The Seneca Nation of New York blasted the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act as an attack on tribal sovereignty after the bill cleared the Senate last week.

The tribe says the bill will destroy tribal economies by prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from delivering cigarettes and certain tobacco products, effectively killing the tribal tobacco industry. The bill effectively kills the tribal tobacco industry.

"The ultimate effect of this legislation will turn the clock back on the Indians, return us to the want, squalor and dependency of the past,” J.C. Seneca, a tribal councilor and co-chairman of the Seneca Nation’s Foreign Relations Committee, told The Olean Times Herald.

Seneca said the tribe will press President Barack Obama to veto the bill, citing the lack of tribal consultation.

Get the Story:
Senate Backs Ban on Mail-Order Cigarettes in Setback for Tribe (The New York Times 3/13)
Senecas upset over PACT Act passage by Senate (The Niagara Observer 3/13)
Cigarette sales measure now in Obama's hands (The Olean Times Herald 3/13)
Senate vote endangers Seneca mail-order cigarette business (The Buffalo News 3/12)

Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act.
H.R.1676 | S.1147

Related Stories:
Lance Morgan: PACT Act a hidden power grab for states (3/12)
Seneca Nation lobbies against cigarette trafficking bill (3/8)
New York governor proposes tobacco tax regulations (02/24)
Seneca Nation targets Sen. Gillibrand for tobacco bill (01/25)
Seneca Nation prepares for battle over cigarette taxes (1/20)
New York governor puts Indian tobacco tax in new budget (1/19)
Seneca Nation aims to defeat cigarette trafficking bill (01/12)