Schatz Leads Committee Passage of Two Bills, NIGC Chair Nomination

For Immediate Release

November 21, 2024

Contact:

Mike Inacay (Schatz) at press@indian.senate.gov

Schatz Leads Committee Passage of Two Bills, NIGC Chair Nomination

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, led Committee passage of the following bills at a business meeting:

During the business meeting, the Committee also voted to report to the Senate President Biden’s nomination of Patrice H. Kunesh to serve as the Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission by a vote of 7-4.

Kunesh, a descendent of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota, was nominated by President Biden to serve as the Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission on July 23, 2024. She is currently serving as the Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If confirmed, Kunesh would lead the Commission in its mission to promote Tribal economic development and self-determination, support the integrity of the Indian gaming industry, and ensure that Tribes are the primary beneficiaries of their gaming activities.

“Ms. Kunesh has held regulatory positions across the federal government, including as Director of the Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and currently as the Commissioner of the Administration for Native for Native Americans,” said Chairman Schatz. “She is a dedicated public servant who works hard on behalf of Indian Tribes and Native Communities, and I’m confident that she will do that in this new role, if confirmed.”

The full video of the business meeting is available here.

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