Sen. Schumer backs off-reservation casino

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) wants the new administration of President Barack Obama to reconsider an off-reservation casino.

Schumer said he was "disappointed" that the Bush administration rejected the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Band of Mohican Indians, of Wisconsin. The tribe wants to open a casino in New York, its ancestral homeland.

Schumer said he spoke with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about the tribe's land-into-trust application. "In my conversation with Secretary Salazar, he was receptive to my request and said he would look into the matter going forward," Schumer said in a statement that was quoted by The Middletown Times Herald-Record.

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Schumer says he'll lobby for new Sullivan casino bid (The Middletown Times Herald-Record 2/25)