Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2467, which is sponsored by our colleague from California (Mr. McKeon), places two parcels of land in trust for a tribe in his district known as the Bridgeport Indian Colony. This is a small tribe located in a fairly remote area in eastern California. The two parcels are approximately 40 acres of public land currently administered by the Bureau of Land Management. One parcel is a 32-acre tract located along Highway 182, adjacent to the tribe's existing reservation. The tribe states that it intends to use the lands for housing and related community development because its existing reservation is running out of room for additional uses. The other parcel is a 7.5-acre tract located 30 miles off the tribe's reservation. The tribe originally leased this property from the Bureau of Land Management for a health clinic which closed several years ago. The tribe still owns the building and has expressed its intent to reopen the clinic, but without ownership of the property in trust it is unlikely this purpose can be achieved. Hearings were held on a similar bill in the last Congress, and the Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing this year. The Department of the Interior has not expressed reservations with holding these public lands in trust for the tribe, nor has it requested the tribe to pay for the public land.…”