Indian Gaming

The Route 66 Casino at Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico. Photo from Facebook

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding an oversight hearing on Indian gaming tomorrow.

The committee hasn't paid much attention to the $28 billion tribal casino industry during the 113th Congress. Sen. Jon Tester, the chairman, (D-Montana) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), his predecessor, instead have focused on education, housing, economic development and trust relationship issues.

But with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act having passed a milestone -- the law turned 25 last year -- the committee will be hearing from federal officials and tribal leaders about the state of the industry and what lies ahead in the next quarter-century.

There's also a very specific political and legal controversy on the agenda -- the proposed Tohono O'odham Nation off-reservation casino. Five witnesses, including two lawmakers, two tribal leaders and a local official, will be discussing the West Valley Resort, which remains mired in litigation and could be stopped by H.R.1410, the Keep the Promise Act.

And Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) is making a return visit to the committee At a hearing in November, she called for a limit on the number of tribal casinos in her state and has proposed S.477, the Tribal Gaming Eligibility Act, as a way to restrict new development.

The hearing takes place at 3:30pm in Room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The witness list follows:

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Senator-United States Senate

The Honorable Paul A. Gosar
Representative-United States House of Representatives

The Honorable Raul M. Grijalva
Representative-United States House of Representatives

Panel 1
The Honorable Kevin Washburn
Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs-United States Department of the Interior

Mr. Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri
Vice Chairman-National Indian Gaming Commission

Ms. Anne-Marie Fennell
Director-Natural Resources and Environment-United States Government Accountability Office

Panel 2
The Honorable A.T. Stafne
Chairman-Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation

The Honorable Michell Hicks
Principal Chief-Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Mr. Ernest L. Stevens, Jr.
Chairman-National Indian Gaming Association

Panel 3
The Honorable Diane Enos
President-Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation

The Honorable Ned Norris, Jr.
Chairman-Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona

The Honorable Jerry Weiers
Mayor-City of Glendale

Committee Notice:
Oversight Hearing on "Indian Gaming: The Next 25 Years" (July 23, 2014)