Political Quotes

“I am pleased today to be joined by Senators Ayotte, Begich, Heller, Merkley, and Shaheen to submit a simple but important bipartisan resolution. Our resolution simply expresses a sense of the Senate that the government should not sack small online businesses with any new tax collecting mandates that would hurt their competitiveness, hurt economic recovery, hurt competition, and harm consumers. The Internet is transforming the way that commerce is conducted. It is leveling the playing field so that the marketplace--whether for goods and services or for ideas--is less and less dominated by the big and by the powerful. The Internet is democratizing information, speech, and making it easier to exchange ideas as well as goods and services. The legal regime that the United States currently has in place, which facilitates e-commerce, must be protected. Our Constitution and laws such as the Internet Tax Freedom Act and section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which I championed and protect e-commerce platforms from litigation and small e-commerce businesses from being crushed by layers and layers of state and local taxes, are the pillars that support America's e-commerce platforms and online entrepreneurs' ability to compete. Everyone in this body recognizes that small businesses are the engines of our economy. They are responsible for the bulk of innovation and job creation in this country--job creation that is so desperately needed right now.…”