Rep. Baldwin asks Salazar to reconsider casino

Friday, January 30, 2009  

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) is asking Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reconsider an off-reservation casino that was rejected in the final days of the Bush administration.

Baldwin says the casino sought by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians and the St. Croix Chippewa Indians was rejected for unlawful reasons. She blamed former Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's personal views against off-reservation gaming for the defeat.

"While the law and regulations set forth a legal process with clear standards, and while dedicated BIA staff applied those standards in their reviews and recommendations, objective assessments appear to have been disregarded by senior officials who personally opposed all off-reservation gaming applications," Baldwin said in a letter to Salazar.

The tribes filed their land-into-trust application in 2001, just a few months after the start of the Bush administration.

Get the Story:
Baldwin to BIA: Let's try again (The Beloit Daily News 1/28)