SAFE Port Act

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The Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 (or SAFE Port Act, Pub.L. 109-347[1]) is an Act of Congress in the United States that covers port security and online gambling.

Contents

[edit] Port security provisions

The SAFE Port Act codified into law a number of programs to improve security of U.S. ports, such as:

  • Additional requirements for maritime facitilties
  • Creation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential
  • Establishment of interagency operational centers for port security
  • Port Security grants
  • Container Security Initiative
  • Foreign port assessments
  • Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism

In addition, the Act created the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office within the Department of Homeland Security and appropriated funds toward the Integrated Deepwater System Program, a long-term U.S. Coast Guard modernization program.[2]

[edit] Internet gambling provisions

Title VIII of the Act is also known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (or UIGEA). This title (found at 31 U.S.C. § 5361–5367) prohibits the transfer of funds from a financial institution to an Internet gambling site, with the notable exceptions of fantasy sports, online lotteries, and horse/harness racing.

[edit] Legislative history

The Act was passed at midnight on the day Congress adjourned for the 2006 elections. Though a bill with the gambling wording was previously debated and passed by the House of Representatives,[3][4][5] the SAFE Port Act (H.R. 4954) as passed by the House on May 4th (by a vote of 421-2) and the United States Senate on September 14th (98-0),[6] bore no traces of the Unlawful Internet Gambling and Enforcement Act that was included in the SAFE Port Act signed into law by George W. Bush on October 13th, 2006.[7] The UIGEA was added in Conference Report 109-711 (submitted at 9:29pm on September 29, 2006), which was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 409-2 and by the Senate by unanimous consent on September 30, 2006. Due to H. Res. 1064, the reading of this conference report was waived.

Among the more prominent Congressional supporters of the Act were Jim Leach, a former chairman of the House Banking Committee and Rep. Robert Goodlatte [R-VA], who co-authored H.R. 4411 (the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act). Bill Frist, former majority leader of the Senate, and Jon Kyl are both credited with expediting the UIGEA's passage through the Senate. Though the SAFE Port Act's provisions related to Internet gambling were drawn exclusively from H.R. 4411, significant portions were removed, including text relating to the Federal Wire Act.[8]

A prior version of the gambling part of the bill passed the House in 1999 but failed in the Senate in part due to the influence of lobbyist Jack Abramoff.[9]

[edit] Responses from online gambling sites

All online gambling sites listed on the London Stock Exchange or similar markets have stopped taking United States players due to the passage of the Act, while most non-public companies have announced an intention to continue taking US customers.[10][11]

PartyGaming Plc, which runs PartyPoker.com, had its publicly-traded stock drop almost 60% in 24 hours as a result of this bill being passed. The company was moved from the FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250 Index on October 11.[12]

[edit] WTO dispute

Antigua and the United States have been involved in a long-running World Trade Organization dispute over U.S. restrictions on online gambling. The WTO ruled on January 25, 2007 that the U.S. is in violation of its treaty obligations by not granting full market access to online gambling companies based in the island nation.[13] On March 30, 2007 the WTO confirmed the U.S. loss in the case.[14]

On June 19, Antigua filed a claim for USD $3.4 billion in trade sanctions against the United States, along with a request for authorization to ignore U.S. patent and copyright laws. This claim was filed a day after similar demands for compensation were made by the European Union. [15]

The United States settled the dispute by granting concessions in other sectors. The administration of President George W. Bush refused to disclose the details of those concessons, however. In April, 2008 Congressmen Barney Frank and Ron Paul called for the agreements to made public. They stated that the concessions "could cost the United States many billions of dollars in compensation" and that the administration's invocation of "national security" as a reason to block disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was "a misuse of the FOIA process."[16] When the administration continued to keep the information secret, Public Citizen brought suit on behalf of Ed Brayton, a journalist whose FOIA request had been denied.[17]

[edit] Challenge to UIGEA part of Act

In April 2007, U.S. Congressman Barney Frank introduced a bill to overturn the gambling aspects of the Act, saying "The existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone." Additionally the bill sets up the framework for taxing and regulating online gambling by individuals within the United States.[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Text of the SAFE Port Act, via House.gov
  2. ^ Congressional Budget Office analysis of H.R. 4954, prepared April 28, 2006
  3. ^ Transcript of the April 5th hearing
  4. ^ Transcript of July 11th floor speeches on H.R. 4411 - the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act
  5. ^ H.R. 4411 vote record
  6. ^ H.R. 4954 vote record
  7. ^ Nelson Rose: The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 Analyzed
  8. ^ CRS Report for Congress, 10-2-06
  9. ^ Washington Post: How a Lobbyist Stacked the Deck
  10. ^ The Guardian: Players walk away as US law wipes out 90% of PartyGaming's poker revenue
  11. ^ The Guardian: Last chance saloon for online gaming firms
  12. ^ The Guardian: PartyGaming drops out of FTSE 100. Retrieved 9 October 2006
  13. ^ WTO rules against US in online gambling case
  14. ^ Reuters: WTO confirms U.S. loss in Internet gambling case
  15. ^ BBC: Antigua demands trade sanctions
  16. ^ Polson, Sarah (April 2, 2008). "Congressmen request trade settlement details". PokerListings.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  17. ^ Polson, Sarah (May 21, 2008). "Group sues government for settlement info". PokerListings.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.
  18. ^ House Financial Services Committee: Frank Introduces Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act of 2007

[edit] External links