‘Fiscal Cliff’ Bill Could Offer Nice Vehicle for Internet Poker Measure
A lot has been made of a potential cybersecurity bill acting as a vehicle in which to attach proposed Internet poker legislation drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Senator Jon Kyl. A better option might be so-called “fiscal cliff’ legislation, and with good reason.
For one, cybersecurity proved a polarizing issue the last time both the House and Senate attempted to pass their respective bills. There was huge opposition from outside groups worried over the potential negative impact on freedom of speech.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), for example, was quashed in the House with a number of Representatives pressured to back away from supporting the controversial bill.
Provisions in SOPA allowed for court orders to bar advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with websites engaging in the sale of counterfeit goods and those infringing on content. The bill went further to require Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) to block access to such websites.
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On TIME's Techland blog, Jerry Brito wrote, "Imagine if the U.K. created a blacklist of American newspapers that its courts found violated celebrities' privacy? Or what if France blocked American sites it believed contained hate speech?"
On December 13, 2011, Julian Sanchez of the libertarian think tank Cato Institute came out in strong opposition to the bill saying that while the amended version "trims or softens a few of the most egregious provisions of the original proposal... the fundamental problem with SOPA has never been these details; it's the core idea. The core idea is still to create an Internet blacklist..."
Powerhouses the likes of Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, eBay and Mozilla Firefox, to name a few, have opposed such legislation and it is highly unlikely they will back down should new versions of SOPA re-appear during the Lame Duck session.
Internet poker’s best bet is a bill that would focus on the so-called “fiscal cliff”.
From Chris Grove of PokerFuse.com:
The “fiscal cliff” is a combination of two issues – expiring tax cuts and impending automatic budget cuts – that must be addressed before the 2013 session opens. PPA head John Pappas told PocketFives he believes Reid/Kyl’s lame duck chances rest entirely on a fiscal cliff bill: “There’s really only one bill, which addresses the fiscal cliff.”
It’s widely, although not universally, thought that some legislative action will be taken on the fiscal cliff during the lame duck. Pressure for action from business groups started immediately after the election. Negotiations between the GOP and Democrats are underway, with public indications that compromise could be possible on key issues like taxes and defense spending. The fact that tax cuts expire at session’s end boosts the potential for actual legislation in the lame duck, as opposed to a kick of the can into 2013.
The fiscal cliff bill is already being mentioned as a popular target for riders, raising the the possibility that online poker could find political and practical cover from a deluge of riders. Online poker regulation could also provide a financial component (albeit a very meager one) that could help secure a place in any fiscal cliff legislation, especially if Reid and the Congress are willing to get creative with the numbers.
The odds of a “fiscal cliff” measure being voted on during the lame duck session are much greater than 50/50. The odds of passage are only slightly better than 50/50.
For his part, re-elected US President Barack Obama has demanded fast action on dealing with the deficit.
"Let's extend middle class tax cuts right now. Let's do that right now. That one step would give millions of families, 98% of Americans, 97% of small businesses, the certainty that they need going into the new year. All we need is action from the House."
"I've got the pen," he said, reaching into his pocket to hold one up as the crowd applauded. "I'm ready to sign the bill right away. I'm ready to do it."
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
