Rogers Renews Call for Indian Gambling Reform
Rogers Renews Call for Indian Gambling Reform
Thursday, January 5, 2006 - U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, MI-08, today renewed his call for comprehensive reform of Indian gaming laws, as well as a two-year moratorium on casino expansion.
Rogers, formerly an FBI special agent investigating public corruption, also announced plans to introduce legislation establishing a moratorium on creation of new Indian casinos, pending a full investigation of how the existing process was exploited in scandals being reported in the news media today.
"Putting a complete halt to new tribal casinos for two years would give us time to get our arms around the process and better understand the problem," Rogers said. "Closing the loopholes in current law will help prevent further abuse and create a tougher system of checks and balances than what we have today."
Rogers' reforms, introduced last spring, make common sense changes to Indian gaming law, including:
* Prohibiting tribes from "reservation shopping" or acquiring new land that is not contiguous to their existing reservation for the purposes of building a new casino.
* Doubling funding for the National Indian Gaming Commission, requiring it to conduct all background investigations and expand background checks to the top 10 financial interests in any new Indian casino.
* Requiring the approval of both the Governor and the Legislature for new Indian casino compacts.
* Directing the Department of Interior to conduct economic impact studies to determine if new casinos would have a negative impact within a 50-square-mile radius.
* Requiring new tribes seeking land into trust or recognition to declare intent to build casinos on the land.
Introducing legislation requiring a two-year moratorium on new Indian casinos will be Rogers' first order of business when Congress reconvenes later this month. He also plans to send a letter next week to the Chairman of the House Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over Indian regulatory matters, seeking action on his proposals.
"With 223 Indian tribes operating 411 casinos in 28 states and bringing in more than $18 billion in revenue annually, there is just too much money involved and no way to fully account for it," Rogers said. "Closing loopholes is crucial if we are going to end the exploitation."
http://www.mikerogers.house.gov/newsroom.aspx?A=210