WASHINGTON—Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s nomination of E. Sequoyah Simermeyer as the next Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC):
“We appreciate the President quickly nominating a new Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission,” said Hoeven. “Mr. Simermeyer has years of experience that qualify him for NIGC Chair including serving as Counselor and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, as Counsel on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and presently as Associate Commissioner of the NIGC since November 2015. We look forward to hearing about Mr. Simermeyer’s vision for the NIGC during the confirmation process.”
The NIGC has jurisdiction over 512 licensed gaming establishments operated by 246 Indian Tribes in 29 States. In FY 2017, tribal gaming revenues were approximately $32.4 billion in gross gaming revenue. The NIGC currently has roughly 114 full-time employees in seven regional offices with an annual budget of $25 million in FY 2019. The NIGC budget is funded through fees paid by tribal gaming operations and can be up to 0.080% of gross gaming revenue pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The Committee has jurisdiction to consider the nomination of NIGC Chair.
For more information on the NIGC, click here.
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