Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to speak to this particular piece of legislation. This bill will clarify that five recognized tribes in the State of Oregon may buy, sell, lease, or otherwise convey land that they own in fee without approval from the Federal Government. Some of the earliest laws passed by Congress after the ratification of the Constitution reserves to the United States the exclusive right to acquire Indian lands. These laws are commonly called the Trade and Intercourse Acts. The acts were meant to protect Indian tribes by preventing the loss of their lands, except by treaty. It does so by preventing the transfer, sale, lease, or other conveyance of land owned by an Indian tribe to third parties without Federal approval. This bill, S. 1285, would clarify that the five tribes named in this bill may do this job without Federal review or approval. The bill benefits other tribes in a similar fashion were also considered by the Natural Resources Committee and enacted into law during the 106th, 113th, and 114th Congresses as well. This particular bill, which passed by unanimous consent in December, truly shows that despite what some Members are quoted as saying in the press, the Natural Resources Committee is, in fact, still a productive committee after all. In fact, we have been the most active House committee next to the Rules Committee. We have already marked up 147 bills and reported out 114 of these bills.…”