Articles Related to the Port Security Bill and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA)

An article in the Washington Post by Jonathan Weisman - Saturday, September 30, 2006
Title - Internet Gambling, Ports Deals Reached

An article from MSNBC - Saturday, October 14, 2006
Title - Bush signs port security, online gambling bill
 

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Internet Gambling, Port Deals Reached

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By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 30, 2006; Page A08

House and Senate negotiators reached agreement last night on legislation to tighten maritime and port security regulations and, in a last-minute move, added an unrelated measure that seeks to ban Internet gambling.

At the same time, House negotiators prevailed in their fight to strip out $4.5 billion in rail and mass-transit security funds included in the Senate provision.

The port security and Internet gambling legislation was approved 409 to 2 in the House and on a voice vote in the Senate early today, as lawmakers rushed to leave Washington for their fall reelection campaigns. Senate Republican and Democratic leaders announced it would be passed by voice vote after the House's late-night vote.

Lawmakers from both parties had been crafting the port security measure for more than a year, but its passage became politically critical after a Middle Eastern government-owned company's purchase of U.S. port operations triggered a political melee in Washington early this year.

The final agreement requires radiation scanning of all containers at the top 22 U.S. seaports, orders the Department of Homeland Security to develop response and recovery plans for a terrorist attack, and sets firm deadlines for the implementation of a transportation worker identification and screening system. It authorizes $2 billion in port security grants between 2001 and 2011.

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The changes angered some Democrats, who helped craft the original port security legislation but were largely blocked from the final negotiations. The Senate had overwhelmingly approved the authorization of $3.5 billion for mass-transit security grants and $1 billion for freight and passenger rail programs, but House Republicans balked at the cost.

"If Republicans leave town [after] stripping out all the sections protecting major sectors of out transportation sector, God help us if there's an attack," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).

Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), whose home-state casinos are split over the Internet gambling measure, briefly weighed scuttling the bill over the provision before agreeing to go along, aides said.

House and Senate Republican leaders pushed hard to secure the Internet gambling measure, which some Republicans viewed as a chance to clear their names after they allowed disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to scuttle a similar measure six years ago.

Proponents of the crackdown said the industry, which is mostly based overseas, provides a front for money laundering, some of it by drug sellers and terrorist groups, while preying on children and gambling addicts. Americans bet an estimated $6 billion per year online, accounting for half the worldwide market, according to analysis by the Congressional Research Service.

A coalition of on-line poker players and gambling Web sites tried to thwart the Internet gambling provision. Michael Bolcerek, president of the Poker Players Alliance, argued that it could put familiar Web sites such as Party Poker and Pacific Poker out of business while pushing gamblers to "rogue Web sites with no protection for children and no protection for problem gamblers."

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WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a bill Friday to help prevent terrorists from sneaking a nuclear, chemical or germ weapon into the United States inside one of the 11 million shipping containers that enter the nation each year -- many without inspection.

"We're going to protect our ports. We're going to defend this homeland, and we're going to win this war on terror," Bush said.

The president used the bill-signing ceremony to assert that Republicans are tough on terror, a key issue in congressional elections just less than four weeks away.

Quiet on online gambling
He didn't mention an unrelated provision that seeks to put teeth into laws that forbid most online gambling. Instead, Bush focused on the multiple ways the legislation tightens security and closes a loophole in anti-terror defenses, especially at ports.

Instead, Bush's remarks focused on the multiple ways the legislation could reduce the likelihood that terrorists could sneak a nuclear, chemical or biological weapons device into the country in one of the 11 million shipping containers that enter the country each year, many without any inspection.

Congress approved the bill two weeks ago, one of its last acts before lawmakers left to campaign for the Nov. 7 midterm elections in which national security, the war in Iraq and terrorism are expected to be major factors.

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Cargo screening
The administration has spent about $10 billion to enhance security at the nation's ports since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. About 65 percent of cargo, that considered most high-risk, is screened for nuclear or radiological materials. The Homeland Security Department aims to increase that number to 80 percent by the end of the year and to almost 100 percent by the end of 2007.

The issue became a particular priority for Congress after a fight in February over a buyout that put a Dubai company in control of some operations at six U.S. ports. The outcry led the Dubai company, DP World, to promise it would sell the U.S. operations to an American company. The sale is pending.

Democrats favored the bill, but said it failed to address rail and mass transit, other areas considered highly vulnerable to terrorist attack. The bill was approved on a 409-2 vote in the House, and by a voice vote in the Senate.

Measure provisions
The legislation approves $400 million a year over five years for risk-based grants for training and exercises at ports. It requires the nation's 22 largest ports, which handle 98 percent of all cargo entering the country, to install radiation detectors by the end of next year.

Pilot programs would be established at three foreign ports to test technology for nonintrusive cargo inspections. Currently only one foreign port, Hong Kong, scans all U.S.-bound cargo for nuclear materials.

Background checks and credentials will be required for workers at the nation's 361 ports, and the Homeland Security Department would set up protocols for resuming operations after an attack or incident. It is feared that a terrorist attack, such as a nuclear device set off by remote control, could cripple the entire economy as well as cause massive casualties.

Preferential cargo processing is offered to importers who meet certain security requirements.

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