UIGEA Could Be Repealed Under Clinton-Era Law - 11-16-09

November 16 - Last week a new rule was passed by the Treasury that will force banks to implement monitoring processes that will block online gambling transactions passed by their corporate customers. These supporting regulations were designed as a last minute efforts by the Bush administration to entrench the UIGEA in the US banking system.

An article in the Politico magazine cites the Congressional Review Act (CRA) of 1996 - a law that can be used to reverse last-minute legislation made by a previous administration.

CRA could be used by the incoming Democrats, who will be in control of the US presidency, the House and the Senate, with respect to some of the Bush government's environmental moves. Needless to say, supporters of online gambling, and opponents to the UIGEA will be hoping the law could be used to reverse the controversial UIGEA regulations forced through by the Treasury last week.

In very simple terms, the CRA in effect gives the new administration 60 days to review any legislation passed during the sixty congressional days leading up to the change of administration.

As Politico puts it, any regulation finalised in the last half-year of the Bush administration could be wiped out with a simple party-line vote in the Democrat-controlled Congress.

According to the article, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee officials are considering the rule in regard to rescinding bad rules.

The last time CRA was used was in 2001 when a Clinton administration rule that set new requirements for ergonomic work spaces was overturned.

Predictably, the current administration defended themselves by saying. "We are not rushing regulations through at the last minute. We are simply continuing our responsibility of governing until the end of the president's term.". A spokes person for the White House added that the CRA will not stop them from carrying out their legislative duty.

Aides to the Democratic Party's Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that a decision has yet to be made regarding the strategy for dealing with Bush administration regulations.

Jerry Brito, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, closely follows midnight drop regulations, and told Politico that the incoming Obama administration should package all of the regulations it wants overturned into one large vehicle to be voted up or down, which would solve what he calls the "pet-project" problem. .

The new US president could still overturn rules through the regulatory process, but those rules would be subject to new investigation and comment periods, which could take years to finish.

According to Brito, Clinton managed to repeal 9 percent of President George H.W. Bush’s regulations and amend 48 percent of them, President Bush managed to repeal only 3 percent of Clinton’s regulations and amend 15 percent.

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