Cliff Stearns: “let me say in the beginning, let us not let the perfect become the enemy of the good here. I commend the gentleman from…”

“let me say in the beginning, let us not let the perfect become the enemy of the good here. I commend the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) for his bill and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) for crafting a compromise that we can support. So I hope all the folks will come on board here. We can mend this bill later on if they are not happy with it. Opponents of this legislation cry out there is special legislation here creating carve-outs for specific industries. And I say, Mr. Speaker, the carve-outs that they cite are not carve-outs. Rather, they allow for activity that is already lawful under existing law to continue. This legislation permits parimutuel wagering to operate as it has for many, many years under Federal and State laws. This legislation is mindful of States' rights and sovereignty and allows States their rights to regulate activity within their border, and that is currently legal. So there are no carve-outs here. As such, the bill does not expand or promote gambling on the Internet. Instead it allows for those activities as currently permitted by States to exist. This legislation has the support of a lot of groups. I urge my colleagues to support it.”