HR 5767 Up to 18 Co-Sponsors

Introduced on April 10, 2008, HR 5767 has made waves throughout Congress. Proposed by Democratic Congressman Barney Frank and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, the bill prohibits “the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from proposing, prescribing, or implementing any regulation” of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Over the Memorial Day weekend in the United States, word broke that two more Congressmen have signed on to co-sponsor the bill, bringing the total to 18 on both sides of the aisle.

If you’re in the United States, you’ll want to know who these 18 Congressmen are. The bill is officially proposed by Barney Frank. I’ve listed each lawmaker along with the district of the state they represent:

Gary Ackerman (D-NY, Fifth District) – Ackerman represents Queens and Long Island Shelley Berkley (D-CA, First District) – Berkley represents Las Vegas Russ Carnahan (D-MO, Third District) – Carnahan represents St. Louis Steve Cohen (D-TN, Ninth District) – Cohen represents Memphis Charles Gonzalez (D-TX, 20th District) – Gonzalez represents San Antonio Michael Honda (D-CA, 15th District) – Honda represents Santa Clara County James McGovern (D-MA, Third District) – McGovern represents Somerset Ron Paul (R-TX, 14th District) – Paul represents Galveston Steven Rothman (D-NJ, Ninth District) – Rothman represents Northeast New Jersey Joe Baca (D-CA, 43rd District) – Baca represents San Bernardino and Ontario Michael Capuano (D-MA, Eighth District) – Capuano represents Boston William Lacy Clay (D-MO, First District) – Clay represents St. Louis Bob Filner (D-CA, 51st District) – Filner represents San Diego Luis Gutierrez (D-IL, Fourth District) – Gutierrez represents Chicago Peter King (R-NY, Third District) – King represents Long Island James Moran (D-VA, Eighth District) – Moran represents Fairfax County Ed Perlmutter (D-CO, Seventh District) – Perlmutter represents Lakewood Robert Wexler (D-FL, 19th District) – Wexler represents Palm Beach County

The bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, of which Barney Frank is the Chair. Gutierrez, Ackerman, Capuano, Clay, Baca, Perlmutter, Paul, and Wexler are also members of the Committee.

A Committee hearing on April 2nd was the impetus for the bill’s introduction. In the hearing, representatives from Wells Fargo, the Treasury, and other financial institutions said they were unable to enforce the UIGEA due to its vague language. Shortly thereafter, Frank and Paul introduced HR 5767. The bill, in theory, will halt any effectiveness the UIGEA could have had It’s what the internet gambling industry has been looking for ever since the fall of 2006.