Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Tennessee for coming to the floor. He has been here with some frequency together with the Republican Senator from Wyoming to discuss the matter which is pending before the Senate. What is pending before the Senate is known as the Marketplace Fairness Act. It is a measure which Senator Enzi of Wyoming has been working on for 12 years and one on which I have worked with him for several years. It is an interesting issue because it is one where the Supreme Court challenged Congress 20 years ago. The States went to the Supreme Court and said: We want those who are not physically present in our State, but sell in our State, to collect sales tax. At that time the Supreme Court in the Quill decision said no; this is up to Congress. Congress needs to take action. Here we are 20 years later and the conversation has changed dramatically. What used to be sales by mail or catalog are now Internet sales, and they are growing in volume by the day. States are finding themselves in a challenging situation. States pass sales taxes. Senator Alexander was Governor of Tennessee. The State decided on a State sales tax. They say to every business in the State--as Senator Manchin understands because he was Governor of West Virginia--every sale you make over the counter collects sales tax for West Virginia, Tennessee, or in the State of Illinois.…”