WILL BUSH SEND ONLINE GAMING BILL BACK FOR MORE CLARITY?

(692) (12-October-2006)

Washington lobbyist says it is a possibility

A Washington protest against the new Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has produced new information that runs contrary to the almost universal view that President Bush will sign the Act into law tomorrow as part of a port security measure.

Lobbyist Debbie Richardson , who declines to identify her company, organised a small protest in Washington earlier this week, and plans a bigger turnout for November 3.

Richardson claims that during the protest unidentified political sources in the Capitol told her that there is a possibility that President Bush may elect to refer the online gambling legislation back to Congress, since there are too many flaws due to the last-minute nature of amendments that had to be made in order to attach the proposal at the eleventh hour to the port security bill on which it passed.

Some aspects of the law do not make sense, as has been pointed out already by law experts like Professor I Nelson Rose in his analysis.

Richardson was apparently told that the President could decline to sign off the new law on grounds that it may be flawed. The fact that many Congressmen and women were not given enough time to study the final content of the bill was also apparently a cause for concern.  President Bush has the power to send the attachment bill back to the Senate for a 30-day period, for debate and more competent drafting, she was told.

Acting on this information, Richardson is assembling a further protest for November 3.

With President Bush widely expected to sign the port security bill, and its anti-online gambling bill attachment tomorrow [Friday 13 October] Richardson's information will soon enough be tested.