Efforts to avoid debate in the U.S. House of Representatives on a bill that would prevent the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Desert Diamond West Valley Resort near Phoenix from opening later this month have so far failed.
Preventing this bill from coming to the floor is yet another victory for the tribe, which has rolled up an impressive list of victories, mainly in the courts. The tribe says it has won 13 such court challenges.
It would have required a two-thirds vote to move House Resolution 308 and suspend the usual rules. Opponents of the bill have increased their numbers dramatically since it was first voted on in 2012.
Opponents of the bill claim that it would be the equivalent of the federal government breaking its word to the tribe when it gave it the means to purchase the land adjacent to the city of Glendale. The Congressional Budget Office has also estimated that the bill could cost taxpayers $1 billion if the tribe is able to successfully sue the federal government over being denied its casino, which is scheduled to open December 20.
