PROPOSAL TO TAX ONLINE GAMBLING TO FUND U.S.
HEALTHCARE DIES (Update)
25 September 2009
Was Democratic Party pressure brought to bear
on the Senator from Oregon?
Senator Ron Wyden has withdrawn his proposed legislation
that sought to legalise and tax online gambling in the
United States to help pay for healthcare reform (see
previous InfoPowa report), reports the Washington DC
publication The Hill.
And inevitably, industry
observers are speculating whether the Senator was placed
under pressure by fellow Democrats anxious to avoid yet
more controversy around President Obama's already
contentious initiative on healthcare.
In a
statement to The Hill, Wyden’s communications director
said the Senator from Oregon did not want to introduce
another controversial issue into the healthcare debate,
and would pull his amendment from consideration.
Senator Wyden had offered the amendment to the
healthcare bill the Senate Finance Committee began
considering on Tuesday this week, suggesting that a tax
on legalised online gambling could contribute toward
health insurance subsidies.
“The last thing
Senator Wyden wants to do is make it more difficult to
expand subsidies for working families by introducing a
new contentious issue to the debate,” said Jennifer
Hoelzer, the Senator's communications director. “So when
he offers the amendment, he will do it with other
funding mechanisms.”
The Hill reports that while
senior Democrats in the House also have offered support
for the concept of taxing Internet gambling to pay for
healthcare, the issue is unlikely to move forward.
The healthcare debate is already heated, and
Democratic leaders in the Senate have signaled they do
not want to introduce another controversial issue to the
mix.
Regan LaChapelle, a spokesman for Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid from Nevada told The Hill:
“Changing the laws regarding online gaming is a
significant detour from healthcare, a detour that
Senator Reid agrees is not appropriate at this time."
Internet gaming supporters in Congress, many of
them Democrats, said they would consider similar
measures. Representative Jim McDermott, who has already
submitted a companion tax bill to complement online
gambling legalisation proposals by the Democrat Barney
Frank, said that he would consider such a tax.
Representative Frank himself said: “It’s a great idea.
Why should we leave all that money untaxed?”
Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services
Committee, added that once his panel is done with
reforming regulations governing the financial-services
sector, he wants to bring his online gambling bill
before the panel.
The Hill speculates that
McDermott and other House Democrats could move to add
the Wyden provision in conference, as members work to
find a compromise between Democrats who want to provide
generous insurance subsidies and those who want to
contain the healthcare bill’s costs.
Conservative Christian groups oppose the Wyden idea,
saying that legalised online gambling will degrade
family life.
Tom McClusky, vice president of
Family Research Council Action said: “It is congressmen
trying to take advantage of the situation,” adding that
the tax on Internet gambling would be paid by gamblers
who need help.
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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