Treasury and Federal Reserve officials have been warned!

I stumbled across this remarkable article over at TheHill.com, which told a story I had not yet heard from the front lines of the fight against the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.) According to the author, Susan Crabtree (as of 04/22/08 03:45 PM EST,)

"A bipartisan group of House Financial Services Committee members have warned U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve officials not to waste any more time trying to implement a ban on online gambling."

Yes, I recognize that is a direct quote (hopefully cited sufficiently)but what an opening line for an article! I don't want to have to quote the whole article, but it's really tough because it's just chock full of facts that I'd like to re-iterate. But suffice it to say that Representatives Barney Frank, Luis Gutierrez, Ron Paul, and Pete King sent a letter putting the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve on notice NOT to proceed with developing regulations which would be used to enforce the provisions of the much debated UIGEA. They didn't pull punches with the letter sent Tuesday and the recipients were Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke!

I acknowledge the fight that Rep. Barney Frank has put up in his efforts against the UIGEA, but this move seems quite bold. I think it demonstrates his commitment to the effort and I for one applaud him for it! I'm currently trolling around looking for the letter that was sent in its entirety. As soon as I find it...I'm posting it or at least the link. Basically what I gather from the article is that the lawmakers involved believe there are much more pressing issues with which to deal than waste time and effort on establishing policy for enforcement of the UIGEA, which Frank and his colleagues plan to actively oppose.

Sorry blog dwellers, I'm struggling for words to write here, without plagiarizing the whole article. Just go read all about it RIGHT NOW! Right HERE! Hopefully you'll be as excited about it as I am.

I'll stop rambling and head out looking for the elusive letter now!

***REVISION***
Ha, armed with an internet connection and the forces of Google on my side I found the smoking gun (errr letter) that was sent to Bernanke and Paulson... Here you go: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/press042108.shtml

Make sure to read BOTH of the letters that were sent out, which are for the most part identical except for the following passage in the letter sent to Chairman Bernanke:

"We realize this is not a task you requested. We also appreciate the candor with which your representative answered our questions. In fact, her honest answers and the testimony of the other witnesses confirmed our view that this is an impossible task."

This is the good stuff folks... : )

Regards,

cheer_dad