Leading House Democrat Considers Repeal of U.S. Gambling
Ban
A
leading liberal Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Barney
Frank (D-Mass.), is indicating he will give details "in the
coming weeks" on possible legislation to repeal a ban imposed last year on
online gambling.
Rep. Frank, the
chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said
he is planning to consult with other legislators on the matter.
During the waning days of the Republican Congress, last year, radical right
wing religious zealots passed a ban on online gambling in the
Now, the
Democrats, showing themselves as friends of the regular person, is going to
repeal that legislation, which was passed without debate, and snuck through as
an amendment to a bill about homeland security.
“I’m not ready
to give you more details, but I will be by next week or so. We’ll talk more
about it later,” said Rep. Frank.
A spokesman for
the Massachusetts Democrat said this week that Rep. Frank was
considering legislation to repeal the ban but had not drafted a bill and had no
timetable for action.
Online
Allies
Rep. Frank
already has some allies. Two
U.S. Reps.
Shelley Berkley (D-Nev), and Jon Porter (R-Nev) are planning to reveal the
co-sponsored legislation within the next few weeks.
About 2,300
Internet gambling sites producing about $12 billion per year would benefit from
the bill.
Rep. Berkley
said she talked to Frank recently on the House floor about Internet
gambling and they plan to meet again "in the very near future."
"The
purpose of our bill is to provide a comprehensive study with detailed
information on the expanded growth of Internet gambling,"
Reps. Berkley
and Porter would create an 18-month Internet gambling study to the
National Research Council, which is an agency of the National Academy of
Sciences.
"This
actually is a very independent institution which has the resources to get the
facts to Congress," Rep. Porter said.
Rep. Porter
introduced a similar bill last year, which Rep. Berkley co-sponsored. Even
though Congress voted for an Internet gambling ban last October,
Rep. Porter said he thinks lawmakers would consider a repeal right now.
A date has not
been set, but Rep. Porter said he still plans to visit the Isle of Man,
"I would say technology has improved over the last few years, and I have greater faith in the ability to regulate Internet gambling so that it does not pose a threat to minors," Rep. Berkley said.
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