Political Quotes

“just 2 or 3 days ago, we had a not dissimilar discussion in this Chamber on proposals that would change present law with respect to Indian and non-Indian relationships. There were two provisions in this bill, of which I was the author, about the immunity of Indian tribes from lawsuit brought by non-Indians and on the way in which money was distributed to Indian tribes through the tribal priority allocations. The Senator from Hawaii, with the same degree of eloquence that he has used here this afternoon, spoke strongly against those amendments, along with several of his colleagues, partly on the merits but with even more vehemence and eloquence perhaps from the perspective that these were new proposals reversing many years of history about which the Committee on Indian Affairs had had no opportunity for broad-based hearings, listening to both sides of the issue. As strongly as I felt and feel about the justice of those two proposals, I certainly had to agree on that procedural matter with the Senator from Hawaii.”