Senator wants to add gambling bill to defense bill

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and his aides have been meeting with other lawmakers in both the House and Senate to try to attach the online gambling bill to a Defense Department authorization bill.

The defense bill authorizes U.S. military operations, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Frist is trying to attach the online gambling ban bill to it that would prohibit people from using credit cards and bank accounts to settle Internet gambling debts.

Some of the people following the negotiations commented that Frist is pushing for an approach to the online gambling ban that isn't as sweeping as what the House approved.

H.R. 4411, the Internet Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act, was approved by the House of Representatives in July. It would basically ban gambling online except for betting on horse racing and state-run lotteries.

The Senate hasn't yet acted on the bill, and some believe this may be Frist's attempt to get the bill through before Congress adjourns at the end of the month.

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