Campaign Donors: Mohegan and Mashantucket Indian Tribes

• Lieberman sponsored legislation in 2002 to give Connecticut’s Indian tribes a $6 billion break. Along with fellow Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, Lieberman sponsored an amendment that prohibited the use of funds in the FY 2003 Interior Appropriations bill for the approval or denial of a petition to be federally recognized as an Indian tribe or a tribal nation until new administrative procedures were eliminated. The measure failed by an 80-15 vote in the Senate. (HR 5093, Senate Vote 220, 9/23/02)

• According to a 12/11/05 Connecticut Post article, Lieberman had “actively sought to limit the number of new tribes receiving federal recognition.” The moratorium sponsored by Lieberman and Dodd “would have blocked recognition of new Connecticut tribes – presumably leaving the Mashantucket and Mohegan casinos to reap $6 billion more over the next decade.”

• Since 2002, individuals from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe have contributed $11,000 to Lieberman’s campaigns. Mohegan Tribe representatives have contributed $2,500 to Lieberman. In December 2005, the Connecticut Post reported that Lieberman had received $43,550 in total contributions from the two tribes during his career in the U.S. Senate. (Center for Responsive Politics; Connecticut Post, 12/11/05)