The Senate is due to take up a massive spending bill that doesn't include a fix to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The FY 2011 Omnibus Appropriations Act covers the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service and other Indian programs in the federal government. But there's no provision to ensure that all tribes, regardless of the date of their federal recognition, can follow the land-into-trust process.

The House, on the other hand, passed the fix as part of the 2011 continuing resolution. However, the Senate will not be taking up that bill, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee said.

The fix has been controversial on Capitol Hill because some members of Congress have linked it to gaming. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), the chair of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, is threatening to curtail off-reservation gaming if the fix is brought up in the Senate.

Get the Story:
Narragansett measure out of Senate bill (The Providence Journal 12/15)
Lame duck’s last days to determine Carcieri, online gaming (Indian Country Today 12/14)
Senate spending bill contains thousands of earmarks (The Washington Post 12/15)

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Thomas] | Concurrence [Breyer] | Dissent [Stevens] | Concurrence/Dissent [Souter]

Supreme Court Documents:
Oral Argument Transcript | Briefs

Related Stories:
Narragansett Tribe still optimistic on fix to land-into-trust ruling (12/10)
Land-into-trust fix passes House as part of continuing resolution (12/9)
Rep. Cole authored land-into-trust provision in appropriation bill (12/9)
Larry Echo Hawk: Congress must pass a clean land-into-trust fix (12/9)
Lobbyists worried about a rival land-into-trust fix on Capitol Hill (11/16)
Sen. Feinstein reportedly drafting a different land-into-trust fix (10/06)
Editorial: Stop Congress from addressing land-into-trust decision (08/17)
Sen. Dorgan not planning to address land-into-trust fix opponents (7/29)
Indian lobbyists expect a tough road ahead for land-into-trust fix (7/26)
Land-into-trust fix included in House Interior appropriations bill (7/23)
Land-into-trust fix still faces major obstacles in House and Senate (7/21)
Tribal leaders meet in DC to lobby for fix to land-into-trust ruling (7/14)
NCAI and USET schedule land-into-trust summit in DC on July 13 (7/7)
DOI officials tell NCAI land-into-trust applications are moving (06/22)
Legislation to fix land-into-trust decision remains in limbo (05/10)
Sen. Schumer warns DOI against land-into-trust action (03/09)
Editorial: Congress must address land-into-trust ruling (01/11)