U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn says the simplest route for the Catawba Indian Nation to open a high-stakes bingo facility in Santee, or anywhere in the state, would be admission to the federal Indian Gaming Regulation Act.

But getting the tribe covered by the act will not be easy. "It's not a simple thing to do," Clyburn said.

Clyburn said he has not been approached by the Catawbas to speak on their behalf.

Jay Bender, an attorney representing the tribe, agrees it would be difficult to place the Catawbas under IGRA. Doing so would take an act of Congress and approval of the president. The Catawbas are the only federally recognized tribe not under the umbrella of the IRGA, which places legalized gambling operating by the tribes under jurisdiction of the federal government.

"Opposition could be expected from the Republican members of the delegation on the grounds it would be sinful to have a second government in South Carolina in the gambling business, and that continuing problem that Republicans have with people that aren't white," said Bender in a prepared statement.

He said Gov. Mark Sanford would not like having the Catawbas under IGRA because it would anger Baptists.

"It's no secret that we are opposed to legalized gambling. It's counterproductive to the economy," Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said.

An attempt by the Catawbas to come under the IGRA would circumvent the 1993 settlement the tribe has with the state of South Carolina. That agreement prohibits the Catawbas from coming under IGRA, Sawyer said.

"If they want to make changes to that, they need to negotiate with the state instead of an end run around the General Assembly into Congress," Sawyer said.

The Catawbas initially pursued the Santee operation under the IGRA umbrella, announcing plans in 2004. Unable to obtain congressional approval or state sanction via the General Assembly, the tribe went to court with a trump card. After winning an initial court decision, the Catawbas were rejected by the S.C. Supreme Court in their argument that the 1993 land settlement allowed the tribe to operate video poker on its Rock Hill reservation. The U.S. Supreme Court backed the decision this month.

The Catawbas have consistently contended their goal is not to reintroduce video poker to South Carolina but to gain approval of the bingo operation in Santee. The facility would be limited to bingo games played on video machines linked to similar Indian operations nationwide, increasing jackpots.

The tribe's 1993 settlement with South Carolina gave the Catawbas $50 million and federal recognition in exchange for relinquishing land claims. It allowed the Catawbas to operate bingo games in two locations, one on the tribe's reservation in York County.

Santee is the latest location considered for the second operation.

Clyburn first encouraged the Catawbas' proposed bingo facility in Santee in 2003 in hopes of spurring economic development along the Interstate 95 corridor. He said it would provide tourism and up to 1,800 jobs to the region.

"Those are two things the region is sorely lacking," he said in 2003.

Clyburn believes the region continues to have big needs. Despite multiple institutions of higher learning, railroads, U.S. highways and interstates, Orangeburg County is one of the poorest in the nation.

"That ought to tell us a whole lot. The people that oppose these things should take a look at what they are trying to preserve," Clyburn said.

Preservation is the motivation behind the Catawbas' desire to expand beyond their Rock Hill bingo facility, Bender said. He argues the state has become the Catawbas' biggest competitor with a lottery that threatens the tribe's financial security.

"The tribe's interest was to have a bingo game that could be competitive with the state's own gambling enterprise, the lottery," Bender said.

Bender contends the state has enhanced the position of other bingo operators and therefore is in violation of the 1993 agreement. If the law eventually allows it, Bender said the Catawbas are still interested in developing the site in Santee due to a preponderance of support from the Orangeburg community.

In 2003, Clyburn argued the presence of the state lottery nullifies the settlement because at the time of the agreement the Catawbas' Rock Hill bingo facility had no competition.

Sawyer said those arguments have been made before in court and Bender should know from personal experience they are not valide.

"The courts don't feel the same way. The agreement says what the agreement says. Wishing it said something different doesn't make it say something different," Sawyer said.

T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com and 803-534-1060. Discuss this and other stories at www.TheTandD.com.

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