The Obama administration is looking at other options to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The administration supports bills in Congress to ensure that "all" tribes, regardless of the date of federal recognition, can follow the land-into-trust process. But an administrative remedy -- such as a new regulation or a solicitor's opinion for specific tribes -- could be developed if the legislative route fails.

“Is there a Plan B?” Bureau of Indian Affairs official George Skibine said at the Global Gaming Expo this week. “I think one of the issues we could look at is a regulatory fix – have a regulation that would be issued by the secretary and essentially says what it means to be under the federal government in 1934.”

Get the Story:
Alternatives in the works if Carcieri fix legislation fails (Indian Country Today 11/20)

Land-Into-Trust Fix:
S.1703 | H.R.3697 | H.R.3742

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Thomas] | Concurrence [Breyer] | Dissent [Stevens] | Concurrence/Dissent [Souter]

Supreme Court Documents:
Oral Argument Transcript | Briefs