Poker Legislation Post

Frank Paul Bill text

Thanks for posting this. It's huge news. Here's the P5s article about it as well:

http://www.pocketfives.com/online-poker-scene/barney-frank-ron-paul-look-to-end-uigea

It's important that this is bipartisan legislation. As you'll see in the article, pressure is now mounting from all sides to reverse the harm caused by the UIGEA originally.

 How long until we will know if this will go through or not?

ill flu:

 How long until we will know if this will go through or not?

We should have a good idea of its prospects within the next few months, but maybe this will go through faster.

My latest letter.  As I've sent a few letters recently, this is intentionally short and more casual in tone:

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The Honorable Geoff Davis
United States House of Representatives
1108 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-1704

Dear Congressman Davis:

I am writing to ask you to cosponsor HR 5767.  HR 5767 places a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). 

As you know, many banks have complained about being deputized to interpret and enforce EVERY state and federal Internet gaming law, which is what UIGEA requires.  They complained in comments to Treasury and to the Federal Reserve.  They complained even more at the April 2, 2008 Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology hearing on the impact of UIGEA on our nation’s financial services industry.

One thing the Subcommittee hearing made completely clear is that Congress needs to define “unlawful Internet gambling” before it can expect financial institutions to have any chance at effectively enforcing any ban on such activity.  The idea that the federal government cannot define this concept, yet expects banks to perform this law enforcement function, is ludicrous.  We ought not force our nation's financial institutions to perform this function.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
 
[me]

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Senator Mitch McConnell
United States Senate
361-A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator McConnell:

I am writing to ask you to sponsor a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) in the Senate.  The corresponding House bill is HR 5767.  

As you know, many banks have complained about being deputized to interpret and enforce EVERY state and federal Internet gaming law, which is what UIGEA requires.  They complained in comments to Treasury and to the Federal Reserve.  They complained even more at the April 2, 2008 House Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology hearing on the impact of UIGEA on our nation’s financial services industry.

One thing the 2008 Subcommittee hearing made completely clear is that Congress needs to define “unlawful Internet gambling” before it can expect financial institutions to have any chance at effectively enforcing any ban on such activity.  The idea that the federal government cannot define this concept, yet expects banks to perform this law enforcement function, is ludicrous.  We ought not force our nation's financial institutions to perform this function.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
 
[me]

Great example letters. It's important to let your Congressmen know that you want them to support HR 5767 and that you're registered to vote in their district. Both are extremely important to say.

Good point, Dan.  I write to my congressman and both Senators frequently and have met with their staffs in D.C.  As they know I vote, I didn't need to mention it. 

For others using my letter as a template:  you should add the fact that you're registered to vote in your district/state to your letter.

Wexler stated on the PocketFives.com Podcast that he was going to co-sponsor HR 5767 as well, so it's good to see this come to fruition:

http://www.pocketfives.com/podcast