Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, and Indian Health Service Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. SIMPSON. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, 521 years ago, an explorer named Christopher Columbus sailed west from Europe in an attempt to find a new route to the East Indies. Instead, he landed in the Bahamas, and as the story goes, he named the local inhabitants ``Indians.''

I note the irony that today has been designated Columbus Day, and here we are debating a bill to reopen key parts of the government so the United States can honor the treaty obligations our forefathers made to the American Indians--the first Americans.

The bill before us today is a good thing because it gives us an opportunity to continue to highlight the poverty and other hardships that exist today in Indian Country as a result of the long, complicated, and difficult history of relations between the United States Government and more than 500 other sovereign nations that were here long before we were.

So while we recognize and honor Columbus for his impact on our own Nation's history, let us also recognize and honor the first Americans for their proud history and the sacrifices they made, and continue to make, for this great Nation.

That is why I would encourage everybody to vote for this bill. Frankly, I hope this bill isn't necessary. I hope that we can find a resolution to the differences that exist between Republicans and Democrats and that we can reopen all the government, as Mr. Moran just stated is necessary. I agree with him fully. We need to get the government open again, and we need to address the issue of the debt ceiling.

It is heartening to know that leadership in the Senate, and hopefully in the House and the White House, is having some quality time together and that maybe we can come to a resolution before more dire things happen and we can get this government open, but I don't know that that is going to happen.

In the absence of not knowing that that is going to happen, wouldn't it be wise to have at least some of these bills that fund some key elements of our government ready to go in the Senate so that we can open some areas that I think have bipartisan agreement that need to be funded and need to continue?

I said in my opening statement Saturday that Indian issues have been bipartisan on our committee. They have been supported by both Republicans and Democrats whether it was under Mr. Dicks' leadership when he was chairman, Mr. Moran's leadership when he was chairman, or under my leadership. It has been a bipartisan issue to try to meet our treaty obligations and the moral responsibilities we have to the first Americans--American Indians.

I want people in Indian Country to know that regardless of the vote on this resolution, whether people vote for it or against it, that bipartisanship will continue. We will continue to work together to try to make sure we address these critical needs in our Nation and our treaty and moral obligations we have.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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