Facebook Twitter Email
JUNE 20, 2001

The following is a transcript of remarks made by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) at a press conference in Washington, DC, on June 19.

Thank you all for attending today. I would particularly like to thank Congressman Shays who has worked with me on this issue and has been instrumental in bringing attention to the issues surrounding tribal gambling.

I also would to thank Congressman Riley for being here today, and Congressmen Tiahrt and Ehlers for signing on as original co-sponsors.

Finally, I would like to thank the many citizen activists that have flown in from all over in support of our legislation.

Today we are introducing the Tribal and Local Communities Relationship Improvement Act. This legislation addresses the issue of tribal gambling and the federal government's general policy toward this nation's first citizens -- Native Americans.

This bill will allow state governments to exercise more control on future expansion of tribal gambling. It also will require that minimum standards be developed for regulating tribal gambling operations.

In addition, the bill will establish a commission to examine U.S. policy toward Native Americans and make recommendations to improve the welfare of tribes in the areas of health, education, economic development, housing and transportation infrastructure.

The vast majority of Native Americans have not been well served by the gambling industry. If we continue to rely on gambling for the future welfare of Native Americans, then most will continue to live in serious poverty. Our bill will provide a top to bottom review of federal policy on Native Americans with the goal to provide assistance that does not rely on gambling revenue generated by the tribes. We owe it to this country’s Native American population, most of whom live in areas where casinos are not economically viable, to find ways to improve their standard of living.

Last fall, Congressman Shays and I, along with several other members, called for a thorough GAO investigation into the federal tribal recognition process. We did so because we were concerned that the integrity of the process was being threatened.

In December, following a series of articles published in the Boston Globe that illustrated the unforseen inequities of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) which has resulted in a tainted recognition process, massive revenue windfalls for the gambling industry and a few well connected individuals, and worst of all, continuing poverty for most Native Americans, we asked that the study be expanded to investigate any criminal wrongdoing surrounding the process.

The GAO study should be completed by August. We hope it will provide a framework for legislatively or administratively addressing the problems of the recognition process. Also, I am aware that several Senators may be interested in examining all of the issues surrounding recognitions and gambling.

Today, though, we are introducing legislation to address a major portion of the recognition problem -- tribal gambling. The driving force behind the pressure for certain recognitions derives from the potential to open a casino or other gambling facility.

The gambling industry has poured millions of dollars into efforts to get a few tribes recognized that are located in potentially lucrative markets. Potential gambling revenues have caused numerous outsiders with no affiliation with the tribes to have a financially lucrative interest in the result.

In essence, tribes have become pawns for the powerful gaming interests. In the high stakes race to close in on lucrative gambling markets, certain tribes already operating casinos will make efforts to de-legitimize other tribes. What was once the territory of academic researchers has become a billion dollar battleground.

According to the Globe’s report, "throughout the early 1990s, casino backers arrived dangling checks, offering to hire dream teams of genealogists and anthropologists to speed the recognition process."

Researchers at the Bureau of Indian Affairs office report actually being threatened by outside interests. Legitimate tribes not lucky enough to be located in lucrative gambling markets are relegated to second-tier status as they are not privy to these financial resources.

Our legislation takes the gambling industry out of the equation by requiring that a state -- both the governor and legislature -- approve of any new gambling facility. States and localities should have a say on whether to open large scale casinos.

Only through the state legislatures are the interests of specific localities accounted for. One only needs to look at the many cases proceeding through the federal court system between tribes and localities to appreciate the unintended consequences of the current law. This legislation will remove the incentive that exists for the gambling industry to use the tribes as a conduit to expand their business and give states a full opportunity to decide if they want casino gambling.

Our legislation also sets up a framework for the development of minimum federal standards for tribal casinos. The bill calls for the creation of an "Advisory Committee on Minimum Regulatory Requirements and Licensing Standards for Indian Gambling."

This eight-member advisory committee, made up of members of tribal governments, state governments and the Justice Department, will be charged with formulating recommendations for "minimum federal standards" in Native America gambling facilities.

The level of regulations that currently exist in Indian gambling facilities is inadequate. For instance, in New Jersey, more than 100 regulators maintain a presence in the state’s 12 casinos. Conversely, there are only a few dozen regulators with the Federal Indian Gambling Board Commission who oversee approximately 250 Indian gambling operations across the country.

Experts agree that unregulated gambling is a potential haven for organized crime, and the series in the Globe talks specifically about how many Native Americans are the victims of fraud and theft due to criminal activity at gambling operations.

Finally, our bill would establish a Commission on Federal Native American Policy. The 13-member commission would be comprised of representatives from the National Governors’ Association, the National Association of Attorneys General and the offices of the Attorney General, Treasury, Interior, Commerce and the National Indian Gaming Commission. In addition, there will be representatives from local or municipal government, the small business community, non-gambling Indian tribes and tribes operating gambling facilities.

The commission will study living standards, including health care, education and housing, in Native American communities and the effectiveness of current federal programs designed to improve such conditions. It also will study crime control on Indian reservations, the influence of non-Native American private investors on the establishment and operation of the Indian federal recognition process and the establishment of gaming facilities. The influence of organized crime in Indian gaming and the economic, environmental and social impact of Indian gaming facilities also will be examined. Its report to Congress would be accompanied by legislative recommendations.

Finally, one closing thought. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act has failed to broadly improve the living conditions of most Native Americans. Just 2 percent of the country's Native Americans earn 50 percent of the country's $10 billion in Indian gaming revenues, and two-thirds of tribes get nothing at all. Nearly 80 percent of Indians don’t receive anything from gambling.

As gambling has become the staple of our Native American policy, our investment in federal programs intended to improve the health and welfare of tribes has declined significantly. Quite simply, gambling has been an excuse to reduce our commitment to this nation’s first citizens. Twelve years after the federal government made gambling a staple of its Indian policy, the overall portrait of America’s most impoverished racial group continues to be dominated by disease, unemployment, infant mortality, and school drop-out rates that are among the highest in the nation. The overall picture is one of untold riches for a very few smaller tribes and continued poverty for the vast majority of Native Americans spread across rural America. This policy needs to change.

Thank you.

Get the Story:
Gaming critics seek more control over tribes (6/20)