Letter to the Honorable Dennis Hastert, House Speaker

Title: Letter to the Honorable Dennis Hastert, House Speaker
Date: 11/16/2004
Location: Washington, DC

The Honorable Dennis Hastert
Speaker of the House
The Capitol
H-232
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Mr. Speaker,

As you know, last year the House passed H.R. 49, which would permanently extend the moratorium on Internet access taxes and prohibit multiple and discriminatory taxes on Internet commerce. Last April, the Senate passed its own version, S. 150, which would instead extend the moratorium for four years.

Although we prefer the permanent extension found in H.R. 49, we believe it is time to resolve this issue and pass S. 150. The Internet tax moratorium expired over one year ago. For over one year, ISPs and consumers have had to deal with the very real possibility that all fifty states could tax Internet access.

We cannot continue to allow this uncertainty to harm the future of the Internet. The Internet has been a driving force in our economy. A toll to enter the information superhighway is not good policy today, and it won't be good policy when the 109th Congress convenes in January. It is time to provide certainty to the market and consumers.

We urge you to schedule a vote for S. 150 this week.

Sincerely,

Rep. Zoe Lofgren
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva
Rep. Betty McCollum
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa
Rep. Mike Thompson
Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Mike Honda
Rep. Mike Doyle
Rep. Rick Boucher
Rep. Robert T. Matsui
Rep. Brad Sherman
Rep. Bob Filner
Rep. Gary Ackerman
Rep. Ron Kind
Rep. David Wu
Rep. David Price
Rep. Steny Hoyer
Rep. Ben Cardin
Rep. Howard Berman
Rep. Linda Sanchez
Rep. Sam Farr
Rep. Joe Baca
Rep. Lois Capps
Rep. Ellen Tauscher
Rep. Diane Watson
Rep. Lynn Woolsey
Rep. Dennis Cardoza
Rep. Hilda Solis
Rep. Susan A. Davis
Rep. John. F. Tierney
Rep. Joseph Crowley