For Immediate Release: November 2, 2021
Contact: Ryan Hite, Communications Director
Groups Call First Off-Reservation Casino Approved by the House of Representatives an Assault on States’ Rights
Washington, D.C.: Following the House of Representatives’ Monday passage of H.R. 1619, the first time in history Congress ever approved an off-reservation casino, the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles sent a coalition letter of opposition signed by 21 groups and organizations to the U.S. Senate. Signatories include Stop Predatory Gambling, the Family Heritage Alliance, Tea Party Nation, and nearly 20 other religious, family values, and states’ rights groups from across the country.
The letter can be viewed here.
“If passed, H.R .1619 would mark the first time Congress created an off-reservation casino in
history,” the groups wrote. “The bill risks creating an anywhere, any place casino gambling policy that could open the door to casinos unapproved by states, localities, and the courts operating in neighborhoods throughout the country.”
The letter is signed by groups generally opposed to gambling as well as pro-gambling groups who oppose the legislation on federalism grounds.
STATEMENTS FROM PETITION SIGNERS
“I support gambling, but I don’t support egregious assaults on the Tenth Amendment,” said Stephen Moore, an economist with FreedomWorks and the co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. “The Anywhere, Any Place Casino Act is exactly that: a bill that no one who has vowed to defend and uphold the Constitution and Bill of Rights can afford to support.”
“At a time when the American people are already losing more than $225,000 of personal wealth every minute to commercialized gambling, the Anywhere, Any Place Casino Act is a radical and dangerous proposal that would make the problem of wealth inequality dramatically worse, re-distributing billions of dollars from low income and middle-income families to the wealthy financial interests behind the bill,” said Les Bernal, National Director of Stop Predatory Gambling. “The U.S. Senate needs to shut down this bill, which is a naked money grab coming at the expense of American families.”
“We are so pleased with the overwhelming amount of support we have received in our efforts to defeat The Anywhere, Any Place Casino Act,” said Ed Martin, the president of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles. “This bill will do more than expand casino gambling with a congressional rubber stamp; it will also sideswipe the rule of law and allow policy to be determined by political capital rather than process. With the help of this diverse 21-group coalition, we are optimistic that Democrats and Republicans of all stripes will recognize as much and reject this bill.”
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