Funding
In a profile of Norton, the Natural Resource Defense Council referred to CREA as being "a group sponsored by mining, chemical and chlorine industries."
Beginning early in 2001, Indian tribes gave more than $250,000 to CREA. The donations were made at the recommendation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff; the tribes were his clients. The suggestion for donations had come from staffers of Representative Tom DeLay, who were advising Abramoff on how to gain influence with Norton. On September 24, 2001, at a private fundraising dinner arranged by CREA, Coushatta tribal chairman Lovelin Poncho and Abramoff sat at Norton's table, while tribal attorney Kathy Van Hoof sat at another table with Norton's top deputy, Steven Griles. The Gun Lake tribe of Pottawatomi, one of the rivals of Abramoff's tribal clients, has said that it believed Abramoff's lobbying stalled Interior's approval of its casino by at least 14 months.
Read more about this topic: Council Of Republicans For Environmental Advocacy