[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 10, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2864-S2865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



       Unanimous Consent Request--Authority for Committee to Meet

  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I have a request for the Indians Affairs 
Committee to meet today at 2:30 p.m.
  First, we have a markup in the Indian Affairs Committee. The two 
bills we are marking up are Democrat-sponsored bills. The first one is 
Senator Tester's bill, from the State of Montana, which would provide 
support for Native languages. I guess the summary is that it would 
support the education of Indian children. I believe it relates to 
Native languages in that educational capacity. So that is one of the 
bills, Senator Tester's bill.
  The other bill we are marking up is Senator Tim Kaine's bill, also a 
Democrat-sponsored bill. The short narrative I have is this: To extend 
Federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe, the Chicahominy 
Indian Tribe-Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the 
Rappahonnock Tribe, the Monacan Indian Nation, and the Nansemond Indian 
Tribe.
  The reason that is significant, that is something that both Senator 
Kaine and Senator Warner--both Senators from Virginia--have been 
working on for some time. The reason it is timely is that they have 
Pocahontas's birthday celebration coming up, which I think is going to 
be a large celebration in the Commonwealth of Virginia. They were 
hoping to have these Tribes recognized before this birthday celebration 
for Pocahontas. It is a timely issue.
  Obviously, we can't advance the bill to the Senate floor unless we 
mark it up. At the request of those two Democratic Senators from the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, we are scheduled to mark up those bills and 
get them to the floor and try to do it in a timely way because of the 
celebration they are trying to get prepared for. Everybody knows the 
story of Pocahontas and why that would be a big celebration and 
certainly a big deal in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  Again, as we debate this on the Senate floor, I think Senator Daines 
made some strong points, and I would certainly appeal to our colleagues 
across the aisle to consider what I just described as far as those 
markups.
  In addition to those markups, we also have a hearing on several 
bills. The first one is a McCain bill, and it is to amend the PROTECT 
Act to make Indian Tribes eligible for AMBER Alert grants.
  Everybody knows what the AMBER Alert Program is and how important 
that program is to protect our young people when they get abducted. The 
reason Senator McCain, from Arizona, is bringing this bill forward is 
because there was an abduction in Arizona, and the AMBER Alert went out 
late. I

[[Page S2865]]

think the AMBER Alert went out a day late.
  Senator McCain has this PROTECT Act so we can make sure the AMBER 
Alert is working in Indian Country, and you certainly can understand 
how important it is that we do that. We have to have a hearing on the 
bill again so we can advance the bill to the Senate floor for 
consideration.
  The final bill that we would have a hearing on in committee, if we 
are allowed to meet, is a Murkowski bill, Senator Murkowski from 
Alaska. It would provide the conveyance of certain property in this 
State.
  You have to realize that the witnesses--and I think certainly the 
good Senator from Hawaii will appreciate this--had to come here from 
Alaska, which is quite a lengthy trip. When the Senator travels back 
home to Hawaii, that is a long trip. It is certainly a beautiful place 
but a long trip to get there. Of course, it is not inexpensive to 
travel from Alaska to Washington, DC.
  Those witnesses will be out their costs to come here if we are not 
able to have the hearing, and we would have to reschedule it. That 
certainly creates a cost burden for them, which is certainly unfair and 
not what they would want to have had happen on the part of their 
government.
  I am putting that in human terms. Again, we are talking about two 
Democratic bills, and we are talking about two Republican bills. We are 
talking about constituents who have traveled a long way to come here to 
have the hearing and the markup.
  Again, these are issues we should be able to work on in a bipartisan 
way. I would certainly ask for that consideration. At this point, I ask 
for unanimous consent that our committee be allowed to meet.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Hawaii.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, of course 
we acknowledge the importance of the matters raised by my colleague 
from North Dakota and, representing my State, the State of Hawaii, yes, 
there is support for education of Native people, of Native children, 
which I hope will include Native Hawaiian children. That is important 
as well as recognizing various Indian Tribes and the other matters that 
were raised by my friend from North Dakota.
  However, as I mentioned, these are not business-as-usual times. The 
untoward firing of the FBI Director, who was conducting an ongoing 
investigation into Russian attempts to interfere with our Democracy and 
the Trump team's ties to those attempts, should be a matter of national 
concern, should be a matter of concern to every single Member of the 
Senate.
  This is not a Republican or a Democratic concern. This is a threat to 
our democracy. We know Russia did this. We know we need to get to the 
bottom of this. We need to get to the bottom of the Trump team's ties 
to these efforts, and this thinly veiled attempt by President Trump to 
derail or disrupt these investigations cannot be sustained or 
supported.
  We continue to ask for a bipartisan call for a special prosecutor who 
will conduct an impartial, thorough investigation, untainted by 
political considerations into the Russia-Trump matter. Therefore, Mr. 
President, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Minnesota.