Response from my Congressman concerning online poker

I sent an email to my congressman here in Tennessee through the PPA website and this is what he sent me back:




Thank you for contacting my office with your concerns.

Our ability to maintain and improve America's communication systems is crucial to preserving the American way of life. From cable to the internet, phone service to wireless communication, we must do all we can to use American technology and innovation to move our infrastructure forward. As you may know, I serve the fourth most rural Congressional District in the U.S. Congress, and it is the small farmers, small businesspeople and hard working families of my district that I am here to protect and represent. It is increasingly important, with our Nation's reliance on services like cable and the internet, that people in districts like mine have the same level of service as Americans in more urban areas. I am committed to policies that will continue to grant access to more Americans at an affordable price.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Should you have additional comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.



Sincerely,

Lincoln Davis
Member of Congress




I think he kind of missed the boat on this one. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. This has nothing to do with what I sent him.. WTF?

It looks like a form letter sent to people complaining about not having internet service out in rural areas lol.

I would send him back something thanking him for taking the time to actually read your email.

Looks like they threw it in the "emails about the internet" pile and sent an automated reply back concerning the internet, lol.

A lot of busy people have automatic email sorters, that detect keywords and send an automated response (sad but true), so it is likely nobody saw the email, let alone put it on a spike or a pile.

Find a header they will find irresistible and will have to read, such as 'Want to Make Large Campaign Contribution'

Have you ever heard a politician answer any question?

Too funny!

I would vote for the other guy in the next election.

These are the 2 responses I received

This is an automated response message from Rep. Eileen Kowall, R-White Lake. Representative Kowall serves Michigan's 44th House District which includes all of Highland, Independence, Springfield and White Lake Townships.

Thank you for contacting the office of State Representative Eileen Kowall. I appreciate hearing from you and being made aware of your views. For those writing to share their thoughts on statewide issues, or to offer support or opposition to specific legislation, please be assured I review all e-mails, regular mail, telephone and fax messages before making a decision on behalf of the residents of the 44th House District.

Unfortunately, due to the large volume of e-mail my office receives every day, it is impossible to always answer each one personally. The people of the 44th District are my top priority and I do want to hear from you.

Due to legislative courtesy to fellow lawmakers, I am unable to respond to e-mails from people who live outside my House District. People who do not reside in the 44th district are encouraged to locate and contact their state representative at www.house.mi.gov/find_a_rep.asp.

If your e-mail is of an urgent or time-sensitive nature, please contact my office toll-free at 1-866-334-0010 and a member of my staff will assist you immediately.

Again, thank you for your e-mail. Your comments, suggestions and opinions are valuable to me and are always welcome.

Sincerely,

EILEEN KOWALL
Your State Representative
44th District


Thank you for your email to me regarding H.R. 2267 and S. 1597. I appreciate you sharing your concerns with me on this issue.

Work on H.R. 2267 and S. 1597 is taking place on the federal level. As your state senator, I do not have an opportunity to vote on federal policy. I would encourage you to contact your representatives in the United States Congress, Congressman Thaddeus McCotter and Senators Levin and Stabenow, regarding your concerns. You may contact them through their respective websites:

http://mccotter.house.gov/HoR/MI11/Contact/
http://levin.senate.gov/contact
http://stabenow.senate.gov/email.cfm

Again, I appreciate you writing to me about this matter. If I may assist you further, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
NANCY CASSIS
State Senator
District 15

Here in Texas, there was a bill to allow poker rooms to open in the state, it was going to be voted on by lawmakers in Austin. Our great govenor Perry vetoed it before it could be voted on.
Oh well
Take care

That's what I meant. I didn't mean they literally put it in a certain pile after reading it.

here is the response i got from my congressman:

Dear Sir,

Shuttup fker i hate ur face i hope u shove 12 BBs in the main event and get slowrolled by AA and lose say whaaaaaaaaaaat gimme gimme mo'

Sincerely,
Congressman Eric Delman

Quit raping congressmen in cash games and you would stop getting responses like that, Vanq.

I got a similar letter when I sent an e-mail through the PPA.

I sent out a letter as well. At first I recieved a response saying that he was very backlogged but he would get back to me A.S.A.P. I figured that the response was just a bunch of hooey and that would be the last I heard. Well, I was wrong.

This is what I was sent:

Dear Mr. XXXX:

Thank you for writing and sharing your concerns with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) which became law in October, 2006. I understand you are worried about unintended consequences of this bill and would like for online poker to be excluded from the legislation.

