CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT
In July 2019, the U.S. House unanimously approved H.R. 759. Authored by Rep. Brian Babin, this legislation would have allowed electronic bingo on the tribal lands of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas near Livingston and Ysleta del Sur Pueblo near El Paso, in the same manner that electronic bingo is now allowed on Kickapoo land near the Texas-Mexico border. However, the legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate after Sen. John Cornyn and Governor Greg Abbott both voiced opposition.
In August 2020, a bipartisan group of 19 Texans serving in the U.S. House sent Sen. Cornyn a letter asking him to allow H.R. 759 to move forward. The letter cited the widespread economic benefits of electronic bingo in Livingston and El Paso. Ultimately, however, the bill did not move forward and H.R. 759 died when the congressional session ended at the end of 2020.
