Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. LANGEVIN. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by my friend and colleague from Massachusetts.

This amendment would effectively prevent the Department of Interior from moving forward with a decision to revoke tribal lands from being held in trust. Although I appreciate my colleague's advocacy on behalf of the tribe in his state, the tribal land trust process is based on complex legal precedent and has no business being included in a bill to fund the federal government. We are familiar with the complexities of tribal law in Rhode Island as the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar had implications for our state. But any legislative remedy for Carcieri shouldn't lie in an ad hoc approach that favors one particular tribe.

What's more, this amendment could cause serious economic harm to Rhode Island. It effectively preserves the opportunity for the construction of a new casino in Taunton, Massachusetts, by putting pending administrative decisions on hold for the next year. My colleagues in the Massachusetts delegation are hoping for a last minute judicial or administrative reversal that would allow the stalled casino project to begin. The project would be in direct competition with established casinos just over the state line. Twin River and Tiverton casinos have been important economic drivers in my state, generating hundreds of millions of dollars each year. We are already feeling the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in Rhode Island, as I know our neighbors are in Massachusetts. If this amendment becomes law, it could compound the economic pain for our businesses, their workers, and our state.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

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