James A. Leach: “Mr. Chairman, the bill as it comes before the floor today is, frankly, not as comprehensive as I would have liked. It…”

“Mr. Chairman, the bill as it comes before the floor today is, frankly, not as comprehensive as I would have liked. It would have been better if the Committee on the Judiciary had updated the Wire Act. It would have been better if we had been more precise in allowing certain law enforcement ties to the financial system. Nevertheless, this is a very credible first step to slowing the growth of Internet gambling. The issue has been raised on the floor, and I think it is worthy of serious review, the question of is this an individual issue, a libertarian issue or is it a social issue? I believe very firmly that it is far more than a libertarian issue. We ignore gambling at our peril. It is simply not good for the American economy to send billions of dollars overseas. It is not good for American national security to allow Internet gambling to provide the ideal basis for money laundering, for narco-traffickers and for terrorists. But most of all it is not good for the American family. Anyone that gets hooked on Internet gambling or any form of gambling, but particularly Internet which is gambling alone, will lose virtually all of their assets.”