Congress rejects land swap for Michigan casinos

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 298-121 against a bill that would have authorized a land swap arrangement with two Indian tribes and allow them to build casinos in the Lower Peninsula. The land swap was intended to settle a century-old dispute over 110 acres of land in the Upper Peninsula by allowing the two tribes involved to trade their claim to that land for open land in Romulus and Port Huron, on which they would then build casinos. The arrangement was negotiated with both former Gov. Engler and Gov. Granholm, but it required the approval of Congress.

The issue has caused a rift among Michigan Democrats for years, including the two most powerful Michigan Democrats in the U.S. Congress, John Dingell and John Conyers. The split was geographical, with those legislators in or near areas where the new casinos would be built, principally Conyers and Candace Miller, supporting the swap. Those legislators in and around the city of Detroit, especially Conyers and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, rejected the idea and argued that it would hurt the casinos there and undermine the economy of the city.