Sen. Akaka to push land-into-trust fix after November election

Friday, October 12, 2012  

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, will push for a fix to U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar after the November election, Cape News reports.

Akaka's committee has passed a bill to fix the decision and has included the fix in other bills. But the measures have never come up for a vote on the Senate floor.

That could change after the election. Akaka said Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada), the Senate majority leader, has "committed" to working on a fix.

"I am determined to pass a Carcieri fix this Congress. I have been working hard for the past nineteen months to make sure that my Senate colleagues understand that a Carcieri-fix is the number one priority of tribes, the Administration, and the Committee on Indian Affairs," Akaka said in a statement to Cape News.

During the 111th Congress, the House included the fix in a budget measure. It never cleared the Senate amid concerns about off-reservation gaming.

Get the Story:
‘Carcieri Fix,’ Key To Mashpee Tribe's Reservation Plans, Slated For Senate Vote (Cape News 10/11)