William Bryan: “what is at issue here is whether States, through their elected Governors and State legislatures, will determine what the…”

“what is at issue here is whether States, through their elected Governors and State legislatures, will determine what the scope of gaming is in a particular State, or whether that decision should be made by the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior has proceeded with regulations that are subject to public comment and are currently being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget that, in effect, would constitute a preemptive strike. That is, the Secretary of the Interior would determine the scope of Indian gaming. We believe that is inappropriate. This amendment seeks to reaffirm a policy which the Congress agreed to last year; and that is that the Congress should retain the authority to make any changes in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs has indicated that he intends to move forward with the piece of legislation. I assured him that we will work cooperatively with him about what the Secretary of the Interior has done. Notwithstanding the actions taken by the Congress last year, which would prevent the implementation of a regulation which would give to him the ability to establish the scope of gambling activity in a State contrary to what I believe is the clear intent of the Congress, this amendment simply says he may not go forward at this point with the processing of those regulations.”