[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 90 (Friday, June 25, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO STOP FORUM SHOPPING BY NATIVE AMERICAN 
                                 TRIBES

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                         HON. CHRISTOPHER JOHN

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 25, 2004

  Mr. JOHN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce The Stop Forum 
Shopping Act of 2004. The trend of forum shopping by Native American 
Tribes for the ideal venue to locate a casino has become quite 
troubling. Tribes with no connection to lands, sometimes hundreds of 
miles from their home area, are seeking to place these lands into trust 
solely for gaming purposes. Today, I urge my colleagues to join me in 
curbing this trend by amending the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) 
to define ambiguous language and clearly reflect the intent of the law.
  Recent events in my home state of Louisiana best illustrate the need 
for these definitions. A Tribe that has been federally recognized since 
1995 has only recently sought to obtain their ``initial reservation'' 
on lands over one hundred miles from their historical lands. They have 
also secured distant land for a casino that would have a negative 
economic impact on the five non-tribal, tax-paying casinos that operate 
less than 50 miles away. While the IGRA permits tribes to take such 
distant land into trust for gaming under very limited circumstances, 
the law did not intend for tribes to use such exceptions to shop for 
real estate.
  The Stop Forum Shopping Act of 2004 will prevent tribes from cherry 
picking land for a casino by clarifying the meaning of initial 
reservation and consultation. Essentially, this Act will heighten the 
level of scrutiny given to such action and increase the required notice 
to impacted parties. This Act will stay true to the intent of the IGRA 
by limiting an initial reservation to a tribe's service area, where 
more than 50 percent of the tribal members reside, or where the tribe 
has historically resided. Furthermore, this act will increase the 
requirements of the consultation process so that all impacted parties 
are provided adequate notice of any gaming proposals within 50 miles of 
their area and an opportunity to participate in the process.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in recognizing that venue shopping 
by Native American Tribes is an increasing problem that must be 
addressed. Not only is it against the intent of the IGRA, it is unfair 
to the many tribes that abide by the rules and work hard in remote 
locations to provide economic benefits to their members. Allowing any 
tribe to circumvent the intent of the IGRA and randomly select the most 
economically advantageous lands should not be an option.

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