And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Tue, 08 Jun 1999 02:12:38 -0500 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Federal grant for tribal smoke shop draws fire from key senator Federal grant for tribal smoke shop draws fire from key senator 2.32 a.m. ET (633 GMT) June 8, 1999 By Scott Sonner, Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal grant earmarked for an American Indian tribe's discount smoke shop is an example of the Clinton administration undercutting efforts to curb teen smoking, a Senate subcommittee chairman says. "These smoke shops, which are selling discounted cigarettes and other tobacco products, will, in all likelihood, encourage teen smoking,'' Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., said Monday. Bond, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee, raised his concerns in a recent letter to Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo. At issue is the Department of Housing and Urban Development's $450,000 community development grant to the Reno Sparks Indian Colony in 1997. The tribe plans to build a smoke shop, similar to a convenience store, that primarily would sell cigarettes and other tobacco products at tax-free, bargain prices. Bond, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees HUD's budget, wants a list of all tribal smoke shops that have received federal money over the past five years. He also wants the "rationale justifying'' approval of the grants by HUD and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "HUD-financed construction of smoke shops selling discounted cigarettes is, in my mind, completely at odds with the federal government's efforts to discourage teen smoking by increasing the price of cigarettes,'' Bond told Cuomo. The new smoke shop, similar to a convenience store, is planned on reservation land between a group of houses and a casino along Interstate 80 in Verdi, Nev., just west of Reno near the California border. The tribe operates three other smoke shops in the Reno-Sparks area, and other tribes across the West do similar business. A spokeswoman for the Reno Sparks Indian Colony said the tribal chairman was not available to comment. HUD spokesman Peter Ragone said the smoke shop falls within the provisions of the community development grant and a change in the law would be needed to block the funds from being used for a particular project. "If any member of Congress has concerns with its functions, they have the authority to change the law,'' Ragone said. Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
