Legislation | Opinion

Edward Manuel: Tohono O'odham Nation creates opportunity

Friday, November 13, 2015

Ed Manuel. Photo from campaign site

Edward Manuel, the chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona calls on Congress to reject the H.R.308, the Keep the Promise Act, and allow his tribe to use its trust lands for a casino:

The tribes behind H.R. 308 have already spent millions of dollars in a failed bid to protect their Phoenix area monopoly through frivolous lawsuits aimed at halting the Nation’s project. Not surprisingly, a federal court thoroughly rejected these claims, calling them “entirely unreasonable.” Undeterred by these federal court losses, the leader of one of the wealthy tribes trotted out these same discredited claims just last week in an editorial.
Having lost in court, the Salt River Indian Community and the Gila River Indian Community have spent $17 million lobbying Congress to pass H.R. 308, the dishonorably-titled “Keep the Promise Act.” With this legislation, the proponents of H.R. 308 ask Congress to unilaterally amend a tribal-state gaming compact which was negotiated in good faith and at arms-length between the state and the Tohono O'odham Nation.
If passed, H.R. 308 will not only renege on the United States' promises to the Tohono O'odham Nation, it will hand pink slips to the 1,800 men and women working on site and, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, will cost the American taxpayers as much as $1 billion in liability. 1,800 jobs lost and $1 billion taxpayer liability is a very high price to pay for the creation of a no-competition zone to protect two wealthy tribes.

Get the Story:
Edward Manuel: Great nations should keep their word (The Hill 11/13)