U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has announced plans to reintroduce his Internet Gambling Prohibition Act on Thursday. A media alert released from Goodlatte's office this afternoon links the failure of Goodlatte's previous attempts to pass prohibitory legislation in the 106th (1999-2000) and 107th Congresses (2001-2002) to Jack Abramoff's "campaign of misinformation."
Goodlatte's office notes that the original Internet Gambling Prohibition Act received support from more than 60 percent of the House but lacked the necessary sixty-seven percent required by suspension calendar rules.
Various Republican Congressmen have in recent weeks discussed reform as a means to distance themselves from and correct the political scandals involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX). Amid allegations that the voting on I-gaming prohibition bills in 2000 was tainted by Abramoff and DeLay, the House has been motivated once again to tackle online gambling.
Goodlatte's prohibition bills have differed from the more recent efforts by Rep. James Leach, R-Iowa, and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., in that they seek to amend the federal Wire Act with language to specify that remote forms of gambling are illegal. The efforts of Leach, who has already introduced a separate piece of prohibitory legislation this session, and Kyl focus instead on preventing the financial transactions that facilitate online gambling from taking place.
The media alert from Goodlatte's office asserts further: "Abramoff's total disregard for the legislative process has allowed Internet gambling to continue thriving and it's now a $12 billion industry. The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act is vital to protect our children and communities from the problems of addiction, crime, bankruptcy and family difficulties that come from gambling."
Click here to view the media alert from Rep. Goodlatte's office.