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Copyright 1999 FDCHeMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

Federal Document Clearing House Congressional Testimony 

February 10, 1999, Wednesday 

SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY 

LENGTH: 712 words 

HEADLINE: TESTIMONY February 10, 1999 MONTIE R. DEER CHARIMAN (NOMINEE) 

NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION SENATE INDIAN AFFAIRS NATIONAL 

INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION NOMINATION 

BODY: 

 STATEMENT OF MONTIE R. DEER Nominee for Chairman - National Indian Gaming Commission Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Washington, D.C. February 10, 1999 MR. CHAIRMAN, 

I WANT TO THANK YOU AND THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR CONDUCTING 

THIS BEARING ON MY NOMINATION AS CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL INDIAN 

GAMING COMMISSION. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE COMMITTEE AGAIN 

FOR ITS CONTINUING SUPPORT OF THE NIGC. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR 

BEFORE YOU LAST SEPTEMBER AND I CERTAINLY CONSIDER IT MY HONOR AND 

PRIVILEGE TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU AGAIN TODAY. WITH YOUR PERMISSION MR. 
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 TESTIMONY February 10, 1999 MONTIE R. DEER CHARIMAN (NOMINEE) NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING 

COMMISSION SENATE INDIAN AFFAIRS NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION NOMINATION 

Federal Document Clearing House Cong 

CHAIRMAN I WOULD LIKE TO RE-SUBMIT MY PREVIOUS TESTIMONY AND SPEND 

MY TIME WITH YOU TODAY UPDATING YOU ON TWO ISSUES THAT I KNOW THIS 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERS TO BE VERY IMPORTANT. THE FIRST ISSUE IS THE 

EXPANSION OF THE NIGC. LAST YEAR THE CONGRESS INCREASED THE BUDGET OF 

THE NIGC BY RAISING THE CAP ON THE AMOUNT OF FEES THE NIGC CAN COLLECT. 

WE ARE NOW AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT UP TO $8 MILLION IN FEES FROM BOTH 

CLASS II AND CLASS III GAMING OPERATIONS. LET ME POINT OUT THAT THE NIGC 

IS NOT CURRENTLY COLLECTING $8 MILLION IN FEES. WE CURRENTLY ASSESS 

FEES AT A RATE THAT PROVIDED FOR A BUDGET OF $5.3 MILLION FOR 1998. AS WE 

CONTINUE WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR EXPANSION PLAN WE WILL 

GRADUALLY INCREASE THE FEE. WE EXPECT THAT OUR EXPANSION WILL BE 

COMPLETE WITHIN TWO YEARS. WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TO YOU, MR. 

CHAIRMAN, OUR EXPANSION PLAN. MR. CHAIRMAN YOU MAY RECALL WHEN I 

WAS LAST BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE YOU SYMPATHIZED WITH THE NIGC ON ITS 

HUGE JOB AND THE LIMITED RESOURCES AND IN PARTICULAR THE FACT THAT WE 

ONLY HAD SEVEN FIELD INVESTIGATORS. WELL MR. CHAIRMAN, I AM PLEASED TO 

REPORT THAT SINCE I TESTIFIED LAST YEAR WE HAVE DOUBLED THE SIZE OF OUR 

FIELD PERSONNEL. DURING THE PAST THREE MONTHS WE HAVE HIRED THREE (3) 

FIELD INVESTIGATORS, TWO (2) AUDITORS AND TWO (2) FINANCIAL BACKGROUND 

INVESTIGATORS. IMPORTANTLY, THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT LOCATED IN 

WASHINGTON D.C. BUT ARE INSTEAD LOCATED IN VARIOUS PLACES THROUGHOUT 

THE UNITED STATES - NEAR INDIAN COUNTRY. FURTHER, I AM ALSO PLEASED TO 

ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE OPENED OUR FIRST NIGC FIELD OFFICE IN ST. PAUL, 
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 TESTIMONY February 10, 1999 MONTIE R. DEER CHARIMAN (NOMINEE) NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING 

COMMISSION SENATE INDIAN AFFAIRS NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION NOMINATION 

Federal Document Clearing House Cong 

MINNESOTA. ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE PLANS TO OPEN A FIELD OFFICE IN THE 

NEAR FUTURE IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA. AFTER THAT WE PLAN TO ESTABLISH NIGC 

OFFICES IN THE NORTHWEST, CALIFORNIA, AND THE SOUTHWEST. ON THE 

REGULATORY FRONT, I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT IN DECEMBER OF LAST 

YEAR I SIGNED OFF ON THE MINIMUM INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS - 

COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "MICS." THESE REGULATIONS - WHICH UTILIZE THE 

BEST PARTS OF SIMILAR REGULATIONS CURRENTLY IN PLACE IN NEVADA AND 

NEW JERSEY BOLSTER THE EFFECTIVE OPERATING PROCEDURES OF INDIAN 

GAMING FACILITIES. THESE REGULATIONS WILL HELP ENSURE INDIAN GAMING 

INTEGRITY BY LIMITING FRAUD, CORRUPTION AND WILL ASSIST IN OVERALL 

GAMING ACCOUNTABILITY. OUR REGULATIONS REQUIRE ALL GAMING 

OPERATIONS TO HAVE THESE STANDARDS IN PLACE BY AUGUST 5, 1999. IT IS MY 

PHILOSOPHY THAT ONCE A REGULATORY AGENCY ESTABLISHES A NEW RULE IT 

SHOULD ALSO TAKE THE ADDITIONAL STEP OF MAKING SURE THAT THE 

REGULATED COMMUNITY IS AWARE OF THE RULE AND UNDERSTANDS IT. TO THAT 

END, THE NIGC HAS EMBARKED ON AN AMBITIOUS 14 CITY TRAINING TOUR TO 

EXPLAIN THE MINIMUM INTERNAL CONTROLS STANDARDS REGULATION AND 

WHAT WE EXPECT REGARDING COMPLIANCE. I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT WE 

AVERAGE BETWEEN 50 AND 100 TRIBAL REGULATORS AT EACH TRAINING SESSION. 

MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, I BELIEVE MY BACKGROUND 

AS AN EDUCATOR, LAWYER, JUDGE AND ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

HAS EQUIPPED ME TO HANDLE THE ENORMOUS CHALLENGES THIS JOB PRESENTS. I 

WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT AS A REGULATOR IT IS MY PHILOSOPHY TO FOLLOW 
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 TESTIMONY February 10, 1999 MONTIE R. DEER CHARIMAN (NOMINEE) NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING 

COMMISSION SENATE INDIAN AFFAIRS NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION NOMINATION 

Federal Document Clearing House Cong 

THE LAW PURSUANT TO THE DIRECTIONS OF THE U.S. CONGRESS AS MANDATED IN 

THE INDIAN GAMING REGULATORY ACT. FURTHER, I SINCERELY BELIEVE THAT IF 

GAMING IS TO CONTINUE TO BE A VALUABLE ECONOMIC TOOL IN THE TRIBES' 

QUEST FOR SELF- SUFFICIENCY, IT NO DOUBT MUST BE PROPERLY AND 

THOROUGHLY REGULATED BY THE APPROPRIATE TRIBAL, STATE AND FEDERAL 

AUTHORITIES. MY PLEDGE TO YOU IS TO KEEP YOU WELL INFORMED OF THE 

NIGC'S ACTIVITIES AND NEEDS IN THIS REGARD. AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK THE 

COMMITTEE FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY AND WILL ANSWER ANY 

QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. 

LOAD-DATE: February 12, 1999