Daniel Inouye: “as Chairman Campbell of the Committee on Indian Affairs has observed, I believe it is very important that our colleagues…”

“as Chairman Campbell of the Committee on Indian Affairs has observed, I believe it is very important that our colleagues have a clear understanding of the context in which this amendment is being offered. I say this because one might infer that the Secretary of the Interior is pursuing a course of action that is either unwarranted or one which the Congress would never sanction, and I believe it is critically important that we understand that drawing such inferences would be wrong. As Senator Campbell has indicated, in 1988 the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was enacted into law. It followed a ruling by the Supreme Court in 1987 in which the Court once again reaffirmed one of the fundamental principles of Federal Indian law; namely, that the civil regulatory laws of the State do not apply in Indian country. In so ruling, the Court concluded that the State of California could not regulate gaming on Indian lands. As often happens, the Congress responded with the enactment of a law that gave to the States that which they did not have after the Court's decision--an ability to enter into a compact with a tribal government under which State laws might apply if the parties so agreed. That law has proven to work well. In fact, twenty-three of the twenty-eight States in which Indian reservations are located, have elected to enter into compacts with the tribal governments in their respective States. Thus, it is clear that the law is working.”