Frank's Online Casino Bill Will Follow High Road
Much has been made of the sneaky, underhanded subterfuge employed by ex-Senator Bill Frist when pushing the UIGEA through Congress in 2006. Representative Barney Frank promises not to pursue the same methods for his bill proposing the regulation of online casinos and Internet gambling, even if that means a harder path to passage.
Frist waited until right before the legislature was ending the session to attach the UIGEA to a homeland security bill safeguarding US ports. No lawmaker wanted to be portrayed as against port security, and there was no time to amend the bill, so the UIGEA passed without discussion or debate.
Frank says he will present his bill as a standalone bill, noting it would be "inappropriate'" to use the same slimy measures used by Frist. He will allow fellow legislators to debate the merits of the bill as it stands, without attaching it to a piece of must-pass legislation.
"It would be a mistake,” Frank told The Hill.com, to try to hide this bill behind other proposals. “I want to do this with hearings, discussions and votes.”
Even opponents of online gambling admire Frank's determination to let his bill rise or fall on its own merits.
“I don’t think Republicans should have done that. We should have been courageous and put it on the floor as a standalone bill...,” said Jim Backlin, vice president of the Christian Coalition of America. “I think it is good that Congressman Frank is not trying to attach [his bill] to a fast-track bill.”
Frank reiterated his intent to introduce the bill after the Easter break.
