Political Quotes

“I look forward to having an opportunity to work with my colleagues from Oregon and California in the near future in order to address the expansion of casino gambling to off-reservation sites. I thank the gentleman for allowing me to address this issue of concern to my district. In my Pennsylvania district, the Delaware tribes of Oklahoma have filed suit in order to acquire the right to establish a casino. Their claim is based on a conveyance that allegedly occurred in 1737 before our Nation's independence. The land that they claim is home to at least 25 local families, and also contains the Binney and Smith manufacturing plant, the maker of Crayola crayons. These tribes, who are based out of State, are only interested in seeing working and senior Pennsylvanians gamble away their hard-earned dollars. They are not concerned about the valuable manufacturing jobs jeopardized as a result of the displacement caused by this casino, or the fact that Binney and Smith/Crayola makes a useful product loved by children all over the world. I am concerned about this kind of reservation shopping, and I look forward to working with my colleagues from California and Oregon and Michigan and elsewhere in order to limit these tribes' ability to build new casinos on properties not contiguous to existing reservations or on those lands where ownership is based solely on a conveyance that predates the existence of our Nation.”