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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) applauded actions taken
by eBay on Thursday to ban the sale of tickets to President-elect Barack
Obama’s inauguration. “I want to thank eBay … for not allowing the sale of
inaugural swearing‐in ceremony tickets on any of its websites,” said
Feinstein in a statement. “They have led the way and I hope other Internet
companies will follow.”
Feinstein is drafting legislation that would make it
illegal to sell tickets to the Jan. 20 event.
Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Rules and Administration
Committee, asked eBay and Craigslist earlier this week to halt any sale of the
tickets, which are distributed for free through congressional offices.
Lawmakers are allowed to provide them to constituents who
request them. The 240,000 tickets won’t be given out until days before the
ceremony, but they were already being advertised on websites like eBay and
Craigslist for as much as $40,000.
The California senator’s legislation would slap a
misdemeanor charge and a “very hefty penalty” on those caught selling tickets.
“I have ... asked my Judiciary Committee staff to prepare
legislation to make it a crime to scalp inaugural tickets,” said Feinstein on
Monday. “This inauguration will be the major civic event of our time, and these
tickets are supposed to be free for the people. Nobody should have to pay for
their tickets.”
The Senate meets next week for a lame-duck session, at
which time the legislation could be introduced.
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