Jay Inslee: “George Washington said something which I thought was appropriate to the Cobell settlement. He said, ``The administration…”

“George Washington said something which I thought was appropriate to the Cobell settlement. He said, ``The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.'' Today, that is what we are administering--some justice for the 50,000 individual Native Americans and more than 100 tribes across this country. We have known, in no uncertain terms, that there has been an injustice to thousands of these Americans for decades, and we have struggled mightily to find the right resolution of that, and we have found a settlement that, in fact, achieves that. The point I want to make about this is we know how important this has been to Native Americans. We know of their attachment to the land and of the abuses they have suffered at the hands of their government. Conservatives should like the fact that we are forcing a government that acted inappropriately to pay for the damage it did to their citizens as this is not just justice for Native Americans. A justice for any is a justice for all, and justice for Native Americans today is justice for all Americans. We all ought to feel proud that we are taking a step forward to make this a more just Nation.”