Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding, and the ranking member. I appreciate the great opportunity to address the House today. Mr. Speaker, I have spent a lot of time in this Chamber over the past 8 years, sometimes in sorrow when we have come together as a nation, sometimes in celebration, a lot of highs and lows, but tonight is a very special night as I offer the Eastern Band Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act. It is special for a lot of reasons, because in my district, I represent an east Tennessee district of 11 wonderful counties, outstanding people, but I received a contact years ago from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and they came to me, and they said: Congressman, will you please help us with a situation, with a problem, with a promise that was made and a promise that was unfulfilled to us? So I sat down with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. They are from North Carolina, a sister State to Tennessee. They told me the story. And, of course, we know the story of the Trail of Tears, where over 15,000 Cherokee were forcibly removed from their home in east Tennessee out West. Some avoided capture and stayed in this area, and they remain today. Some came back from the West and now are in a vibrant community in North Carolina. But the sadness of this broken promise, another broken promise to our Native Americans, was something that was staggering, because there is a place called Tanasi, T-A-N-A-S-I. Sound familiar?…”