Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce a measure to help Indians and tribal businesses foster entrepreneurship and vigorous reservation economies. Indian tribes face many challenges, but the greatest priority is in building stronger economies and providing jobs to tribal members. With this bill, I intend to unshackle Indian entrepreneurship to provide jobs and revenues for reservation economies.

When the Europeans landed in the New World to explore and build settlements, they were greeted by Native people with a long tradition of inter-tribal and regional trade. The tribes traded pelts and furs, hand-woven baskets, blankets, virtually limitless arts and crafts, weapons, and a variety of Native grown and gathered foods.

Unrestrained by bureaucrats and free to roam their own lands, the tribes enjoyed a standard of material well-being that, while not ideal, was a far cry from the Third World conditions most Indian people live in today.

Over the course of 200 years this tradition has been replaced by rules and regulations that continue to stifle Indian entrepreneurship and instead promise cradle-to-grave "security" based on federal transfer payments. The practical results of federal domination is predictable: lifeless reservation economies and the absence of a private sector to create wealth and sustain employment for Indian people.

The current statistical profile of Indian people is poor and shows little sign of improvement. Despite the popular belief that gaming has made millionaires of all Indians, the reality is otherwise as most Indian gaming revenues are more like church bingo than like Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

In the Great Depression, the national unemployment rate was 20 percent and it was called a "national crisis." Indian country has an unemployment rate running at 50 percent, and there are no comments, no sense of urgency and little attention being paid.

There are other reasons job opportunities are needed. In 1996, the Congress enacted a welfare reform law that provides transition assistance to welfare recipients and rightly requires able-bodied Americans to get and keep jobs. In rural areas, particularly on Indian reservations, the welfare reform will hit hard because employment opportunities are scarce.

The goal of this and future efforts is to increase value-added activities on reservations in such fields as manufacturing, energy, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, high technology, arts and crafts, and a host of service industries.

The United States has the responsibility to preserve, protect and maximize tribal assets and resources, and an obligation to improve the standards of living of Indian people. In this legislation, that responsibility is primarily in removing the barriers to success the federal government itself has created over the years.

The bill aims to make best use of and streamline existing programs to provide the necessary tools to enable tribes to attract outside capital and technical expertise. This model has proven highly successful in the self governance arena and in the Indian job training program, known as the "477" program. The bill would provide better coordination of existing business development programs in the Commerce Department and maximize the resources made available to tribes.

The tribes have a responsibility as well. As a matter of Indian self determination, the tribes are increasingly administering federal services, programs, and activities in lieu of the federal government. This has led to more capable and accountable tribal governments. A fundamental precept of self-government is a reduction in the dependence on the federal bureaucracy and federal funds and by assuming a greater role in funding their own self government.

The Committee on Indian Affairs recently held a hearing on economic development and one of the findings was that the tribes need to provide governance infrastructure and friendly business environments if they want to attract and retain investment. Whether by adopting commercial codes, or tribal courts that can address business issues, or regulations that do not repel the private sector, tribal efforts are critical if this effort is to succeed.

Under the bill, the Native American Business Development Office in the Commerce Department will coordinate existing programs, including those for international business and tourism, aimed at development on Indian lands. This bill does not create any new programs but rather is intended to achieve more efficiency in those that already exist within existing budget authority. The bill also prohibits assistance under the act from being used for gaming on Indian lands.

In addition, the bill directs the Secretary to create a task force on regulatory reform and business development to analyze existing laws and regulations that are restraining business and economic development on Indian lands. Again, the bill is not intended to create a new entity, but recognizes that there is great need to strip away the layers of unnecessary rules and regulations that stifle Indian businesses.

I urge those that are critical of Indian gaming to join me in providing alternatives to build strong and diversified tribal economies for the benefit of tribes, tribal members, and surrounding communities.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the provisions of the bill and an article written by James Gwartney for the Wall Street Journal dated April 10, 1998, entitled "Less Government, More Growth" be printed in the RECORD.