Shelley Berkley: “How do we know this land claim is bogus? In his testimony before Congress in 2002, the chairman of the Sault Saint Marie…”

“How do we know this land claim is bogus? In his testimony before Congress in 2002, the chairman of the Sault Saint Marie Tribe called this land deal ``shady,'' ``suspicious'' and ``a scam,'' until his tribe partnered up with the shady, suspicious land deal, and all of a sudden switched his position. But more than 60 tribes across this country have announced their opposition to H.R. 2176, in which Congress for the first time would allow a tribe to expand its reservation into the ancestral lands of another tribe for the express purpose of gaming. This bill is opposed by the Department of the Interior, the NAACP, UNITE HERE, and a unanimous House Judiciary Committee. To sum up the issue: Congress is being asked to pass special interest legislation benefiting two tribes, each of which already has gaming, based on a suspect land claim that has already been thrown out of court, so they can open casinos hundreds of miles from their ancestral lands, in direct competition with existing facilities. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be here today with Chairman Conyers and Congresswoman Kilpatrick to share my opposition to H.R. 2176. I believe this bill will result in an unprecedented expansion of off-reservation Indian gaming by offering a blueprint to any Indian tribe that wants to circumvent the laws regulating Indian gaming in order to build a casino outside the boundaries of its sovereign territory. As Las Vegas's representative in Congress, I do not oppose gaming.…”