Ensign to serve on panel that proposed college betting ban

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Freshman Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., will serve on the Senate Commerce Committee -- the panel led by chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who plans to re-introduce a bill that would hurt Nevada casinos.

McCain is adamant this year about again pushing the legislation that would ban betting on college sports in Nevada sports books, committee spokewoman Pia Pialorsi said today.

Ensign received two assignments Tuesday, also joining the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. He may receive another assignment as early as this week.

Ensign said he has had "extensive" conversations with McCain about the bill that would ban betting on college sports -- a practice legal only in Nevada.

"I have a real good relationship with John," Ensign said today. "I think he is on the wrong track with this (bill). I'll try to convince him of that. It's not real easy to convince John McCain."

McCain and Commerce Committee member Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., are the leading advocates of the betting ban bill. The committee last year passed the bill but Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Richard Bryan, D-Nev. -- the lawmaker Ensign replaced -- blocked the legislation from floor debate.

Now that a new Congress has convened McCain and Brownback must start over.

The bill has solid support in Congress. The National Collegiate Athletic Association is lobbying for it. Supporters say the bill will curb the activity of campus bookies and decrease the likelihood of game-fixing scandals.

Ensign said he and Reid are working on a strategy to defeat the bill. Bryan, who also served on the Commerce Committee, tried to sink it with amendments.

At an April hearing, Bryan tried to add seven amendments but the Republican-controlled committee approved only two -- one required colleges to track and report statistics on illegal gambling on college campuses; another amendment banned the NCAA and media outlets such as CBS from sponsoring sweepstakes contests in which people pick games and win prizes.

Ensign has said Nevadans now have a Republican "seated at the table."

"I sought these particular committees because they provide excellent opportunities to protect Nevada's unique interests," Ensign said in a statement.

It's not yet clear which issues will surface early in the session on the two committees, spokesmen said. The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has oversight over sports issues, highway safety, communications, the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Coast Guard, Amtrak, and NASA. The committee last year tackled a variety of topics including airport delays, the effects of Hollywood violence on children and the Ford/Firestone tire recall.

Banking Committee chairman Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, urged Ensign to join the committee, Ensign said. The panel oversees banking, insurance, securities, the Federal Reserve System, veterans' housing and mass transit. The committee on Jan. 17 will consider President-elect George W. Bush's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development nominee, Mel Martinez.