Political Quotes

“with respect to the architecture the Senator from North Dakota has described, people have already paid once. So this question of what is going to be done with respect to various aspects of the architecture is an interesting discussion for us to be pursuing in the Senate, and all of these various components and pieces of equipment, but people have already paid once. And with respect to Internet access, about which we have been concerned, it is almost like a carton of milk: You paid for the carton of milk once; you should not pay again if you are going to pour it on your cereal or something else. The Senator from North Dakota has raised a question about funding for what is called the backbone of the communications system. But at the end of the day, the bottom line is, people have already paid once. What we want to do with this legislation is to say, on the question of Internet access, nothing about sales taxes and the like. The Senator from North Dakota knows once we get over this, we will have the next issue, which is the question of the streamlining of sales taxes. But with respect to the architecture the Senator from North Dakota has raised, the consumer has already paid once with respect to Internet access.”