Dianne Feinstein: “Senator Boxer sponsored legislation identical to Congresswoman Woolsey's in the Senate, but the gaming restriction was…”

“Senator Boxer sponsored legislation identical to Congresswoman Woolsey's in the Senate, but the gaming restriction was stricken when the bill was ultimately passed as part of the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act of 2000. The day the legislation passed on December 11, 2000, Senator Boxer stated on the Senate Floor that dropping the gaming restriction was necessary because of opposition to the no-gaming clause by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Clinton Administration and because, according to Senator Boxer, ``Senator Inouye asserts that the no-gaming clause is unnecessary because the Graton Rancheria have no intention of conducting gaming.'' So what has changed one might ask? Well, even though the Gratons voluntarily and repeatedly took a no-gaming pledge while their restoration bill was under consideration by Congress, on April 23, 2003, the Tribe and its partner, Stations Casinos of Las Vegas, announced plans to purchase approximately 2,000 acres of land in Southern Sonoma County near Sears Point for the development of a casino. This site is located on environmentally sensitive open space and San Francisco--North Bay tidelands which have been the subject of a decades-long conservation effort by environmentalists and local residents. This site is roughly 30 miles from San Francisco--along the gateway to Sonoma that leads thousands of travelers into the beautiful wine country each day.”