@splinterfree 147178 wrote:
that’s out of how many? i’m not from US so no idea whats the total score of votes…
thx.
It’s not necessarily a tally of most votes. How it works is… It’s Barney Frank’s Bill, so, once he sees x amount of co-sponsors and enough back room talk that he thinks his Bill would have a good chance of passing, then he will bring it to the House floor for a real debate and a real vote to see if it passes.
If it passes the House it then gets passed to the Senate, which then has the opportunity to debate it, amend it, and pass. Once both the Senate and the House approve it, it then goes to George Bush who also must either pass it or veto it. If he doesn’t veto it then it passes and the law is final.
It is likely, though, that he would veto it in whch case it goes back to the Senate who then has to vote on it again. If that vote garners more than 2/3 approval votes then that means Bush’s veto will be overidden. The chances of a Senate overide are unlikely being that the Senate is almost split between Republicans and Democrats.
The good news about new co-sponsors signing up, even if the bill does not pass, is simply that more and more lawmakers are catching up to the ways of the 21st century. With every new co-sponsor there is a stronger sign of future changes in the American Internet gambling landscape.
All of this is separte from the IMEGA case against the US, which could reverse the UIGEA, and the World Trade decision that says the UIGEA is illegal, which could cause US lawmakers to simply can the UIGEA for now until legislation is passed allowing regulations for the industry.