Ways And Means Committee Report

There are many elements that can come into play and ultimately lead a bill to the House of Representatives for review. Specifically, members of the Department of Treasury, the Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Joint Committee on Taxation have influence, which they utilize at this early stage of the legislative process. In addition to internal sources of influence, there are also external sources of influence. Specifically, lobby groups and non-profit organization can impact tax legislation (Everett, 1007.05). Once the formal legislative process has been initiated, the proposed legislation enters the House of Representatives and goes to the House of Ways and Means Committee for review. The review process entails

Throughout this process within the House, a Ways and Means Committee Report and Congressional Record are created for the specific bill (Everett, 1007.07). Although these records can be of value for a variety of reasons, their most immediate point of use would most likely be to identify differences between the House and Senate, if the bill were to receive Senate approval; often resulting in the bill moving onto the conference committee. Although the Senate’s approval process has some unique characteristics; such as the fact that they operate under an open rule, allowing any senator to propose changes to the bill, it is comparable to the process noted within the House of Representatives (Everett, 1007.09). Specifically, the bill will enter the Senate and go to the Senate Finance Committee, where hearings, a debate, and another vote are taken. If approved, the bill is sent to the Senate floor where it is once again debated and voted on. By the end of this process, a Senate Finance Committee Report and a Congressional Record have also been created for the proposed

Within the H.REPT. 113-510, two sources are referenced. The first is a GAO study, the second survey conducted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The GAO study stated that when comparing internet taxing and non-internet taxing states, no “significant” difference in broadband adoption was identified (H.R.3086 - Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, 2014). Therefore opponents of the bill point to greater flexibility amongst states to raise funds through taxation of internet usage, without having a large adverse effect on internet usage, as an advantage of not passing the bill. In addition, some point to the indefiniteness of the bill as an advantage for not passing it. In contrast, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration conducted a survey, which determined that cost is the main reason the internet is not being utilized by everyone and that only “43% of households with income less than $25,000 had internet access in 2011” (H.R.3086 - Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, 2014). If these findings are correct, although failure to pass the permanent legislation may not have a “significant” impact on the utilization of the internet as a whole, it may have a profound impact on internet usage by the economically disadvantaged and intern adversely affect innovation, education, and job creation for the