The postponed Congressional hearing on HR 707 aka the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 25 at 4pm ET.
RAWA, the Sheldon Adelson-backed legislation that would eliminate most forms of state-regulated online gambling, was originally scheduled for a hearing with the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations on March 5, but the threat of inclement weather convinced congressmen to get out of town and into a warm hot-tub somewhere safe.
The Subcommittee’s website has yet to unveil an official witness list, but early indications suggest the deck has been stacked with unquestioning RAWA supporters armed with dubious statistics and dystopian visions of online anarchy. However, Competitive Enterprise Institute scribe Michelle Minton tweeted that there would be “a demo on igambling tech earlier that day. A little reality B 4 the show.”
Since the original hearing was cancelled, there’s been no shortage of pushback by anti-RAWA forces. These included a resolution (HR 140) by Pennsylvania State Rep. John Payne urging Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation to “unequivocally oppose” RAWA and any other legislation that seeks to curb individual states’ rights to offer intrastate online gambling.
There’s also been a number of anti-RAWA op-eds, including a missive by Poker Players Alliance exec director John Pappas in Washington political media outlet Roll Call and a blistering attack on RAWA sponsor Rep. Jason Chaffetz in TownHall.com by David Williams, president of the Taxpayer Protection Alliance.
Williams’ article called RAWA a “massive power grab that replaces common sense policy at the state level with federal regulations.” Williams notes that if RAWA passes, state-run online lotteries would be forced to shut down, and taxpayers will have to make up that lost revenue. Williams pulled few punches, calling Chaffetz “myopic” and said RAWA represented “classic corporate welfare that will benefit only one person” i.e. Adelson.
On Tuesday, the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) sent a letter to the heads of the House and Senate expressing its opposition to RAWA. Signed by the governors of Montana and New Hampshire (DGA chair and co-chair, respectively), the letter reminds congressional leaders that state legislators “are best positioned to decide if and how online gaming works in their communities.”
