[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 64 (Monday, May 22, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H3477-H3478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NEW ECONOMY IS IMPORTANT FOR EVERY AMERICAN

  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate so much this opportunity to 
take a few minutes today to talk about something many of us call the 
new economy, some call the digital economy, the high-tech economy. But 
let me begin by just sharing some statistics, statistics that really 
illustrate how important the new economy is for every American.
  Today over 100 million United States adults are using the Internet. 
In fact, seven new people are on the Internet every second. As elected 
officials, we should note that 78 percent of Internet users almost 
always vote in national, State, and local elections, compared with only 
64 percent of non-Internet users.
  It took just 5 years for the Internet to reach 50 million users. It 
took 38 years for the radio to reach that same audience, 13 years for 
television. In 1998, the Internet economy employed 4.8 million workers, 
more workers than steel and auto and petrochemical industries combined.
  I would note that, with the economic growth we are enjoying today, 
the average high-tech wage is 77 percent higher than the average U.S. 
private sector wage and that Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal 
Reserve, indicates that one-third of the economic growth that we have 
enjoyed today is resulting from the high-tech, new economy.
  I am proud to be from a State that is a high-tech State. Illinois is 
a State which ranks fourth today in high-technology employment. We also 
rank third in high-technology exports. So clearly, this new economy, 
this technology economy that we are enjoying today is providing 
tremendous opportunity for every American family.
  We often wonder who is really taking advantage of the opportunities 
that are there, how is the Internet and digital or new economy 
available to the average American. Statistics also show that if a 
family makes $75,000 or more, they are 20 times more likely than 
families with less income to have Internet access at home.
  And when you think about it, our educators, our school teachers, the 
school board members, and school administrators back home in Illinois 
and Chicago and the south suburbs that I represent have told me they 
notice a difference in the classroom between those students who have a 
computer and Internet access at home and students who do not.
  Children with computers and Internet access at home have an advantage 
when it comes to doing their homework as well as using the Internet to 
contact the Library of Congress to do research on school papers.
  If my colleagues talk with lower-income families who do not have 
computer and Internet access, they tell us that the main reason is the 
cost; the cost of Internet access is really the barrier to digital 
opportunities for that family.
  As Republicans, of course, our goal is to reduce that cost. We 
believe in a tax-free, regulation-free trade barrier, free new economy; 
and we want to ensure that the information superhighway is a freeway 
and not a toll-way. We are looking for ways to remove those toll booths 
and make sure the Internet is free or at minimal cost to families.
  I am proud of what we have been accomplishing. Just over the last few 
weeks, we passed legislation which says no new taxes on e-commerce, 
extending for 5 years the current Internet tax moratorium on e-
commerce. I am proud to say that we passed legislation just 2 weeks ago 
which prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from using the 
authority they have had for a long time to impose new fees and taxes on 
Internet access.
  This week the House is going to vote on legislation to eliminate the 
3 percent excise tax on telephone calls, which really is a 3 percent 
excise tax on Internet access, because 96 percent of Americans who use 
the Internet and go on-line use their telephone service. So clearly, 
when this House votes this week to eliminate that 3 percent tax on 
telephone calls, we will be removing one more toll on the information 
superhighway.

[[Page H3478]]

  Clearly, as Republicans, our goal is simple. We want the information 
superhighway to be a freeway and not a toll-way.
  I also want to mention two other proposals I am proud to sponsor, 
legislation which is designed to ensure the information highway is a 
freeway not a toll-way. I talked earlier about lower-income families 
not having computer and Internet access at home. I am proud to say that 
major employers in the State that I represent in Illinois have stepped 
forward, the private sector stepping forward to provide Internet and 
computer access as an employee benefit so the children of their 
janitors and laborers and assembly line workers of companies like Ford, 
Intel, American Airlines, and Delta Airlines have those computers.
  Well, those computers should be tax free. Right now the IRS would 
like to tax them. That act would ensure they are treated the same as an 
employee benefit, such as pensions and retirement, as well as health 
care. I ask bipartisan support, and I look forward to working with my 
colleagues on these proposals.

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