[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SOVEREIGN TRIBAL NATIONS
(Ms. STANSBURY asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, as you know, there are hundreds of
sovereign Tribal nations across the United States. Since this great
Nation's founding, the United States has signed hundreds of treaties
with Tribal nations and passed hundreds of laws reaffirming Tribal
sovereignty, self-determination, and U.S. commitments to indigenous
communities.
However, over the last month, we have seen and heard from Tribes all
over the country whose Federal funds have been frozen and their
programs impacted by mass firings, including at Indian Health Service,
BIA and BIE, including in my district at SIPI and at Haskell's College
where faculty and students have been devastated by mass firings.
That is why yesterday myself, the New Mexico delegation, and 111
Members of Congress sent a letter to the administration calling on them
to halt and reverse these harmful cuts to Tribal programs.
These programs are vital to Indian Country and part of the United
States' solemn Tribal trust and treaty responsibilities. Our sovereign
Tribal nations depend on these programs, and we must protect them.
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