[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 188 (Tuesday, November 28, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S17673]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TWO SIDES AGREE ON OPPOSING GAMBLING

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, Father Robert Drinan, former Member 
of the House, had a column in the National Catholic Reporter recently 
that is of interest.
  It points out where Catholics and Christian Coalition people can work 
together, and it is an area where liberals and conservatives can work 
together.
  That is the growing problem of gambling.
  I ask that the Robert Drinan column be printed in the Record.
  The column follows:

                  Two Sides Agree on Opposing Gambling

                         (By Robert F. Drinan)

       I was happy to discover recently that I agree with the 
     Christian Coalition on at least one issue: opposition to 
     gambling. Ralph Reed, the coalition's executive director (and 
     a Presbyterian who looks like an altar boy) says that his 
     organization may help finance an antigambling office in 
     Washington. Reed asserts that his organization is ``pounding 
     away'' at casinos and lotteries.
       A conservative Colorado group named Focus on the Family is 
     also pushing an antigambling agenda. Gambling foes are 
     planning their first national convention in Florida. Keynote 
     speaker is Congressman Frank Wolf, a conservative Republican 
     from Virginia who is working aggressively against government-
     sponsored gambling.
       It is far from clear that any coalition of antigambling 
     groups can reverse the explosive growth of this form of 
     entertainment. Lotteries, casinos, riverboat gambling and an 
     ever-widening array of slot machines and other devices took 
     in $482 billion last year.
       Substantial sums from that take have gone to Republicans, 
     including leading presidential candidates. Sen. Robert Dole 
     took in $477,450 from gambling interests in Las Vegas, Nev. 
     Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas has also benefited.
       A further sign of entanglement: The former chairman of the 
     Republican National Committee, Frank Fahrenkopf, is now the 
     head of the American Gambling Association, the industry's 
     trade group.
       Daily and vehemently, the new Republican majority in the 
     Congress proclaims agreement with the Christian Coalition on 
     abortion, school prayer and welfare. But when it comes to 
     gambling, the GOP is trapped between its devotion to the 
     Christian Coalition and its desire for campaign contributions 
     from the gambling industry.
       Will the Christian Coalition use its newfound power in 
     Congress and some Southern states to reinstate laws against 
     gambling--laws that religious groups, Protestant and Catholic 
     alike, fought to get on the books a century ago?
        A clash before next year's presidential election is 
     unlikely. Recognizing that the crusade against gambling is 
     all but a lost cause, even the most ardent adherents of the 
     Christian Coalition's agenda are not about to expend 
     political capital telling state lawmakers to abolish gambling 
     and tax their people fairly.
       A further complication is that most Americans have never 
     really focused on gambling's evils. It appeared on the 
     American scene as a phenomenon that is odorless, invisible 
     and inaudible. Hardly anyone is angry or indignant.
       Still, the potential for scandal and corruption in the 
     exploding gambling industry is so vast that almost anything 
     could happen.
       The protests of the Christian Coalition against gambling 
     should be welcomed by all citizens and persons of faith. The 
     desire to get something for nothing and the fantasy that we 
     can be millionaires overnight are arguably the product of a 
     sinful heart.
       Count of Catholics, Mr. Reed, for support. On this issue, 
     Catholics and the Christian Coalition are reading out of the 
     same prayer book.

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