A measure moving through the United States Congress would grant the Lumbee Indian Tribe of North Carolina full federal recognition, but, in its current form, the measure would also pave the way for the Tribe to establish one or more massive gambling casinos in Eastern North Carolina. Because of this, NC Family has submitted a formal request to members of North Carolina’s congressional delegation asking them to expressly prohibit the Lumbee Tribe from pursuing or conducting gambling operations should full Federal recognition be granted by Congress.
Please join NC Family in urging our U.S. Senators to amend the Lumbee Recognition Act to expressly prohibit the Tribe from gambling should full federal recognition be granted.
Senator Thom Tillis (202) 224-6342
Senator Ted Budd (202) 224-3154
“NC Family does not oppose full federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina,” said NC Family President John L. Rustin. “We do, however, oppose the fact that full federal recognition would grant the Tribe an inherent right to establish gambling operations on tribal lands in our state. This means that full federal recognition—without an express prohibition on gambling—would enable the Lumbee Tribe to build and operate one or more massive gambling casino developments along the I-95 corridor in Eastern North Carolina.”
While passage of the Lumbee Recognition Act would make the Tribe eligible to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid for education, housing, health care, disaster relief, and other benefits, it would also enable the Tribe to pursue gambling operations, unless an amendment is added to the bill to expressly prohibit gambling.
“This request is not without extensive precedent,” Rustin stated. “In prior versions of the Lumbee Recognition Act, the Lumbee Tribe has agreed to an express prohibition on gambling in order to advance legislation granting full federal recognition. We urge President Trump, North Carolina’s congressional delegation, and the Lumbee Tribe to agree to a prohibition on gambling should a proposal to grant full federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe move forward. Such a measure will help protect the citizens of North Carolina, especially in the eastern portion of our state, from the incredibly harmful effects of expanded gambling and gambling addiction.”
Status of the Lumbee Act in Congress
There are at least three separate bills in the U.S. Congress that would grant full federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina: H.R. 474 sponsored by Rep. David Rouzer; S. 107 sponsored by Sen. Thom Tillis; and H.R. 3838, which is the House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act.
While neither H.R. 474 nor S. 107 have moved forward in their respective chambers, the U.S. House added the Lumbee Recognition Act language to H.R. 3838 before passing the bill to the U.S. Senate in mid-September. The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs also held a hearing on S. 107 on November 5, and it appears that Sen. Tillis proposed an pending amendment to S. 2296, the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act, that would add the Lumbee Recognition Act language to that bill, but that amendment was not adopted prior to passage.
Please contact Sen. Thom Tillis and Sen. Ted Budd and urge them to amend the Lumbee Recognition Act to stop a massive gambling expansion in North Carolina!
Senator Thom Tillis (202) 224-6342
Senator Ted Budd (202) 224-3154
The Harms of Gambling and Gambling Addiction
For more than three decades, NC Family has researched the issue of gambling and its impact on the citizens of our state and nation. The addiction that results from the presence of gambling damages individual lives, destroys families, and plagues communities. Research consistently shows a very high correlation between gambling addiction and increases in crime, personal debt, bankruptcy, embezzlement, other forms of theft, domestic violence, child abuse, divorce, and even suicide.
Casinos exacerbate these problems because they intentionally prey upon those who suffer from gambling addiction. Moreover, while casinos offer promises of great economic benefit, these modern-day gambling developments cannibalize the local economy; take business away from existing restaurants, hotels, retailers, and tourism interests; and siphon money out of the pockets of citizens that would otherwise be saved or invested.