[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 82 (Thursday, June 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5915-S5916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE GROWTH OF LEGALIZED GAMBLING
Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I will speak just briefly on another
subject. That is, Senator Lugar and I and Senator Warner and a total of
25 of us on both sides have introduced a bill to say, let us have a
study of the growth of legalized gambling in our country.
This is not the most Earth-shaking thing, but the fastest growing
industry in our country is legalized gambling. And there are problems
with that. It is the only form of addiction that Government promotes.
We would be shocked if we saw a sign saying, ``Smoke Marlboro
cigarettes. You know, they're fun to smoke'' or ``Drink more whiskey.
You'll really have a good time,'' because both of those provide revenue
for Government. But we do not seem to be shocked when there are
billboards, like on the south side of Chicago, saying, ``The Illinois
lottery--this is your way out.'' This is the impoverished area of
Chicago. That is not the way out for people. It is education. It is
hard work. It is the kind of things that we know have to be done.
So Senator Lugar, Senator Warner, and I introduced this legislation.
To the credit of Senator Stevens and his committee, it was reported out
by voice vote. Now we want to move it through the Senate. The House has
already passed a bill. We have to work the two out.
My hope is that we could get this done quickly. I spoke last week to
Senator Dole. I would love to see, before Bob Dole leaves, the Senate
have us pass this legislation.
The New York Times 3 days ago had an editorial urging the Senate to
pass this legislation.
The Christian Science Monitor has an editorial. The last paragraph
reads:
It's time society knew the real costs of gambling. The
Senate should pass the measure without delay.
I hope we do this. I have no illusions. We are not going to stop
legalized gambling in this country. We are not going to close Las Vegas
or Atlantic city. But I think we should be looking at the possibility
of steps to limit the growth. For example, you can now or shortly will
be able to, on the Internet, gamble by computer using your American
Express or Visa or some card. We do not know where that is going to
lead. I think a commission ought to be looking into this.
There are people who get addicted. I got into this because my mother
is a member of a Lutheran Church in Collinsville, IL. And a substitute
teacher at a Lutheran school of that church, unknown to her family, got
addicted to gambling. They thought the money was going for rent and
paying the bills and so forth. One day they came home and there was a
note saying you could find her in the shopping mall parking lot. She
had committed suicide. She went to a riverboat casino and got addicted.
And you know, these stories multiply.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
these two editorials.
There being no objection, the editorials were ordered to be printed
in the Record, as follows:
[From the New York Times, June 3, 1996]
Gambling in the Senate
Despite intense opposition from the gambling industry, the
Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has approved a
worthwhile measure to create a national commission to review
the social and economic impact of casinos and state-run
lotteries. Chances are good that it would win easy approval
by the Senate, much as a similar bill unanimously passed the
House in March. But there remains a danger that Senate
Republican leaders may try to kill the measure quietly by
failing to allow time for a vote on the Senate calendar.
The bill approved by the Senate committee is a somewhat
watered down version of the House plan, which was proposed by
Representative Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican. But it is a
marked improvement over the revision proposed earlier by Ted
Stevens of Alaska, the committee chairman. The compromise
fashioned by Mr. Stevens and the bill's sponsors--Richard
Lugar, Republican of Indiana, and Paul Simon, Democrat of
Illinois--grants the commission adequate subpoena power and a
sufficiently broad mandate to examine gambling's consequences
in communities around the country.
As various forms of gambling have spread across the nation,
there has been little effort to examine the economic and
social impact. State and local political leaders faced with
deciding whether to approve gambling in their area, or expand
its presence, often have little hard information available to
assess the advantages and disadvantages to their communities.
Bob Dole, now in his final days as Senate majority leader,
has indicated support for a Federal commission, despite heavy
financial support for his Presidential campaign from
[[Page S5916]]
the gambling industry. But, at least for now, the bill is not
on the list of measures he hopes to pass before he departs
the Senate around June 11. Mr. Dole's likely sucesssor, Trent
Lott of Mississippi, has voiced reservations about forming a
national commission.
With pro-gambling lobbyists working overtime to defeat
those good idea, the best step now would be for Mr. Dole to
bring the bill to the Senate floor before he departs. In
doing so he can serve the public good and demonstrate his
independence from a wealthy special-interest group.
____
[From the Christian Science Monitor, May 20, 1996]
Gambling: A Bad Bet
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee last week
approved a bill to set up a national commission to study
gambling in the United States.
The bill calls for the commission to examine the social and
economic impact of gambling on communities and individuals
and issue a report within two years. it would look at all
forms of gambling, including new forms of interactive
computer technology and gambling over the Internet. Three
commission members would be named by the president, three by
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and three by the
Senate majority leader. The board would hold public hearings
and have the power to subpoena witnesses.
Such a study, which joins a number of state-sponsored
inquiries, is long overdue. The states' headlong rush over
the last 20 years into lotteries, bingo, riverboat casinos,
and other gaming was accompanied by promises of economic
development, more state funding for schools and other
services, and ``harmless'' entertainment.
Not one of these promises has come to pass. Instead of
economic development, discretionary spending is drained away
from other, more-productive spending on goods, services, or
entertainment. Instead of spending more on education or
social services, legislators have taken away general funds in
equal amounts and merely replaced the money with lottery and
keno revenues. Instead of harmless entertainment, there is
organized-crime involvement, gambling addiction, and a whole
host of personal problems fed by the lure of ``easy money.''
The states, themselves addicted to gaming revenues, are
forced to invent new games to augment lottery earnings lost
to competition.
The gambling industry opposes creation of this commission,
worried it will find that gambling causes more problems than
benefits for states and communities.
It's time society knew the real costs of gambling. The
Senate should pass the measure without delay.
Mr. SIMON. I urge Senator Dole, if possible, prior to Tuesday, to
bring this up. I would hope we could pass it quickly. If that cannot
happen, I hope Senator Lott or Senator Cochran, I am not voting on who
will be the leader over there on their side, but I hope that we could
move on this quickly. I think it is clearly in the national interest.
This, again, is not an attempt to stop legalized gambling in this
country. It is an attempt to say ``Let's look at where we are.''
I see the distinguished chairman of the Finance Committee. He is
nodding, either because I was speaking, or he wishes to speak. I yield
the floor to the Senator from Delaware.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
____________________