Political Quotes

On the recordMay 6, 2013
Mr. President, this is a day that has been 20 years in the making. You have heard argument after argument here about how this bill has been rushed, how it is not ready, how we have not yet had enough debate or deliberation. I tell you on behalf of the small business owners in my State who have told me it is about darn time we do something, I stand today and congratulate this body for taking on this issue and taking a system that has been grossly unjust and incredibly unfair to Main Street businesses in our country and in our State and said, yes, the Senate will not stand back and wait any longer before we give you marketplace fairness. This bill could not be and could not have a better name than Marketplace Fairness. I got involved in this issue as a very young person--I like to say that because it was 20 years ago--litigating a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. I was moved to take that case to the Court by a woman who approached me and said: Look, I am trying to survive. I am trying to participate as a good businessperson in North Dakota, trying to support my community, trying to do everything right, collect my sales tax, but I am getting killed in the marketplace, because people are sending catalogs; people come into my store; they will look at my products. Then they order this stuff through a mail order business. Please help me. Those pleas have for the last 20 years gone unheard by this body and by the House of Representatives. But today we have a chance.…
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Heidi Heitkamp
Democratic · North Dakota

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