Conservative and free-market groups voiced opposition to the Restoration of America's Wire Act (HR-4301) in a Monday letter (http://bit.ly/1iuya4x) to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich.
The letter was signed by the American Consumer Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, FreedomWorks, the Institute for Policy Innovation and the R Street Institute, among others.
The bill would stop the expansion of online gambling and was introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, last month (WID March 27 p11). The Senate version, S-2159, has three co-sponsors and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee (http://1.usa.gov/1flZIP1). The House version has nine co-sponsors and was referred to the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee (http://1.usa.gov/1nzooGa).
The act "is a broad overreach by the federal government over matters traditionally reserved for the states," said the letter.
"By banning a select form of Internet commerce, the federal government is setting a troubling precedent and providing fodder to those who would like to see increased Internet regulation in the future," it said.
Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey have passed laws legalizing online gambling within their borders.