[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 28, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S996-S997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 338. A bill to amend the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act to modify 
the date as of which certain tribal land of the Lytton Rancheria of 
California is deemed to be held in trust and to provide for the conduct 
of certain activities on the land; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce the Lytton 
Gaming Oversight Act, a bill that will ensure federal law is followed 
when a Native American tribe seeks to operate any new gaming 
facilities.
  This legislation is simple, straightforward, and fair. It would amend 
language inserted in the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act of 2000 that 
required the Secretary of the Interior to take a card club and adjacent 
parking lot in the San Francisco Bay Area into trust for the Lytton 
tribe as their reservation. That legislation also required that the 
acquisition be backdated to October 17, 1988, before the passage of the 
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, IGRA.
  The ``two-part'' determination process in the Indian Gaming 
Regulatory Act is a critical component to tribal land acquisition for 
gaming purposes and should not be circumvented. Specifically, it 
requires the Governor's consent and the Secretary of the Interior to 
consult with nearby tribes and the local community and its 
representatives.
  The legislation that I am introducing would require the Lytton Band 
of Pomo Indians to follow these same critical oversight guidelines laid 
out in Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act before engaging 
in Class III, or Nevada-style, gaming on land acquired after the 
passage of IGRA in 1988.
  The bill allows the tribe to continue operating a Class II facility 
at the current site provided the tribe follows IGRA regulations for 
gaming on newly-acquired lands in the future. The bill also precludes 
any expansion of the tribe's current Class II facility.
  The bill would not modify or eliminate the tribe's federal 
recognition status, alter the trust status of the new reservation, or 
take away the tribe's ability to conduct gaming through the standard 
process prescribed by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The bill serves 
only to restore the jurisdiction of IGRA over the gaming process, as 
originally intended by Congress.
  Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act provides an 
established and clear process for gaming on newly-

[[Page S997]]

acquired lands taken into trust after the enactment of IGRA in 1988. 
The ``two-part determination'' process allows for federal and state 
approval, and for input from nearby tribes and local communities.
  Circumventing this process can have negative and severe impacts on 
local citizens and deprive local and tribal governments of their 
ability to represent their communities on an incredibly important and 
contentious issue.
  If this bill is not approved, the Lytton tribe could take the former 
card club that serves as their reservation and turn it into a large 
gaming complex operating outside the regulations set up by the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act. In fact, this is exactly what was proposed in 
the summer of 2004.
  I am pleased that the tribe has abandoned a plan seeking a sizable 
Class III casino, but without this legislation the tribe could reverse 
these plans at any time. Allowing this to happen would set a dangerous 
precedent in California and any state where tribal gaming is permitted.
  Instead, Congress should reaffirm its intent that all new gaming 
facilities should be subject to IGRA without preference or prejudice.
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