[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 48 (Monday, March 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1509-S1510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, the past few weeks in the Senate have 
been extremely productive. Senate Democrats delivered on our promise to 
pass bold COVID relief legislation, and we have now confirmed 16 
Cabinet-level officials. Today, we will continue moving the ball 
forward on the President's nominees by confirming Representative Deb 
Haaland to serve as President Biden's Secretary of the Interior.
  Representative Haaland has already made history as one of two Members 
to become the first Native American woman to serve in the House of 
Representatives. She is a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo nation, and her 
family's roots in New Mexico can be traced back 35 generations. By her 
own account, she grew up poor, moving frequently. Her mother served in 
the Navy, and her father spent a 30-year career in the Marines. While 
the Federal Government has often mistreated and neglected Indigenous 
Americans, the Haaland family has proudly and bravely served this 
country. Now Representative Haaland is making history twice over as the 
first Native American Secretary of the Interior and as the first Native 
American Cabinet official in American history.
  Representative Haaland's confirmation represents a gigantic step 
forward in creating a government that represents the full richness and 
diversity of this country because Native Americans were, for far too 
long, neglected at the Cabinet level and in so many other places.
  Representative Haaland will have an important task ahead of her. She 
must refocus the Interior Department on preserving and protecting 
almost 500 million acres of public lands, combating climate change and 
environmental degradation, and upholding the Federal Government's 
obligations to Tribal nations. The Trump administration did more to 
undermine the relationship between the Federal Government and the 
sovereign Tribes than many have in decades--from desecrating sacred 
burial sites to build a border wall to neglecting the desperate 
situation of Native Tribes during the pandemic. Shame on them.
  In elevating Representative Haaland to lead the Department of the 
Interior, we reset the relationship between the Federal Government and 
Tribal nations to one of cooperation, mutual respect, and trust, which 
is so different

[[Page S1510]]

from the last administration's attitude. I greatly look forward to 
voting in favor of Representative Haaland's nomination in a few short 
hours.
  Throughout the week, the Senate will process even more of President 
Biden's highly qualified Cabinet nominees, including Xavier Becerra to 
serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services; Isabella 
Guzman to serve as the SBA Administrator; and Katherine Tai to serve as 
the U.S. Trade Representative.
  As President Biden continues to fight the COVID pandemic and begins 
implementing the American Rescue Plan, he deserves to have his team in 
place ASAP, as soon as possible.

                          ____________________