2009: Year In Review [12.31.09]

Halito! The Holiday season is a time to be with loved ones, reflect on the past months, count our blessings and ready ourselves for the year to come. I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and look back at Tribal affairs in 2009.

Chahta moyyomaka Nittak Hollo Chito Imakchokmahi Imahnilih!

Finance [12.31.09]

The worst national economy since the Great Depression began late last year and throughout 2009 everyone was scrambling to minimize its impact. Our Tribe did relatively well compared to most tribes, states and businesses. What we were able to accomplish in these adverse conditions is encouraging.

My administration paid distributions to Tribal members on time. These distributions were made without borrowing money. We have made the payments required the service the Golden Moon debt and we have also paid down the principal. At the same time, we have streamlined our operations at the Resort, our Health Center, our non gaming enterprises and our government so that we are better prepared to endure future hard times and, when the nation's ecnomy rebounds, we will be well positioned to take advantage of it. Our Tribe's operations are lean and efficient.

Paying down the debt incurred to build the Golden Moon is the first priority for our Tribe. Doing it in an economy like this is difficult. Like Mississippi and other states, our economy, prosperity, and jobs depend largely on the strength of the overall U.S. economy.

According to experts, large revenue shortfalls are inevitable for all states in 2011 and 2012, even though, technically, the recession may be ending. This means less money will be spent by Resort patrons, which means there will be less revenue to fund services provided by Tribal government. In response to this, we have cut our Tribal government budget by 15 percent. This saved us around $12 million and we did this without the furloughs and layoffs of government employees that most states used.

For a long time now our Tribe's financial matters have been dictated by the covenants in the loan agreement governing repayment of the debt incurred to build the Golden Moon. The interest on that debt is around $24 million every year and restrictions in the loan agreement prevent the Resort from making adequate payouts to Tribal government. I have been coast to coast looking for ways to restructure this debt so we can regain our financial self determination. It is critical to our Tribe's financial health for us to improve the terms and interest rates charged on this money by negotiating a better agreement.

We need new houses, schools, and upgrades to our health care facilities, but freeing ourselves from the stranglehold this debt has on us is the wisest use of any additional revenue we are able to generate in this economy. Negotiating a better agreement will allow us to use the money we are paying in interest for those things once the debt is paid down.

Leading the Tribe in a good economy when coffers are full is easy to do; leading when times are hard, as they are now, is very difficult and requires creativity, committment, and the willingness to make tough decisions. A tough economy makes the cooperation of Council on big picture issues very important. As things are, there is no time or justification for bickering over petty disputes and minor issues. We have to keep our eyes on the big picture and work together to continue heading in the right direction. I appreciate the Tribal Council members who have helped in this regard, shown these qualities and been willing to make these tough decisions for the good of the Tribe as a whole.

In 2009 we saw the results of one of the tough decisions I had to make in 2008. Our plan to turn Pearl River Resort around is succeeding. We cut our losses by taking swft, decisive action at the right time and, as a result, our Resort is in a much better position than most others. More importantly, we stayed true to my pledge of putting Chahta First and did this without cutting a single Tribal member's job.

Politics [12.31.09]

It is my job to lead our Tribe through these tough times into a healthy future. I spent significant time in 2009 away from Choctaw looking for opportunities to save money and bring new sources of revenue back to the Reservation.

I travelled to Washington often to educate and lobby our Congressmen and the Chairmen of the Committees who oversee the federal funds we use to help pay for housing, education, and health care. While we value economic self-sufficiency, my role as Tribal Miko is to maximize our resources and, as they say in Washington, "bring home the bacon." Shokka nipa chokka isht alah.

It took a long time to repair our Tribe's reputation in Washington, D.C. after our association with Jack Abramoff, but so much can be done there to improve life on the Reservation that it was time well spent. With one stroke of a pen, lawmakers can help or harm our future in big ways.

Through my visits, I have built good relationships with many important members of Congress like Thad Cochran and Daniel Inouye who are the ranking member and the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. They control the money. They have been strong allies of our Tribe. Senator Inouye visited us here in June. He is also helping us keep the unions out of our casinos.

Congress has been considering major health care and insurance reform all year, and every time I go to Washington, I press our elected officials to make sure they don't forget about the health care needs of Choctaw and other tribes throughout the country. There is still a ways to go, but it appears Congress will add several provisions we want included to the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

The increased funding for Indian health care is the direct result of our combined lobbying efforts in Washington, starting with the passage of the stimulus bill earlier this year. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and this year's Interior appropriations bill included significant increases, especially for contract support costs and indirect cost grants. The Interior appropriations bill provided nearly $400 million more than last year.

We will receive more than $7 million of that for contract support costs associated with ongoing contracts and grants. It's not full funding, but it will go a long way toward meeting some of our health care needs. This is a direct result of my and other Indian Country leaders' meetings with Congress and the Obama Administration.

Obtaining additional funds for housing has also been a key priority of mine. Last year, after several meetings with Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Dorgan and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, we were successful in getting Congress to reauthorize the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act.

This year approximately $600 million will be provided to Indian Country for housing needs. This is another significant increase over previous years, and is a good example of why Indian Country leaders need to keep the pressure on our representatives in Washington.

With respect to education, the Head Start program for Tribes received $10 million in 2009, and another $10 million will be made available for 2010. Of this amount, Choctaw will receive $2 million.

We also secured about $3 million in contract and indirect cost support for our Educational system. Again, this si not full funding based upon our level of need, but it is an increase over previous years. I expect full funding next year.

For Indian law enforcement, public safety, and tribal justice needs federal budgets were increased which means more funding for our police department, detention center and courts.

I remember walking the halls of Congress earlier this year urging Senators and Members of Congress to include Tribes in as many sections of the Recovery Act as possible. It's unfortunate that I have to remind many of them, but it's important to do so. In D.C., the squeaky wheel gets the grease, especially when the economy is bad, budgets are tight and so many organizations are competing for the same money.

Non-Gaming Enterprises [12.31.09]

One of my main goals is to make sure that we maintain a diverse economy. We all know that hard times for casinos make it even more important that we continue to diversify our economic base. If we can depend less on gaming revenue by finding more non-gaming sources, we will more easily weather tough times and reduce our debt quicker.

We have created a new holding company, Choctaw Construction Group. This holding company structure is being created to merge our 8(a) companies under one corporate board. It will make our operations more efficient and allow for greater oversight. The board will be made up of Tribal members with the talent, skills and education to move our companies to a new level.

We have made big changes to the management at IKBI and at AGT. Although AGT was performing well, there were too many complaints coming from Tribal members working in that organization and some people had to go. We hope that with the recent changes, AGT will be on track to be even stronger and more productive for the Tribe.

Similar progress is being made at IKBI. It continues to grow and expand and is on track to possibly create 3 or 4 new 8(a) companies. This type of energy, and that of our Tribal entrepreneurs, is what we want to see more of on the Reservation; Tribal enterprises and individuals broadening their opportunities and revenue streams.