Hundreds of American professionals in the online gambling industry celebrated last night when the U.S. House fell short of passing Rep. Bob Goodlatte's Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. Does the surprising vote represent a turning point in a battle previously dominated by those in favor of prohibiting Net betting or is it just a bump in the road for the bill's supporters?
Those with a lot at stake are exhibiting their optimism with considerable caution, as Goodlatte has already indicated that he could try to bring it back to the floor, stating, "It is of utmost importance that this legislation is passed and signed into law this year."
A late compromise between Goodlatte and Rep. Bill Tauzin regarding the highly debated pari-mutuel exemption apparently gave Goodlatte enough confidence to have the measure brought up under suspension of the rules, meaning that no further amendments could be introduced. In doing so, he was counting on getting two-thirds of the vote, the minimum required to pass a measure considered under these conditions. The opposition, composed oddly of the Net betting industry and anti-gambling social groups, prevailed.
Goodlatte still has a legitimate chance of getting the bill passed, but it is now he who faces the uphill battle. Given the bill's track record to date, the consensus is that he avoided a regular-order vote because that could have led to flocks of new amendments coming into the picture. Opening up more debate could have resulted in enough changes to make the bill unrecognizable in its current form.
Further, Goodlatte is now also forced with swaying the Administration, as the absence of a strong majority indicates that overriding a veto would be unlikely. The White House came out strongly against the bill in a statement released yesterday, explaining that the Administration "strongly opposes H.R. 3125, which appears to be designed to protect certain forms of Internet gambling that currently are illegal, while potentially opening the floodgates for other forms of illegal gambling." The Department of Justice, which has adamantly opposed the bill from the beginning, backed the Administration in a statement of its own.
Goodlatte's final foe is time. The session's August recess begins July 29 and more time off due to the presidential election will leave few days to get it done. If it isn't passed this year, they'll have to start from scratch in 2001.
Those seeking something to worry about might want to consider that Goodlatte could sneak the act through as an attachment to another bill, a strategy that worked brilliantly for Sen. Jon Kyl in '98. Also consider that the Leach bill (HR 4419), a measure to cut off all payment channels necessary for the online gambling to exist, still lurks.
Forty-four Republicans, 114 Democrats and one independent voted to defeat the bill. Here's how the 245-159 vote shakes out:
Yeas
| Aderholt | Green (WI) | Peterson (MN) |
| Allen | Gutknecht | Peterson (PA) |
| Armey | Hall (OH) | Phelps |
| Bachus | Hall (TX) | Pickering |
| Baker | Hansen | Pickett |
| Baldacci | Hastings (FL) | Pitts |
| Ballenger | Hastings (WA) | Pomeroy |
| Barcia | Hayes | Porter |
| Barrett (NE) | Hefley | Price (NC) |
| Bartlett | Herger | Pryce (OH) |
| Bass | Hill (IN) | Quinn |
| Bateman | Hill (MT) | Radanovich |
| Bereuter | Hilleary | Rahall |
| Berkley | Hinojosa | Ramstad |
| Berry | Hobson | Regula |
| Bilirakis | Hoekstra | Reynolds |
| Bishop | Holt | Riley |
| Bliley | Hooley | Roemer |
| Boehlert | Horn | Rogan |
| Boehner | Hostettler | Rogers |
| Bonilla | Hulshof | Ros-Lehtinen |
| Boswell | Hunter | Rothman |
| Boucher | Hyde | Roukema |
