Ed. Note: Barb Lindsay is the executive director of One Nation United, a group that opposes tribal sovereignty and federal Indian policy. She claims to be Cherokee and a member of a non-recognized Cherokee group.
"The Senate Rules Committee's failure last week to include language eliminating the FEC's loophole on Indian gaming contributions is an outrage.
Hasn't the Senate learned anything from the lobbying abuses that Jack Abramoff inflicted on the system?
It's very unfair for Congress and the FEC to continue to allow Indian tribes to use tax-exempt gambling casino profits and tribal government monies (which include taxpayer grant funding) to fuel federal election campaigns.
It's also unfair to allow tribes to continue to sidestep FEC constraints on "aggregate" contribution limits all others must follow.
Right now, there are two sets of FEC rules - those for Indian tribes (and their corporate businesses and tribal governments that write big campaign checks) and those for everyone else. Congress must level this totally uneven playing field - otherwise, the Abramoff campaign finance abuses will continue to grow worse in coming years."
Get the Story:Barb Lindsay: Congress Must Close Loophole that Allows Native American Gaming Contributions to Flow in Freely to Politicians (The Hawaii Reporter 3/6) FEC Advisory:
Indian Tribes (February 2, 2006) Federal Elections Commission Opinions:
Advisory Opinion 1999-32 (January 28, 2000) | Advisory Opinion 2000-05 (May 15, 2000) | Advisory Opinion 2005-01 (March 14, 2005) More Advisory Opinion 2005-01 Documents:
Advisory Opinion Draft A and Draft B | Tribe's Request for Advisory Opinion Relevant Links:
Federal Election Commission - http://www.fec.gov
PoliticalMoneyLine - http://www.politicalmoneyline.com
Center for Responsive Politics - http://www.opensecrets.org Related Stories:
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