Political Quotes

“I commend Senator Abraham, Senator McCain, and Chairman Bliley for their hard work in the conference on the digital signatures bill, which grants online contracts and other transactions the same legal force as those conducted with pen-and-ink. I should add that Senator Leahy and Senator Wyden made significant positive contributions to the bill. I am an original cosponsor of this legislation and I am very pleased with the conference report before the Senate today. Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of the conference report by a vote of 426-4. I urge my colleagues to support the conference report, which is a bipartisan product that will allow businesses to take advantage of the speed and efficiency of the Internet while also protecting consumers. I have no doubt that the passage of this legislation will help to make sure that electronic commerce can meet its full potential. The issue of online authentication is one of the most important issues to the development of electronic commerce. Electronic commerce holds great promise, in particular, for states like my home state of Montana, where businesses and consumers have to deal with vast distances. E-commerce is expected to continue its upward surge to about $1.6 trillion by 2003, up from $500 billion last year. The explosion of information technology has created opportunities undreamed of by previous generations.”