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

Floor Speech

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

I rise today in support of this important legislation to continue funding for the Bureaus of Indian Affairs and Indian Education and for the Indian Health Service. This bill focuses on education, law enforcement, health care, and many other vital services to American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Mr. Speaker, long ago, the Federal Government made treaty commitments to American Indians, who, in return, ceded the vast lands that make up the United States today. Visit just about any Indian reservation today, and you will quickly realize that the Federal Government hasn't even come close to living up to its end of the bargain.

My colleagues on the subcommittee who are on both sides of the aisle and my predecessors before me, Mr. Moran and Mr. Dicks, who chaired this committee, have been working hard over the past several years to address the critical needs and challenges in Indian country. Even in declining budget environments, on a bipartisan basis, our committee continues to make funding for Indian country a priority. That is why I doubt my friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle will oppose the merits of this bill. They might oppose the strategy of getting here, but they probably won't oppose the merits of the bill. It is something on which we agree on a bipartisan basis.

For the past 11 days, the House has been attempting to reopen parts of the government without further delay and without trying to extract any further concessions from the Senate or the President.

Mr. Speaker, you can't go wrong by trying to do the right thing. Right here, right now, those of us who care about Indian country have been given an opportunity to do the right thing. Let's not waste this opportunity by pointing fingers and arguing over everything other than the topic at hand. The topic at hand is Indian health, Indian education and the BIA. This is the hand we have been dealt. Let's do the right thing. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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