Heidi Alexander: “I rise in support of the amendment by the Senators from Maine. I think it makes a lot of sense. It is symbolic too. Here…”

“I rise in support of the amendment by the Senators from Maine. I think it makes a lot of sense. It is symbolic too. Here we have a bipartisan amendment, we have a Republican Senator and an Independent Senator. The Independent Senator is a former Governor, as I once was. The reason I support the amendment is because it gives more time for anybody who might be affected by this amendment to adjust to it. That is never a bad idea--almost never a bad idea in the Senate. It gets us to our goal a few months later than we had thought. It makes sure those who might be affected can adjust. Of course, many people who call my office are surprised to learn that it does not affect anyone unless they have revenues of more than $1 million a year. So about 99 percent of people who sell things online or in catalogs are not affected. Of course, it does not affect Internet taxes; we have a law against Internet taxes. In fact, another bipartisan amendment by the Senator from Arkansas and the Senator from Missouri was to extend the 10-year moratorium on Internet taxes. That was objected to. The Collins-King amendment is imminently reasonable. I think it strengthens the bill. It is offered in a good spirit. Some may wish to go faster, but I think it is sensible and reasonable. I fully support it. I would reiterate that we were ready to accept amendments on Monday, but there was an objection--not a partisan objection but by Democrats and Republicans, a small number.…”