Andrea Joy Campbell: “Thank you, Mr. President. I don't think anyone has more disagreement with Secretary Babbitt than I do as chairman of the…”

“Thank you, Mr. President. I don't think anyone has more disagreement with Secretary Babbitt than I do as chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee. Certainly Indian trust funds have been an issue on which we have been at odds for literally months with the Secretary. In addition to that, as a member of the Energy Committee, I have had my disagreements with him on grazing, water, and many other things, too. But there are at least four reasons to oppose this amendment. I hope my friend, the Senator from Florida, will consider withdrawing it. First, after the Supreme Court decided in Seminole v. Florida that Indian tribes cannot sue States for unwillingness to negotiate Indian gaming agreements, it created a terrific problem, as many Members know. We have spent a considerable amount of time in our committee, with me as the chairman of that Committee on Indian Affairs, looking for ways that States and tribes can come to some consensus. We have a pending bill, S. 985. We have worked on it very hard. We want the legislative process to proceed. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires tribes to have compacts before they can operate class III gaming. Right now, unfortunately, the States hold all the cards since the court decided the States do not have to negotiate in good faith. The Secretary of the Interior is now in Federal court over his ability to issue the kind of procedures that this amendment seeks to stop.”