Reid and Kyl Give Pessimistic View on Likelihood of Passing Online Gaming Bill
November 26th, 2012 by Site Admin
Harry Reid and Jon Kyl have been working diligently to pass the online poker bill that they authored. Despite their continued commitment to the bill, they are becoming increasingly pessimistic that it will be passed in the near future.
The National Journal recently published a report that both Reid and Kyl are starting to lose hope that their online gaming bill will be passed during the lame duck session. Senator Reid said that he and Kyl do not have a well-established strategy to garner the support they need for the bill. Reid said that they are currently working on developing a strategy, but aren’t sure whether they can get the bill passed by the end of the year.
The timing for the bill isn’t ideal. Lawmakers have a number of more pressing issues that they need to deal with at the moment. They are trying to come to a resolution over the fiscal cliff that threatens to throw the United States into a new recession.
Congress is also looking for new legislation that would help generate enough revenue to reduce the growing deficit. Although Reid and Kyl’s online gaming bill would generate revenue for the federal government, it wouldn’t be sufficient to fix the deficit.
Reid and Kyl also acknowledge that they are facing increased opposition from a number of sources. Native American tribes, casinos, state governments, lotteries and a number of other stakeholders are becoming increasingly concerned about the implications of the bill. The biggest challenge will be getting Republican lawmakers to back the bill.
Nevada Senator Dean Heller has pledged to help Reid gain the support of Republicans in the House and Senate. However, all three senators working on the bill are worried that they are running out of time to push it through Congress.
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