Newspaper: States to get temporary veto power on new Indian gambling

The Arizona Republic said Saturday the spending package gives Las Vegas gambling interests and the Christian Coalition part of what they sought but that tribes also won a partial victory.

The Republic said the spending bill that Congress has yet to approve also postpones a controversial border entry program and provides additional money to fight drugs.

Officials at the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs told the Republic on Friday they had yet to see the final language on the Indian casino issue.

Las Vegas interests and the Christian Coalition wanted states to be given veto power for a year over new Indian casinos.

The Clinton administration argued that Indians need a remedy when states refuse to discuss Indian gaming. The tribes supported a plan by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt for his department to step in and negotiate gaming agreements directly with tribes when states decline to cooperate.

In the compromise, lawmakers agreed to postpone consideration of Babbitt's plan for six months. In effect, that allows the states half a year to exercise the new power to block casino plans rather than the year sought, the Republic said.

The newspaper said the bill also delays an entry-exit documentation program on the U.S. southern and northern borders for 2 1/2 years.

Earlier, negotiations were moving toward delaying it indefinitely along the Canadian border for only a year along the Mexican border.

The program will require border crossers to fill out forms to enter or leave the United States, allowing U.S. authorities to track them. Opponents say it would cause severe congestion and delay at the borders.

Also being delayed is a new fraud-proof visa that's to replace standard border-crossing cards, the Republic said. That's being held off for two years, but Arizona's congressional delegation didn't succeed in getting the $45 fee lowered and children exempted.

Drug-fighting funds include $90 million for the Southwest border, mostly to buy X-ray machines for detecting drugs hidden in vehicles, the Republic said.

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