[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 27058-27059]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               CONTINUED PROHIBITION OF INTERNET GAMBLING

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM FEENEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 10, 2007

  Mr. FEENEY. Madam Speaker, last year, I cosponsored legislation with 
Congressman

[[Page 27059]]

Bob Goodlatte to help stop the widespread growth of gambling over the 
internet. Though Federal law already prohibits gambling over telephone 
wires, the passage of this legislation was necessary to maintain the 
original intent of the law while also bringing it up to speed with the 
explosion of current and future technology. However, this update of the 
law made clear that it would only affect interstate commerce, 
respecting the rights of states by leaving to them the decision whether 
and how to regulate gambling within their own borders. New legislation 
before the Financial Services Committee attempts to undo all of this 
previous work, instead granting the federal government the expansive 
and exclusive right to regulate all online gambling. This new 
legislation would represent the first time in history that the Federal 
Government would be given power to issue gambling licenses, and it 
marks a significant shift away from allowing states to determine for 
themselves what type of policy is best. Proponents of this legislation 
state that the bill offers states the right to ``opt out'' of this 
regulation, but the truth is that the states already have the right to 
determine their own policy towards gambling without any broader federal 
regulation that threatens to undermine their control over licensing 
standards and enforcement actions.

                          ____________________