Online Gambling, Heath Care in the Senate and the Victims of Cap and Trade
Controversial online gambling regulations get delayed until mid-2010.
Senators prepare for a long and possibly bitter debate over major health care legislation.
The Leader of the Liberal Party in Australia is voted out over opposition to cap and trade global warming legislation.
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.
1. CONSUMER
Controversial online gambling regulations get delayed until mid-2010.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Michelle Minton on gambling reform legislation put forward by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA):
“Barney Frank’s proposals have picked up a lot of steam, but it is unlikely, considering that congress has bigger financial fish to fry, that any major new regulatory regime will be decided upon in the next half year. Additionally, there are big potential problems with the proposed legislation that such a ‘rush to regulate,’ might gloss over, potentially creating bigger problems than the past ambiguity of Internet gambling’s legal status that has been the long-running state of the US’s oversight on online wagering.”
2. HEALTH
Senators prepare for a long and possibly bitter debate over major health care legislation.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Gregory Conko on the dubious cost-cutting proposals under consideration:
“Research on the next generation of treatments for cancer, heart disease, and countless other serious conditions would slow to a snail’s pace if every new medicine were required, immediately upon gaining regulatory approval, to be effective and cheap enough to get the support of bureaucratic bean counters. Adopting comparative effectiveness as a cost-cutting tool would, in effect, freeze medical science in its current form. But, with countless billions of dollars spent on existing treatments of little or no value, taxpayers would continue to pay sizeable bills.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
The Leader of the Liberal Party in Australia is voted out over opposition to cap and trade global warming legislation.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Energy and Global Warming Policy Myron Ebell on the fight over cap and trade down under:
“A number of Liberal Members have risked their careers to stop cap-and-trade, including Cory Bernardi and Nick Minchin as well as Tony Abbott. They should all be honored for their courageous stand. Toppling [former Liberal Party Leader Malcolm] Turnbull was a necessary step, but it isn’t the end of the story. It is likely that the Senate will now defeat the cap-and-trade bill for the second time. However, a few disgruntled Turnbullite Liberal Senators could provide the votes needed to pass it. If it is defeated, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd could then call a general election of both the House and Senate. So the fight is still to be won or lost.”
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.