Posted on 02/03/2006 1:46:02 PM PST by WestTexasWend
As U.S. Indian tribes are urging the government to authorize the opening of tribal casinos closer to cities where gamblers reside, Arizona Senator John McCain reportedly argues that the Interior Department should produce regulations that would help authorities oversee the development of off-reservation gaming venues. Currently, tribal proposals regarding off-reservation casinos are ruled on according to certain exceptions to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act adopted 17 years ago.
According to a department official, off-reservation gaming projects have stirred conflicts in numerous communities across the U.S., but the Interior Department has yet to finalize clarifying regulations regarding Indian gaming. McCain, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said that it is unreasonable that after 17 years there are still no strict guidelines explaining how to implement laws that today apply to a multi-billion dollar industry.
McCain was also reported as saying that Congress never imagined that the tribal gaming market would grow to such an extent that many Indian casinos have evolved into Las Vegas-style casinos, producing as much as $20 billion on a annual basis. McCain told George Skibine, the Interior department official who is responsible for policy and economic development of Indian Affairs, that the government can not properly exercise congressional oversight of the Indian gaming industry until there are regulations to implement its laws.
Senator McCain needs to be working on the border problem his home state of Arizona has.
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