| Brady (TX) | Isakson | Ryan (WI) |
| Brown (FL) | Istook | Ryun (KS) |
| Bryant | Jackson-Lee (TX) | Sabo |
| Burr | John | Salmon |
| Burton | Johnson (CT) | Sandlin |
| Buyer | Jones (NC) | Saxton |
| Callahan | Kelly | Sensenbrenner |
| Canady | King (NY) | Shadegg |
| Castle | LaFalce | Shaw |
| Chambliss | LaHood | Shays |
| Coble | Lampson | Sherwood |
| Collins | Largent | Shimkus |
| Combest | Latham | Shows |
| Condit | LaTourette | Shuster |
| Cooksey | Lazio | Sisisky |
| Costello | Leach | Skelton |
| Cramer | Lewis (CA) | Smith (NJ) |
| Cubin | Lewis (KY) | Smith (TX) |
| Cunningham | Linder | Souder |
| Danner | Lipinski | Spence |
| Davis (FL) | LoBiondo | Spratt |
| Deal | Lucas (KY) | Stabenow |
| DeFazio | Lucas (OK) | Stearns |
| DeLauro | Luther | Stenholm |
| DeMint | Maloney (CT) | Strickland |
| Deutsch | Maloney (NY) | Stump |
| Diaz-Balart | Manzullo | Sununu |
| Dickey | McCarthy (MO) | Sweeney |
| Dixon | McCarthy (NY) | Talent |
| Dooley | McCrery | Tancredo |
| Duncan | McHugh | Tanner |
| Dunn | McInnis | Tauzin |
| Edwards | McIntyre | Taylor (MS) |
| Ehlers | McKeon | Taylor (NC) |
| Emerson | Meek (FL) | Terry |
| Etheridge | Menendez | Thomas |
| Everett | Metcalf | Thornberry |
| Ewing | Mica | Thune |
| Farr | Miller (FL) | Thurman |
| Fletcher | Miller, Gary | Tiahrt |
| Foley | Miller, George | Traficant |
| Forbes | Minge | Turner |
| Fowler | Mollohan | Visclosky |
| Franks (NJ) | Moran (KS) | Vitter |
| Frelinghuysen | Moran (VA) | Walden |
| Frost | Morella | Walsh |
| Gallegly | Myrick | Wamp |
| Ganske | Nadler | Waters |
| Gekas | Nethercutt | Watkins |
| Gibbons | Northup | Watts (OK) |
| Gilchrest | Norwood | Weldon (FL) |
| Gillmor | Nussle | Weller |
| Gilman | Ortiz | Wexler |
| Goode | Ose | Whitfield |
| Goodlatte | Oxley | Wicker |
| Goodling | Packard | Wilson |
| Gordon | Pallone | Wolf |
| Goss | Pascrell | Young (AK) |
| Graham | Pease | |
Nays
| Andrews | Fossella | Neal |
| Archer | Frank (MA) | Ney |
| Baca | Gejdenson | Oberstar |
| Baird | Gephardt | Obey |
| Baldwin | Gonzalez | Olver |
| Barr | Green (TX) | Owens |
| Barrett (WI) | Greenwood | Pastor |
| Becerra | Hayworth | Paul |
| Bentsen | Hilliard | Payne |
| Berman | Hinchey | Pelosi |
| Biggert | Hoeffel | Petri |
| Bilbray | Holden | Pombo |
| Blumenauer | Houghton | Portman |
| Blunt | Hoyer | Rangel |
| Bonior | Inslee | Reyes |
| Bono | Jackson (IL) | Rivers |
| Borski | Jefferson | Rodriguez |
| Boyd | Jenkins | Rohrabacher |
| Brady (PA) | Johnson, E. B. | Roybal-Allard |
| Brown (OH) | Johnson, Sam | Royce |
| Camp | Jones (OH) | Sanchez |
| Cannon | Kanjorski | Sanders |
| Capps | Kaptur | Sanford |
| Capuano | Kasich | Sawyer |
| Cardin | Kennedy | Scarborough |
| Chabot | Kildee | Schaffer |
| Chenoweth-Hage | Kind (WI) | Schakowsky |
| Clay | Kingston | Scott |
| Clayton | Kleczka | Sherman |
| Clement | Knollenberg | Simpson |
| Clyburn | Kolbe | Skeen |
| Conyers | Kucinich | Slaughter |
| Cox | Kuykendall | Smith (MI) |
| Coyne | Lantos | Snyder |
| Crane | Larson | Stark |
| Crowley | Lee | Stupak |
| Cummings | Levin | Tauscher |
| Davis (IL) | Lewis (GA) | Thompson (CA) |
| Davis (VA) | Lofgren | Thompson (MS) |
| DeGette | Lowey | Tierney |
| Delahunt | Mascara | Toomey |
| DeLay | Matsui | Towns |
| Dingell | McDermott | Udall (CO) |
| Doggett | McGovern | Udall (NM) |
| Doolittle | McKinney | Upton |
| Doyle | Meehan | Velazquez |
| Dreier | Meeks (NY) | Watt (NC) |
| Engel | Millender-McDonald | Weiner |
| English | Mink | Weldon (PA) |
| Eshoo | Moakley | Weygand |
| Evans | Moore | Woolsey |
| Fattah | Murtha | Wu |
| Filner | Napolitano | Wynn |
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