Orrin Hatch: “I rise today to rebut my colleagues' statements regarding our nominee William Myers. Some of these statements we have…”

“I rise today to rebut my colleagues' statements regarding our nominee William Myers. Some of these statements we have heard today are inaccurate and I would like to set the record straight. Despite some accusations to the contrary, Myers has a proven record of defending Native American tribal interests in this country. For example, he defended the constitutionality of a provision of the California Constitution giving Indian tribes the exclusive right to conduct casino gaming in that State. He also fought to uphold the Secretary of the Interior's decision to put a parcel of land located in Placer County, CA into trust for the United Auburn Indian Community. In addition, Myers supported legislation that vindicated the property rights of the Pueblo of Sandia, a federally recognized Indian tribe in central New Mexico, by creating the T'uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area within New Mexico's Cibola National Forest. He also helped negotiate an agreement removing two dams from the Penobscot River in an effort to clear the way for the Penobscot Indian Nation to exercise its tribal fishing rights. Conservation groups and the Penobscot Indian Nation supported these efforts, and the agreement is now being implemented by the DOI's Boston field office.”