[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21776]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     GAMING INDUSTRY AND TAX BREAKS

  (Ms. BERKLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, when Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast, 
homes and businesses were destroyed and people were left with nothing. 
To help those in Louisiana and Mississippi return home and go back to 
work, the gulf coast region must be rebuilt. The gaming industry will 
invest billions of dollars as it rebuilds the gulf region, making it an 
essential part of restoring employment, economic growth and tax 
revenue. Congress must not withhold incentives to rebuild from any 
employer that provides good jobs and tax revenue if we want to revive 
the economy of this region.
  There is a movement in Congress led by the self-righteous anti-gaming 
police to single out the gaming industry and prohibit it from receiving 
needed tax incentives to rebuild. I did not see any Members of 
Congress, and certainly not FEMA officials, handing out paychecks to 
out-of-work employees in the gulf coast region. I did see CEOs of 
gaming companies standing there in the muck up to their ankles handing 
out checks to their employees.
  Contrary to the biased view of some, the gaming industry should be 
fairly and equally like any other business when Congress develops 
legislation to help rebuild this region. The gaming companies remain 
committed to the communities and the people in the affected regions.

                          ____________________