Monday, February 19, 2007

Reid's previous position on third Bay Mills Casino plan for Port Huron

MEDIA MATTERS
for America

Posted Feb. 10:

"... Reid opposed legislation to approve a Michigan casino for a Native American tribe that would have rivaled a casino owned by a tribe represented by Abramoff. But the article omitted the fact that Reid said at the time that he opposed the legislation because it would create a 'very dangerous precedent' for the spread of off-reservation gambling -- something Reid had opposed for nearly a decade. The AP further noted that Reid deemed the bill 'fundamentally flawed' but neglected to mention why Reid said he reached that conclusion:

"Reid went to the Senate floor to oppose fellow Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow's effort to win congressional approval for a Michigan casino for the Bay Mills Indians, which would have rivaled one already operating by the Saginaw Chippewa represented by Abramoff.

"'The legislation is fundamentally flawed,' Reid argued, successfully leading the opposition to Stabenow's proposal.

"In fact, Reid said the legislation was flawed because it would allow the Bay Mills tribe to build an off-reservation casino 'under the guise of settling a land claim.' From the November 19, 2002, Congressional Record:

"REID: [A]llowing a tribe to settle a land claim and receive trust land hundreds of miles from their reservation for the express purpose of establishing a gaming facility sets a very dangerous precedent.

"This pursuit of off-reservation gaming operations should continue to follow the procedures outlined in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Public Law 100-497, which authorizes tribal gaming operations on off-reservation 'after-acquired lands' where the land to be acquired has no relationship to the land upon which the claim was based.

"Let me say that the first gaming compact ever approved with an Indian tribe in the history of the country was done in Nevada. So it is not as if Nevada is here opposing this request. The first compact ever approved in the country was in Nevada. That is still an ongoing operation and a very successful one.

"The proposed casino would be located just north of Detroit on a major link to Ontario that is in the lower corner of the lower peninsula. Bay Mills is located in the upper peninsula. The legislation is fundamentally flawed because it allows Bay Mills to establish gaming facilities under the guise of settling a land claim.

"The land claim is simply -- and everybody knows this -- an excuse to take land into trust for off-reservation gaming. I object."

This position was entirely consistent with Reid's longtime opposition to off-reservation gambling. As early as 1998, Reid supported the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which generally prohibited Indian gaming on non-tribal lands. He proposed separate legislation in 1993 "prohibit[ing] states from opening gaming operations on off-reservation land" [AP, 5/28/93].

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