Political Quotes

“I thank Mr. Bacon very much for his participation tonight and helping shed light on this very important issue in our Tribal communities around the country. I told you earlier, Mr. Speaker, that I held a public meeting in Yakima earlier this year. The reporter that I had mentioned asked me a very pointed question. This issue had been brought to light in the early 1990s by one of my predecessors who held this seat. That person vowed to do something about this, and here we are, 20-some years later, almost 30 years later, and nothing has been done. She asked me: What is different today? I think the right answer to that, Mr. Speaker, is that the difference, from what I have seen, personally, is that the men and women in our Tribal communities are standing up. They are saying: We are tired of this, and we are just not going to take it anymore. {time} 1645 They are making their voices heard loud and clear and demanding action, and this is something that we need to deliver in order to help our Native American communities around the country. It truly is a pleasure for me to yield to the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), who has been a true leader on this issue, helping bring focus to this issue so that we can find solutions.”