Barney Frank Defends His Bill 

May 28, 2009 - Written by Renee

Public debate ahead of any legislative activity is always good for the country. Barney Frank’s anti-UIGEA bill has been generating a lot of debate in various quarters. This has prompted Frank to respond to some of the issues that have been raised. 

Whereas issues directly affecting online gambling are central to the bill, the bill raises issues that are more general and far reaching in nature. One of the more important of such issues is what value do Americans put on their liberty. According to Frank every adult American should have the right to choose for himself whether or not he wants to engage in online gambling. Frank points out that legalizing online gambling is not the same as compelling everyone to wager online. It simply allows responsible adults a considered choice.  

Another issue raised by Frank is how much the bureaucracy and the government should control the lives of the American people. As Frank puts it, “Most actions the government should stay out of”. The government should legislate to provide a fair environment for online gambling as it does in the case of industry. The government should tax online gambling revenues as it does in the case of industry. However the government should not prohibit or promote online gambling. 

The third issue that Frank has a problem with is transparency. He is against the way that the UIGEA was passed. The UIGEA was the last minute amendment to an 800 page bill on the security of sports. The UIGEA was not even properly discussed and debated in the Congress. “Congress kind of sneaked up on the American people,” said Frank. Therefore Frank’s bill is a stand alone bill and has not been clubbed with any other issue. It deals directly and only with the repealing of the UIGEA.