Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed that Democrat leaders have decided not to allow the House to vote on my amendment to improve the proposed Cobell Indian settlement, a settlement that benefits individual Indians across the country. The amendment I offered was simple and addressed improvements requested of Congress by individual Indians, tribal leaders, and an association of more than 50 federally recognized tribes in the Northwest. Mr. Speaker, I want to make it very clear, a settlement on this issue is long overdue, but the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration and the plaintiffs' lawyers can be improved by Congress to benefit individual Indians. And let me explain why. While most of the Indians will get between a $500 and a $1,000 check, the lead plaintiff could receive $15 million or more as an incentive award. A handful of lawyers could be paid over $100 million, which is almost one-third of the value of the claims that they litigated.”