Kentucky Lawmaker Makes Fiscal Point With Humorous Legislation

WASHINGTON – Tired of poor Kentucky workers losing their money in Indiana's riverboat casinos, one Kentucky lawmaker has declared war on his neighbor.

Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, filed a resolution in the chamber this week that "encourages the purchase and armament of one particularly effective submarine, namely, the USS Louisville 688 VLS Class Submarine, to patrol the portion of the Ohio River under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth to engage and destroy any casino riverboats that the submarine may encounter."

The resolution decries "the siren song of payola" that has only led to "disappointment and woe" for thousands of Kentucky citizens who have lost their earnings on the Ohio River's luring casinos.

It also recommends notifying casino operators of their "impending whoopin' so that they may remove their casino vessels to friendlier waters."

"That was done in jest, but it was done for a purpose," Burch told Fox News.

Burch said he wanted to see if he could get support from lawmakers who frequently rail against the corrupting influence of gambling but whose constituents cross the river's bridges to dole out $500 million a year in the casinos.

Burch doesn't oppose gambling. He prefers that Kentuckians spend the money in casinos that could be built in places such as the Churchill Downs racetrack in Burch's hometown of Louisville.

Kentucky is in a fiscal pinch this year and Burch said at least $300 million could be raised by racetrack casinos to go for education and social service programs.

Luckily for Indiana, the resolution, which was filed earlier this week, will not get a proper vote. It wasn't taken up the day it was introduced as resolutions are typically handled in the state House of Representatives, and the Legislature adjourns next week.

"If I hadn't had them read the whole thing, I could have passed it no problem," Burch joked.