A Washington protest against the new Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement
Act has produced new information that runs contrary to the almost
universal view that President Bush will sign the Act into law tomorrow
as part of a port security measure.
Lobbyist Debbie Richardson, who declines to identify her company,
organized a small protest in Washington earlier this week, and plans
a bigger turnout for November 3.
Richardson claims that during the protest unidentified political sources
in the Capitol told her that there is a possibility that President
Bush may elect to refer the online gambling legislation back to Congress,
since there are too many flaws due to the last-minute nature of amendments
that had to be made in order to attach the proposal at the eleventh
hour to the port security bill on which it passed.
Some aspects of the law do not make sense, as has been pointed out
already by law experts like Professor I Nelson Rose in his analysis.
Richardson was apparently told that the President could decline to
sign off the new law on grounds that it may be flawed. The fact that
many Congressmen and women were not given enough time to study the
final content of the bill was also apparently a cause for concern.
President Bush has the power to send the attachment bill back to the
Senate for a 30-day period, for debate and more competent drafting,
she was told.
Acting on this information, Richardson is assembling a further protest
for November 3.
With President Bush widely expected to sign the port security bill,
and its anti-online gambling bill attachment tomorrow [Friday 13 October]
Richardson's information will soon enough be tested.