As you know, UIGEA prohibits a financial institution from transferring funds to an online gambling site. This law was enacted because these sites do not have appropriate safeguards to keep minors from logging on to gamble. Unfortunately, underage gambling has become a growing problem which has the potential to cause long-lasting damage to a minor's financial health.

However, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives which aims to clarify the language of UIGEA. H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act of 2009, would create a framework under which online gambling sites could become licensed and authorized to accept bets and wagers from individuals in the United States.

Additionally, Chairman Frank has announced his plans to introduce legislation that would delay the implementation of UIGEA regulations which are currently slated to go into effect on December 1, 2009. Chairman Frank's legislation has not yet come to the Senate but I look forward to reviewing his bills when they do.

Again, thank you for contacting me on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance to you on this, or any other matter.



Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

I just got a response back today as well, only mine sounded a little better, granted it was a State Senator and he couldn't do as much(even though they are saying it is going to be on a State level possibly...

"Dear Jeremy,

Thank you for the letter expressing your support of U.S. Senate Bill 1597 regarding sensible poker legislation.

I was unaware of the federal legislation that you addressed, in part because I serve you in Springfield, and not Washington. Many of my constituents are concerned about expansion of gambling, especially over the Internet. Not everyone has the same responsible approach to gambling as you seem to have.

I enjoy periodic poker game and more importantly, I respect our freedoms to make personal choices in our personal lives that are not "life-or-death" in nature.

Thank you for taking the time to share your advice. I will study this issue closely and do my best.

Sincerely,
Christopher J. Lauzen"

The bolded part I thought was pretty cool because it brought it down to kind of a personal level. He even drew a little picture of a smiley face with two aces on the bottom, how cool is that? If it wasn't for Blago and Obama, I might like Illinois politics, lol. Hopefully some others will get some (somewhat) positive results.

I received this marvelous note from Steve Driehaus, Congressman from Ohio. Now I am really glad I voted for the guy:

Thank you for contacting me regarding Internet gambling. I appreciate knowing your thoughts on this important issue.

The provisions of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIEGEA) were passed by the 109th Congress and President Bush signed them into law on October 13, 2006. This legislation prohibits Internet users from transferring money from financial institutions to online gambling sites.

On May 6, 2009 Representative Barney Frank introduced H.R. 2266, the Reasonable Prudence in Regulation Act, and H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act. These bills would overturn the gambling prohibition and would allow websites to accept bets from U.S. customers through transactions from banks or similar institutions. On June 12, 2009, I cosponsored both pieces of legislation because I believe that the current law requires financial institutions to police Internet gambling which is beyond the scope of their business of expertise.

Again, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. Please feel free to contact me in the future if I may be of any assistance

Nice letter, thx for sharing. I have also received a positive response in support of internet gaming from Rep. Dean Heller, NV.

Problem is, it just has the appearance of 'some' members of Congress not being able to wait to get their hands on internet gambling, new taxes, and the money, staff and 'positions' it would generate.

Read the portion above that says ... "current law requires financial institutions to police Internet gambling which is beyond the scope of their business of expertise". Since when would online gaming be within the scope of CONGRESS' business "expertise". ????

HR2267 is titled: "Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act"

Gambling Regulation ... yeppers, we see constantly what Congress is capable of 'regulating' and 'how' they go about it.

Consumer Protection ... yeppers, I already feel protected by Congress daily. (sarcasm more: [off])

and Enforcement Act ... yeppers, and we are all happy about how Congress is 'enforcing' other pieces of their legislative 'BS'.

Best answer is to get rid of the UIGEA and get down to leaving internet gaming up to the individual states. The Federal government has NO expertise in internet gambling and my greatest fear is that US Congressional interference would only be a vehicle for our Congressmen to pillage and rape another source of taxes and fund more 'committees' and 'special project amendments' for us to pay for.

Out with UIGEA ... in with individual state controls.

Regarding the letters we sent to our Congress representatives, this is an email today from the PPA. I immediately emailed the response I received and urge everyone else to do so too:

"Thank you for sending a letter to your member of Congress to help protect your rights to play poker in the privacy of your own home. We need you to help us continue to fight for your rights in DC. If your member of Congress responded to you in 2009, please send or forward that email to us at letters@theppa.org . This information will be extremely useful as we track how lawmakers are supporting your poker rights.

Thanks,

Poker Players Alliance