Here's the comment I posted:
Please support HR 2366, raise revenue without raising taxes
As a voter and a resident of greater Cincinnati, I am writing to ask you to support legislation that licenses Internet poker in the U.S. This bill raises revenue without raising taxes.
In response to the demands of millions of Americans for licensed online poker, Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) and a bipartisan group of his House colleagues introduced H.R. 2366, the Online Poker Act of 2011. This bill does not authorize video poker or any other house-banked casino-style game. Rather, it provides for sensible regulation of the game of online poker -- the electronic version of the game families across America play at the kitchen table -- and is limited to this person-to-person game of skill.
I ask that you please bring this bill to the attention of the deficit reduction super committee. This legislation will provide much needed federal and state revenue without raising taxes. It will also bring American companies into the Internet poker market, bringing needed jobs to Ohio with them. It will provide strong consumer protections and age verification requirements as well. U.S.-based horse race wagering sites have proven that online betting sites can successfully implement these important protections. The game of poker deserves no less.
Former Homeland Security Advisor Tom Ridge supports federal licensing of online poker because it addresses control and accountability of cash flows. Additionally, WiredSafety, the world's largest Internet safety group, commissioned an in-depth study of this issue. The study, which was conducted by Harvard University, examined issues like blocking of underage participation, prevention of money laundering, and providing of consumer protections against fraud and abuse. The study concluded that "combining a thoughtful regulatory scheme with education, technology tools, and support appears to be the most effective means of handling the realities and risks" of online poker. This groundbreaking study can be found at
www.theppa.org/harvardstudy.
Many conservatives oppose efforts to prohibit online poker, including Grover Norquist, George Will, Rep. Joe Barton, Rep. Ron Paul, Rep. John Campbell, Rep. Peter King, and many others. In fact, I interviewed Mr. Norquist on this topic. That interview is on Townhall.com at
http://poker.blogtownhall.com/2010/0...ne_poker.thtml.
Every federal dollar wasted on efforts to stop American adults from playing online poker is another dollar added to the federal deficit. Licensing and regulating U.S.-based poker will work better than prohibition. Quite frankly, there's simply no reason not to pass HR 2366 into law.
Please support my freedoms by supporting this bill. Thank you for your consideration.