U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf is calling for President Bush to enact a two-year moratorium on Indian gambling expansion through executive order.
Wolf said a moratorium will allow for some breathing room on the issue.
"It is expanding so fast that this will give Congress a chance to address the issue," he said. "There is a lot to be done but you have to have a moratorium to stop the expansion in the meantime. It is an issue of fairness."
Putting gambling in the spotlight is something the Virginia congressman said he can't do alone.
"That's your job," he told CitizenLink. "Get the coverage, because right now it's not very good."
Bringing attention to the issue is only half the battle said Barb Lindsay, national director of One Nation United. She said the lobbyists for tribal casinos have a fever for more profits.
"Just one member (of Congress) doesn't have the clout," she said. "Having a tax-free casino is a gold mine for tribes. They want to have as many gold mines as they can."
Lindsay recounted the problems in Oklahoma as an example of gambling expansion problems.
"Oklahoma has 38 tribes and nearly a dozen of those are seeking land claims in other states," she explained. "Most of those are saying they will drop the claim if the state allows the tribe to build a casino."
Lindsay agreed that a moratorium is appropriate but adds that the way the American public views gambling must change as well.
"They need to see that gambling is a vice," she said. "In America we are teaching our children you can get something for nothing. But the vast, vast majority lose. You aren't going to gamble your way to prosperity."
Wolf, author of the National Gambling Impact Study, explained how the negative impacts of gambling affect everyone.
"Gambling creates problems with crime and corruption, increases the rate of bankruptcy and suicide," he said. "It is gambling overall that is the problem."
Frank Egger, a city council member in Fairfax, Calif., is spearheading a proposal for a five-year moratorium in that state. He said putting a hold on tribal expansion is gaining support all over the political spectrum.
"When I started, I'd hold a meeting and get three people," he said. "Now I have pastors telling me that they represent working people and senior citizens who can't afford to make a decision between going to the casino or putting food on the table."
He makes it clear he's not a right-winger.
"I'm a Jesuit-educated Catholic," he said, "coming from the liberal wing of the Catholic Church."
Egger got his start campaigning for the moratorium when he heard about a local father, who'd recently lost his job, losing his last $60 to gambling. While the father was gone, his house caught fire because the family was using candles for heat and lighting.
"If there had been no casino there . . ." he wondered aloud. "I have it on my mind all the time. If it happened to that family it can happen to anybody."
TAKE ACTION
If you'd like to encourage the President to enact a moratorium on Indian gambling through executive order, you can find contact information in the CitizenLink Action Center.
