[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18789]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    SUPPORT PASSAGE OF THE DATA ACT

  (Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask for bipartisan support 
for the Data Act, and let me tell my colleagues why.
  Over 100 million Americans today are on line using the Internet. 
Seven Americans go on line every second for the first time. There is 
great opportunity, whether in e-commerce or the technology sector, for 
millions of Americans. But millions of Americans are not participating, 
and that is called the digital divide.
  I am pleased the private sector has stepped forward to address the 
so-called digital divide, because educators tell us they notice a 
difference in the classroom between children who have a computer at 
home and those who do not in their being able to do their homework and 
compete in the class. Ford, Intel, Delta and American Airlines have 
announced plans to provide 600,000 families computers and Internet 
access.
  Think about that. The janitor, the laborer, the assembly line worker, 
the baggage handler, their children having computers and Internet 
access just like the CEO's kids. That is a great opportunity. But here 
is the hitch. The IRS wants to tax it. That is right, the IRS wants to 
tax those workers who accept those computers. For a worker making 
$27,000 a year that is $200 in taxes they would have to pay.
  We have a solution, the Data Act, legislation making sure that these 
employer-provided computers and Internet access are tax exempt for the 
workers. It is called the Data Act. I would ask for bipartisan support. 
Please join as a cosponsor and help us pass the Data Act.

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