Tom Cole

I actually sit on the Smithsonian board.

It has been very helpful, and again, I appreciate you expanding for the record and for the Committee because again, this is money that is very similar to seeing money in a lot of programs that we do.

They ought to go to the head of the line. They should not just be in the line.

I actually agree with the Chairman, where I suspect these compensations could be paid out of a preexisting fund.

Had you been here last week, we had some pretty pointed questions directed at the BLM on this very issue, so I could not agree more.

The ability to diversify the economic base for tribes is just absolutely critical going forward.

I couldn't agree with you more about Joint Venture. I mean it is a bargain for the American taxpayer.

Please help us in the United States Senate.

And we just have not lived up to our obligations.

What we did, we had the same situation. My friend, Mr. Calvert, sits on--and my friend, Ms. McCollum, sits on Defense Appropriations...

To not always have a school construction budget is just inexcusable.

It is pretty sad when the Administration does not put any money in for new school construction.

The United States Government has not met its obligations, and that we are woefully underfunded.

This is something that is extraordinarily expensive, and if you look at the expense curve, it is just simply going up.

I just look at the numbers and I look at what we are trying to grapple with here.

I do not have any predetermined outcome here.

I think it is something that we as a Committee and as a Congress need to have a really candid discussion about.

I must tell you, I am very dubious after talking to folks that the adoption program is ever going to work.

Do you think the Tribes are sophisticated enough--and again, I recognize I think probably more than most the variety of levels of sophistication that Tribes have an administrative capability but do you see this as something inherently that…

It is a wonderful two-way street in the sense that I think the Tribes do bring a lot, as you say, with their historic associations quite often and an immensity of knowledge that really nobody else has.

I want to be specific but I want you to be general in your answer.

I suspect frankly if it ever got to the Floor, I do not have any doubt it would pass with overwhelming bipartisan support.

I would suggest, I don't think anything is going to happen between now and November, but we need to make the tough decisions as soon after that as we possibly can.

Nobody did politically on either side. I don't think the services did. And we stumbled into a really bad situation that you are having to deal with.

I think you and your counterparts in the other services are making tough decisions because we haven't, as a Congress and an administration, made our tough decisions.