Political Quotes

“The House is considering this week the appropriations for energy and water. These are important decisions, vital programs that seriously touch all of us across the country, and have important decisions on resource allocation. There were two elements in the accompanying report that I would like to highlight for a moment. First is that I am pleased that the committee has included language encouraging the Army Corps of Engineers to continue efforts to construct new tribal housing at The Dalles Dam on the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. The Columbia River is the cultural artery that ties together the Northwest. It is an engine for agriculture and for industry. But long before we started changing that river into a machine with the construction of dams in the 1930s, the artery was the core of the civilization for thousands of years for Native Americans. The river looked very different. It was faster-moving and steeper. It produced salmon in such abundance that it was rumored you could walk across their backs as they swam upstream to spawn. And it provided food, trade, and a cultural identity for Native American tribes for years. These tribes--now known as the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama Nation--were never fully compensated for the disruption to their native ways of life, despite promises to the contrary.…”