US Political Alert: How to Contact House Judiciary Members to Protest RAWA
This Sunday brings a diversion of sorts from our normal fare: A call to action for US-based poker players to immediately contact their elected officials in Washington D.C., to protest the House Judiciary Committee’s consideration of the misnomered “Restoration of America’s Wire Act” (RAWA) bill.
US Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is a primary sponsor of the Sheldon Adelson-funded RAWA bill.
RAWA, as has been discussed widely in the media, is an anti-gambling measure funded by Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its anti-online-gambling CEO, Sheldon Adelson. RAWA, if enacted would run roughshod over states’ rights and self-determination over online gambling matters, and attempt to create a nationwide blanket prohibition over online gambling that would be starkly opposite to that found in any other developed nation.
It’s important for all poker players to take a role in protesting the Judiciary’s consideration of RAWA. which will be bolstered by a hearing this week including “testimony” from several anti-gambling activists. It’s particularly important, however, for poker players who live in one of the US Congressional districts listed below to take part and protest RAWA. US Congressmen pay particular attention to e-mails and comments received from their home-district constituents, so those districts, along with their Judiciary-member Congressmen, are detailed at the bottom of this piece.
It’s also important to not submit a generic “form letter” submission, despite the claims of some other contact-generating sites. We won’t offer such a form letter, though we will provide several basic points that can be included in any contact:
- RAWA ignores states’ traditional rights to govern themselves in gambling matters.
- RAWA is intentionally mislabeled by its backers and is not what it claims to be — a “restoration” of the 1961 Wire Act. Instead, it’s a broad and possibly unconstitutional attempt to enact a national online gambling ban, funded by one of the people and corporations most likely to garner short-term profit only from such a ban, Sheldon Adelson and Las Vegas Sands Corp.
- RAWA’s claims that online gambling is rife for abuse are false. Technology exists and is readily available to effectively block both underage gamblers and identity thieves, and the requirements for opening and maintaining an online account at regulated US sites are stringent. Problem gambling behaviors are also easier to track and block online than in live casino environments, which has been proven in numerous studies.
- Congressmen have a chance to determine for themselves this week to see such ID-protecting and location-identifying software in action, by attending a technology demonstration at the Hall of States (at the JFK Center in Washington D.C.) on Wednesday.
- RAWA invents a solution to a problem that largely doesn’t exist. Most of the scare-tactic claims cited by its supporters refer to the worst possibilities of unregulated online gambling. In fact, those claims, viewed without political baggage, are a strong endorsement for US regulated online gambling, rather than a formal ban, which would simply drive more gambling traffic to unlicensed, unregulated offerings.
Please be polite when contacting your representatives, even to those who are already on record as supporting RAWA, such as primary bill sponsor Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Judiciary member. Please use the bill’s nomenclature, House Resolution 707 or H.R. 707, in your letter or post. (Writing something like “Vote ‘no’ on H.R. 707” or “Don’t back H.R. 707” is great.) Freely incorporate information from the above bullet points in your letter, and if you have more to add, that’s great as well.
Here’s the contact information for each House Judiciary Committee member (* = known RAWA sponsor / co-sponsor).
Republicans:
Virginia / 6th Congressional District (NW Virginia, includes Roanoke, Lynchburg, Harrisonburg)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R), Judiciary Chairman
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepGoodlatte
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobGoodlatte
Wisconsin / 5th Congressional District (outer NW Milwaukee suburbs, rural areas beyond, includes Waukesha, Brookfield)
Rep. F. James “Jim” Sensenbrenner (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RpSensenbrenner
Texas / 21st Congressional District (north of San Antonio)
* Rep. Lamar Smith (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @LamarSmithTX21
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LamarSmithTX21
Ohio / 1st Congressional District (suburban Cincinnati areas)
Rep. Steve Chabot (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepSteveChabot
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepSteveChabot
California / 49th Congressional District (coastal CA north of San Diego; includes Oceanside, Carlsbad)
Rep. Darrell Issa (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @DarrellIssa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanIssa
Virginia / 4th Congressional District (southeast VA, includes Chesapeake and Suffolk)
* Rep. Randy Forbes (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @Randy_Forbes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/randyforbes
Iowa / 4th Congressional District (NW Iowa, includes Ft. Dodge, Sioux City, Mason City)
* Rep. Steve King (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @SteveKingIA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveKingIA
Arizona / 8th Congressional District (northwest Phoenix suburbs)
* Rep. Trent Franks (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepTrentFranks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrentFranks
Texas / 1st Congressional District (northeast Texas, includes Tyler, Longview, Nacogdoches)
* Rep. Louie Gohmert (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @replouiegohmert
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Louie-Gohmert/50375006903
Ohio / 4th Congressional District (rural northwestern Ohio)
Rep. Jim Jordan (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @Jim_Jordan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/repjimjordan
Texas / 2nd Congressional District (heavily gerrymandered district in outer Houston suburbs)
Rep. Ted Poe (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @JudgeTedPoe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ted-Poe/106631626049851
