Mike Levin: “there is a poignant scene in Homer's epic, The Odyssey, that bears mention as we consider the legislation before the…”

“there is a poignant scene in Homer's epic, The Odyssey, that bears mention as we consider the legislation before the House today. On his journey home, Odysseus' ship must pass by the island of the Sirens, whose beguiling song has the power to hold men spellbound to such an extent that the sea around their island is heaped with wrecks of ships that have fallen under their spell. Forewarned of the danger ahead, Odysseus stops up the ears of his crew with wax so they cannot hear the Sirens' song, and has himself bound to the ship's mast, and thus safely makes the passage. I was reminded of this ancient narrative when I read the bill before us today. The legislation we are considering extends the Internet tax moratorium until October 21, 2006. It seeks to bind our course when the only certainty is that we haven't the faintest idea of what lies ahead. E-commerce did not exist six years ago. Who know what it will look like six years from now? Some projections show that on-line sales could exceed $300 billion a year by 2002. We have not adequately explored the ramifications of this legislation or considered the concerns of the vast majority of the nation's governors who seek a mechanism to level the playing field between the bricks-and-mortar shops of Main Street and the clicks-and-mortar shops of cyberspace. But the authors of this legislation have stopped their ears with wax. There were not even any hearings on this bill. We need to chart a reasonable course.…”