Interior Department wary of off-reservation gaming
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Filed Under:
Politics
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne remains concerned about off-reservation
gaming, a top aide said on Wednesday, even though efforts to limit
the practice were killed in Congress last year.
As governor of Idaho, Kempthorne was adamantly opposed to off-reservation
casinos. He signed a compact to restrict gaming to reservation sites
and rejected a proposal for an urban-area casino shortly before leaving
office.
But now that he's in charge of the Interior Department, he's in a different
position. At least two dozen tribes have submitted applications that
he must review to determine whether their off-reservation casino proposals
are in their best interests.
"We're in the process of trying to reconcile his views as governor
and his activities as governor with his role as secretary,"
Jim Cason, Interior's associate deputy secretary, told the United
South and Eastern Tribes (USET) yesterday.
In hopes of addressing the issue, the department is working
on an off-reservation gaming policy, Cason said.
Interior is sending letters to
all tribes with off-reservation casino applications under
the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
"We're going through that process now to examine the applications
we have under Section 20 [of IGRA], particularly
those that involve the two-part determination and particularly
those that involve an application involving land that is a long
ways away from the reservation," Cason said.
Section 20 contains four exceptions that allow tribes to open
casinos on land that is not currently part of a reservation.
Alternatively, in what is known as the two-part determination,
it allows tribes to open off-reservation casinos
but only if the state governor agrees.
One step towards an off-reservation gaming policy was taken in late December,
when Interior approved the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe's proposed casino in
the Catskills. The New York City-area
site is nearly 400 miles from the tribe's reservation.
In a letter to the tribe and to then-governor George Pataki, a Republican
who had supported the casino, Cason warned of the political
dangers in proceeding with the project.
He said the department expects Congress to consider efforts
to "restrict or terminate the options available under Section 20"
and suggested the tribe consider dropping its proposal.
"We urge you to become fully aware of the changing environment,
discuss the risks of pursuing an off-reservation gaming application
with your tribal council, legal counsel and business partners,
and to consider the relative risks, costs and benefits of
pursuing an alternative on-reservation gaming initiative,"
Cason wrote on December 21, 2006.
Last year, the House considered a bill to rewrite Section
20 of IGRA to make it harder for tribes to open casinos on
newly acquired land.
It completely eliminated the land claim exception and the
two-part determination process.
Amid widespread tribal opposition, the House rejected
the bill and its sponsor, former Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California), lost
his bid for re-election. Another measure to change Section 20 never
got to the floor in the Senate.
"We faced some tough challenges in the 109th Congress,"
Mark Van Norman, the executive director of the
National Indian Gaming Association, told attendees of USET.
With the 110th Congress in the hands of Democrats, Van Norman said he
expects lawmakers to focus on health, education, housing
and other non-gaming issues.
In speeches to USET on Tuesday, key Democratic leaders said
they would steer away from gaming.
"We believe that the issues in Indian Country are far broader than just Indian
gaming," said Rep. George Miller (D-California).
That doesn't mean another member of Congress won't introduce
a bill to restrict off-reservation gaming.
Van Norman said NIGA is supporting a regulatory initiative
to develop standards for reviewing Section 20 applications.
The regulation will "take some of the political heat off
the issue," Van Norman said. The Bureau of Indian Affairs
plans to finalize the proposal this spring.
Interior Letter:
Jim Cason to St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (December 21, 2006)
Section 20 Regulations:
Notice of
Extension |
Text |
PDF
NIGA Resolutions:
Section
20 |
IGRA
Amendments
Relevant Links:
Senate Indian Affairs Committee -
http://indian.senate.govNIGC
Indian Land Determinations -
http://www.nigc.gov/nigc/nigcControl?option=LAND_DETERMINATIONS
National Indian Gaming Association -
http://www.indiangaming.org
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