Utah / 3rd Congressional District ()
* Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @jasoninthehouse
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanJasonChaffetz
Pennsylvania / 10th Congressional District (northeastern and central Pennsylvania)
Rep. Tom Marino (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepTomMarino
South Carolina / 4th Congressional District (upstate south Carolina, includes Greenville and Spartanburg)
* Rep. Trey Gowdy (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @TGowdySC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepTreyGowdy
Idaho / 1st Congressional District (western Idaho, including part of Boise)
Rep. Raúl Labrador (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @Raul_Labrador
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raul.r.labrador
Texas / 27th Congressional District (central TX Gulf Coast, including Corpus Christi)
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @farenthold
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlakeFarenthold
Georgia / 9th Congressional District (northern Georgia)
Rep. Doug Collins (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepDougCollins
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepresentativeDougCollins
Florida / 6th Congressional District (much of Florida’s northern Atlantic coast, including Jacksonville suburbs, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine)
Rep. Ron DeSantis (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepDeSantis
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepDeSantis
California / 45th Congressional District (part of Orange County)
Rep. Mimi Walters (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepMimiWalters
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepMimiWalters
Colorado / 4th Congressional District (eastern Colorado)
Rep. Ken Buck (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepKenBuck
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/repkenbuck
Texas / 4th Congressional District (outer NE Dallas suburbs, rural areas of NE Texas)
Rep. John Ratcliffe (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RatcliffeTX4, @RepRatcliffe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepRatcliffe
Michigan / 11th Congressional District (outer NW Detroit suburbs)
Rep. Dave Trott (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @repdavetrott
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanDaveTrott
Michigan / 8th Congressional District (east-central Michigan, including part of Lansing)
Rep. Mike Bishop (R)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepMikeBishop
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepMikeBishop
DEMOCRATS:
Michigan / 13th Congressional District (parts of Detroit and surrounding suburbs)
Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member – (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @repjohnconyers, @repjohnconyersjr
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanConyers
New York / 10th Congressional District (portions of Manhattan and Brooklyn)
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepJerryNadler
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanNadler
California / 19th Congressional District (parts of San Jose and suburbs, Silicon Valley)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepZoeLofgren
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zoelofgren
Texas / 18th Congressional District (Inner-city Houston)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @JacksonLeeTX18
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongresswomanSheilaJacksonLee
Tennessee / 9th Congressional District (Memphis area)
Rep. Steve Cohen (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepCohen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanSteveCohen
Georgia / 4th Congressional District (east Atlanta suburbs and adjacent rural areas)
Rep. Hank Johnson (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepHankJohnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HankJohnsonJr
Puerto Rico / (At-large Rep.)
* Rep. Pedro Pierluisi (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Facebook: https://es-la.facebook.com/pedropierluisi
California / 27th Congressional District (San Gabriel Foothills and nearby communities, including Pasadena)
Rep. Judy Chu (D)
DC Office Phone #: (202) 225-5464
Twitter: @RepJudyChu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepJudyChu
Florida / 21st Congressional District (northwest Miami metro area, including Coral Springs)
Rep. Ted Deutch (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepTedDeutch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanTedDeutch
Illinois / 4th Congressional District (Cook County district reverse-gerrymandered by state officials to isolate Hispanic voting bloc)
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @LuisGutierrez, @RepGutierrez
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepGutierrez
California / 37th Congressional District (parts of Los Angeles, South L.A. and Culver City)
Rep. Karen Bass (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepKarenBass
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepKarenBass
Louisiana / 2nd Congressional District (New Orleans, north to Baton Rouge)
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepRichmond
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepRichmond
Washington / 1st Congressional District (I-90 corridor from Seattle’s north suburbs to Canadian border)
Rep. Suzan DelBene (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepDelBene
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepDelBene
New York / 8th Congressional District (parts of Brooklyn and Queens)
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @RepJeffries, @TeamJeffries
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepHakeemJeffries
Rhode Island / 1st Congressional District (eastern Rhode Island)
Rep. David Cicilline (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @
RepCicilline Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanDavidCicilline
California / 52nd Congressional District (parts of San Diego and near-northern suburbs)
Rep. Scott Peters (D)
Email: (contact form here)
Twitter: @ScottPetersSD, @RepScottPeters
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scottpeterssandiego
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