Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 725, the Senate amendments to the Indian Arts and Crafts Amendment Act. This bill was originally passed in this body by a voice vote. In the Senate, however, the bill was amended to include the tribal law and order bill, and that's what I want to focus my remarks on today. This bill passed the United States Senate by unanimous consent after Senator Coburn and the Senate Republican Senate Study Committee negotiated certain spending reductions and addressed spending concerns. There's no question, I think both sides of the aisle agree, that the Federal Government has a new unique obligation to ensure that these Americans, the first Americans, are granted the same public safety rights and protections that other American citizens enjoy. Law enforcement in Indian Country, however, has been woefully underfunded and mismanaged over decades, resulting in a drastic situation for many of our fellow Americans. I want to particularly thank my colleague Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and her staff for the remarkably bipartisan way in which she worked with my staff and myself to address some of the concerns that we had. Obviously, I want to thank my fellow chairman of the Native American Caucus, Dale Kildee, and some of my Republican coauthors and supporters of this legislation like Representatives Simpson, Calvert and Kline. However, I agree very much with my colleague Mr.…”