Sheila Jackson Lee: “We have often worked, in the Judiciary Committee, as Mr. Goodlatte has so noted, because of the bipartisan leadership…”

“We have often worked, in the Judiciary Committee, as Mr. Goodlatte has so noted, because of the bipartisan leadership, including the offerer of this bill, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), in a bipartisan manner as it deals with this new phenomena, and when I say ``new phenomena,'' continually changing phenomena, the Internet and the entire world of social media and the new technologies that we face today in communications. So, I am always eager to find common ground and would have liked to have done so as we worked together on this very important bill, H.R. 235. As a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, and as the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, coming from Houston, I rise with great concern on H.R. 235, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act. When originally enacted in 1998, the Internet Tax Freedom Act established a temporary moratorium on multiple discriminatory taxation of the Internet, as well as new taxes on Internet access. This moratorium, however, is due to expire on October 1 of this year. Since 1998, Congress has extended the moratorium on a temporary basis. The bill before us, H.R. 235, will make that moratorium permanent. Unfortunately, in doing so, H.R. 235 also ends the act's grandfather protection for States that imposed such taxes prior to the act's enactment.…”