[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20416]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL AIMS TO BAN INTERNET GAMING

  (Ms. BERKLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. BERKLEY. Madam Speaker, Congress is waiting for the Republican 
leadership to bring the Department of Defense authorization bill to the 
floor for a vote.
  So what's holding it up? Believe it or not, the Republican leadership 
wants to add a provision to the defense bill.
  To help the troops? No.
  To add to their salaries? No.
  To help us buy equipment for them so they will have state of the art 
equipment? No.
  It's a provision to ban Internet gaming. And if you guessed that, you 
are absolutely right. A ban on Internet gaming in the defense bill. How 
ridiculous is that? At a time when we have brave American men and women 
fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Republican leadership 
is more worried about Americans playing poker on-line than in 
protecting our troops in the field.
  The Republicans talk about patriotism and supporting our fighting men 
and women, but when it comes to voting for our Nation's Defense 
Department, they are more interested in banning Internet gaming than 
they are in providing what our troops need in the field of battle.
  This is a disgrace. Americans should be outraged and we should demand 
that we pass this Department of Defense authorization without any other 
additions that have nothing to do with defending our brave men and 
women.

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