The sponsor of a bill in Congress that would exempt Indian casinos and other businesses from U.S. labor laws got substantial donations from Indian gaming interests beginning in 2015, after he sponsored the bill. The House passed the bill last week but its fate in the Senate is unknown.
The bill was previously approved—while dying in the Senate. This time it was included as part of a larger bill that was approved 239-173.
Rep. Todd Rokita of Indiana is the Republican congressman under the microscope after the Associated Press reported that he took more than $163,000 in donations from tribes with casinos—after he sponsored H.R.986, the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act. That makes him the top recipient of tribal gaming money now serving in the House. He is also a candidate for a higher job, U.S. Senator from Indiana. He also doesn’t have any Indian casinos, or recognized tribes in his district. At the same time, he broke no laws by accepting the donations.
Rokita had gotten donations from Indian gaming interests before 2015, but the donations spiked in that year. According to Federal Election Commission data he received the largest amount from Indian casinos of any member of the House.
Responding to criticism of Rokita, his chief of staff Mark Cruz told the AP: “Native Americans in Indiana and elsewhere, support Todd because they know he fights for them including taking on union bosses hell-bent on exploiting poor Native American workers who historically haven’t had a voice before Congress.” Cruz is a member of the Klamath Tribes.
Labor laws were never applied to Indian businesses until 2004, when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Indian businesses were subject to the law because they employ non-Indians and have mostly non-Indian patrons. This led to unions forming on many Indian reservation businesses—such as casinos. This is opposed by most tribes because they are sovereign nations under federal law.
Jefferson Keel, lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation, when he testified before a congressional committee declared that the idea of tribes being subordinate to the National Labor Relations Act, “is incompatible with the very nature of sovereignty and self-government.” The Chickasaw Nation has donated $15,600 to Rokita since 2015.
Since the 2004 ruling by the NLRB this has been an issue with tribes, who have tried to get the law changed to exempt them. This has become a Republican vs. Democrat issue because, although Democrats normally back tribes, they also traditionally back unions. So, they mostly oppose the bill, which is opposed by labor.
Rokita is undergoing some criticism from those who say that he paints himself as a Washington outsider who supports President Trump in his goal of “draining the swamp,” in the nation’s capital—while accepting money from the swamp. He also considers himself a foe of lobbyists and special interests.
In a recent Rokita TV campaign ad the narrator says, “Lobbyists, bureaucrats, politicians and the media. They’ve rigged the system. They look out for themselves and look down on us.”
If Rokita is successfully painted with a taint of hypocrisy, it could complicate his primary battle for the Republican nomination to go after incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly. Rokita is fighting two other formidable contenders for the nomination, another fellow House member and a rich businessman. The primary election is May 8.
James McCann, a political science professor at Purdue University, told the AP that Rokita risks alienating a key constituency. “People who are maybe having to work two jobs, or are lower on the economic totem pole, tend to see everyday politics as more corrupt,” said McCann. “If Todd Rokita is seeking to differentiate himself based on sticking up for the little guy, or draining the swamp, that undercuts his messaging.”
