Is John Kyl Preventing Treasury Appointments?

January 19, 2010 | News Category: Gaming Law

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Well-known for his anti-online gambling stance, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona is in the news again. This time, the rumor mill says that Senator Kyl is finding ways to delay the confirmation needed for nominees of those who would work in the Treasury Department. According to the rumors, it seems that Senator Kyl is causing these delays simply because he is upset that the implementation of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) has been delayed for six months. The delays have been in the appointment of those Treasury officials who helped to have the online gambling ban delayed.

It is concerning for the United States in these particularly difficult and challenging financial times, that the US Treasury does not have an Under Secretary of the Treasury. Many critics have put the blame on Senator Jon Kyl, one of online gambling’s main opponents. Although it is not really possible to substantiate these claims, a publication, National Journal, has claimed that the senator is the one who is holding up various appointments for important positions in the tax and finance offices.

Senator Kyl was one of the driving forces to help push the UIGEA through Congress. Since supporters of online gambling, such as Barney Frank, have been trying to delay the implementation of the UIGEA, Kyl has worked hard in an unsuccessful attempt to ensure that the UIGEA was implemented as planned.

A few weeks ago, Paul Volcker, the ex-head of the Federal Reserve, has said "Here we are on December 29, almost a year after the [Obama presidential] Inauguration, and there is no Under Secretary of the Treasury." He continued to ask "How can we run a government in the middle of a financial crisis without doing the ordinary, garden-variety administrative work of filling the relevant agencies?"

Paul Volcker’s comments certainly show the disquiet surrounding the fact that there have been delays in the appointment of such important positions in the US government’s offices.

It can be understood that Senator Kyl would be upset about his plans to ban online gambling falling apart, however, if this is in fact his motivation for holding up appointments to the Treasury Department, that is not appropriate or acceptable.

Both Spencer Bachus and John Kyl are finding that they have less and less support in their fight against online gambling. In part, this is because of the current financial crisis in the US, since revenues from online gambling could bring in much needed tax dollars.