TRR photo by David Hulse Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) (Click for larger image)

Schumer still optimistic about casinos

By DAVID HULSE

MONTICELLO, NY — New York Senator Charles Schumer says one of the biggest roadblocks in bringing Indian gaming to Sullivan County is the lack of permanent leadership at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Extending his reputation as the highest-profile U.S. Senator Sullivan County has ever had, Schumer made another town hall visit to the Thompson Town Hall in a July 25 Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce sponsored forum.

Schumer recalled his earlier incorrect predictions for casino startups and the publicity they had gotten. He said he keeps getting promises, but the incumbent at BIA is an acting director “without authority.”

Schumer said he has written to the Secretary of Interior and the White House about the need to make a permanent appointment for the BIA.

Still he’s optimistic. “It’s gonna happen. The question is when. To think overnight is unrealistic. People are going to sue,” he said.

“It’s wise,” he concluded, “to begin planning to make sure it begins in a good way.”

On other issues, Schumer was critical of the White House handling of “no child left behind” policy, which he said provided penalties for bad performing school districts, but no promised new funding to improve programs.

He disagreed with a comment critical of lost privacy from the PATRIOT Act saying the times had called for the changes it mandated and he defended President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq.