Reid considers bid for Indian committee seat

Friday, May 28, 2004 | 10:45 a.m.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid says that if Democrats win control of the Senate this November, he may try to become chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to head off Indian gaming measures that could hurt casino companies.

Indian gaming leaders were critical of the idea.

Reid, who is a member of the committee but would have a greater influence in setting policy as its chairman, made the comment Thursday during a question-and-answer session following a brief presentation at the two-day Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants conference.

Asked whether there would be changes ahead in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act -- a 1988 law that provides for tribal casino compacts with states as well as federal oversight of tribal casinos -- Reid affirmed there would be changes.

"We've already stopped some of the things that some people wanted to do," Reid said. "What we need is to level the playing field. Our state's gaming companies have to pay significant taxes that Indian gaming doesn't have to pay."

Reid said he has become alarmed at the number of what he considers abuses that have occurred since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act -- a measure he supported.

"The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act governs just about everything the Indians can do," Reid said. "But the courts have stood that on its head."

Reid said he has been concerned about the practice of tribes attempting to set up off-reservation casinos. He cited an Alaska tribe that recently attempted to develop a casino in Michigan.

Reid and his Nevada counterpart, Sen. John Ensign, say most of the time they spend on gaming issues in Washington is in a defensive mode, protecting the state's interests from opponents with proposals that could hurt Nevada's No. 1 industry.

Reid, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate as minority whip, said he is considering several committee options following the November election. One idea is making a bid to become chairman of the Senate committee that oversees Indian tribes. The chairmanship presently is held by Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the only Indian serving in Congress. He isn't seeking re-election.

Reid said the outcome of several elections in the fall would determine whether he would seek that committee seat.

"It's something we're looking at," Reid said after his 30-minute presentation to the CPA group. "A lot of it depends on what happens in the election."

A Reid aide said today that the senator's desire to head the committee would not be in conflict with Nevada companies that have management contracts with Indian tribes to run their casinos.

Station Casinos Inc. and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. are among the Las Vegas companies that have management contracts with Indian tribes.

The aide said Reid's desire to establish an impartial playing field could help Nevada companies that manage Indian casinos because some tribes try to win advantages over regional rivals. She cited some tribes' efforts to develop off-reservation casinos as an example.

But a leading Indian gaming advocate was critical of Reid's strategy.

"(The Committee on) Indian Affairs has a broad range or responsibilities," said Mark Van Norman, executive director of the Washington-based National Indian Gaming Association. "The United States has treaty obligations and an ongoing responsibility for health care and education (in exchange) for the millions of acres of land that were ceded to the government."

Van Norman said whoever chairs the committee should have a broad background in issues beyond gaming. He said there are several other lawmakers he believes would have an easier road to the Indian Affairs chairmanship.

"First, the Democrats would have to take back the Senate," Van Norman said. "It's clear that there are going to be some changes on the Republican side. (Arizona Sen. John) McCain or (Wyoming Sen. Craig) Thomas may have some type of leadership role next year. On the Democratic side, it's true that (Hawaii Sen. Daniel) Inouye could be moving (from Indian Affairs) to the Commerce Committee in the next Congress. But I wasn't even aware of Sen. Reid's interest.

"For Indian Affairs, we would hope there would be someone from Indian country who has a clear understanding of tribal government's relationship with the federal government."

A Reid spokeswoman also said today that unless the Democrats take control of the Senate from the Republicans, the senator would have no chance of chairing Indian Affairs or any committee.

As for Reid's charges that the playing field between commercial gaming and Indian gaming is unbalanced, Van Norman said it's all a matter of interpretation, and the courts have issued "clear rulings."

He said Reid's complaint that Indian tribes build casinos far from their reservations shouldn't be troublesome -- it's only happened three times since 1988.

"It's a very complex process for taking lands into trust to use for casino purposes," Van Norman said. "First, your have to make a request of the secretary of the Interior, who consults with local governments to make a determination that it is in the best interests of the people in the area. Then, the governor of the state has to concur with the secretary. To date, only three tribes have successfully negotiated that process."

Van Norman said off-reservation casinos provide new jobs and economic activity and generally receive a broad level of support before approval. He said Indian tribes have set up off-reservation casinos in Spokane, Wash.; Marquette, Mich.; and Milwaukee.

Reid's latest tussle over Indian regulatory matters came last month when he blocked a contentious bill sponsored by Campbell from reaching a vote. The bill proposed a number of changes to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

While Reid said he was merely following vote-taking procedure, he opposed the bill because he said it would have shut out state governments from a process affecting their ability to regulate gambling in their states -- a concern that also drove California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the Conference of Western Attorneys General to oppose the bill.

More important, opponents say, the bill would have opened the door to a proliferation of bingo devices that look like slot machines. Such machines are in legal limbo though manufacturers already are selling the machines to tribal casinos nationwide against the wishes of state governments. Tribal supporters and gaming analysts say a court decision allowing tribes to offer such machines -- in spite of a lack of legislative action -- has made manufacturers more comfortable about distributing such machines.

"Any revisions in the law must be the product of careful thought and all parties with an interest in the legislation, including states and our casino industry, must be at the negotiating table," Reid said at the time. "Unfortunately, the bill ... didn't meet this test."

Reid's staff has suggested that Campbell will reintroduce the bill, though it may surface in a somewhat different form. Campbell's staff could not be reached for comment on the bill's status.

Reid also answered questions on Internet gambling and the recent reports on terrorist activity.

The senator said he doesn't expect any movement on legalizing Internet gambling, since the industry "is very difficult to control."

Responding to a question about whether the Homeland Security Department is doing enough to help Las Vegas, identified as a possible terrorist target in most recent disclosures about threats, Reid said he is satisfied that the government is doing all it can.

"Terrorism is going to be around for a long time," Reid said. "I think the best advice I've heard came from Sen. McCain's book. He said, 'Live your lives.' "

He said in Israel, 90 percent of the terrorist threats that occur are discovered and reported by the public to authorities before they can be carried out. That type of vigilance, he said, may become necessary in the United States as well.

The conference, attended by about 200 people, was kicked off with an economic forecast by Bank of America economist Peter Kretzmer.

Kretzmer said the vigor that has been shown in the gaming industry can be attributed to the healthy state of the economy and that fact that even more people have accepted gaming as a form of entertainment than they had a decade ago.

He said tourism picked up steam later than some industries because the low interest rates encouraged consumers to spend money on homes, cars and home improvement projects. Now that interest rates are on the verge of going up, consumers that have more money in their pockets are spending more on recreation services, he said.

He said the amount of money consumers spend in casinos has increased dramatically since 1990. Kretzmer said most Americans spent 0.5 percent of their income in casinos in 1990. Now, that percentage has increased to about 1.4 percent.

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