Peter Visclosky: “Since I have been chairman, we have never had a single hearing on this subject. No witnesses have offered any testimony…”

“Since I have been chairman, we have never had a single hearing on this subject. No witnesses have offered any testimony on this subject. The chairman was right. That is why the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Istook] and myself introduced authorizing legislation in this Congress. That is why 54 of our colleagues have joined us in a bipartisan fashion to sponsor that legislation and to ask for hearings. Here we are, almost 13 months after the fact, and yes, no hearings have been held and the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Istook] and I have been very, very patient. The final objection raised on the floor today is that this is a new tax, and nothing could be further from the truth. We are simply suggesting that there should be an even playing field; that compacts ought to be entered into to preserve the revenue flow of the States and the locales, to preserve the ability of private business to compete in this society. That is all we are doing. There are no new taxes here involved. I would urge my colleagues on the facts and the issues involved, not to the emotion, and on a bipartisan basis, to please on this vote support the Istook-Visclosky amendment.”