The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS GAMBLING STUDY COMMISSION” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Senate section on pages S8298 on July 18, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
GAMBLING STUDY COMMISSION
Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, yesterday the Senate approved S. 704, a bill to create a National Gambling Impact Study Commission. I strongly support this bill.
Legalized gambling of all kinds, casino gambling as well as State lotteries has often been touched as a way for States and localities to make money for various good causes. In my own State of North Carolina, support for a State lottery has always been offered as a means of supplementing the State education budget.
The North Carolina General Assembly has so far defeated several attempts to establish a State lottery.
Lotteries in particular, are held up as a means of filling State coffers, a way of financing Government projects, not as a boon to individual citizens. Mr. President, I for one am somewhat skeptical of any project which seeks to grow Government, for whatever purpose. Government--at the State, local, and Federal level--has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years, reaching into areas of our lives it was never intended for. The ever-increasing burden of taxes and regulation has placed tremendous strain on families and small businesses. It seems to me we need to concentrate on restraining government, not expanding it.
It is becoming increasingly evident that gambling may not be the economic boon it is held out to be. The North Carolina Department of Commerce commissioned a study of the potential economic and social impact of gambling in western North Carolina. The study's conclusions were dramatic: Casino gambling would likely create more problems than it solved for western North Carolina. Among them, congested roads, rising crime rates and the crowding out of traditional tourist business and the families who patronize them.
In addition, the human toll of gambling is just beginning to be assessed adequately. Compulsive gambling can lead to alcoholism, bankruptcy, and can lead to the destruction of individuals and families.
If legalized gambling is the great economic boon its supporters make it out to be, they should not fear the results of this study. If it is not, it deserves a closer look.
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