt on whether Interior has the ability to take land into trust for the benefit of tribes if they were not ``under Federal jurisdiction'' in 1934. Since then, Indian tribes have been threatened by legal challenges to the status of their trust lands. The possibility of litigation chills economic and infrastructure development on trust lands. Together we have worked closely with the House Committee on Natural Resources on a provision that would have settled any dispute as to the status of a trust land up to the Carcieri decision of 2009. I come to the House floor today to express my gratitude for that effort.…”