Press Release fo Reps. Tom Bliley and Billy Tauzin.
Re: Uneven distribution of Schools and Libraries Program subsidies.
Date: May 27, 1999.
Source: House Commerce Committee. This document has been edited for HTML, but not for content.

Bliley, Tauzin Release New FCC Data on Gore Phone Tax: "Consumers In Three-Quarters of the States Are Getting a Raw Deal," Bliley Says

WASHINGTON (May 27) -- As the Democratic-led FCC voted to double the Gore Tax today, Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA) and Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) released FCC data confirming that this monthly phone tax is both unfair and unevenly assessed. Under the current tax, consumers in three-quarters of the States end up exporting their hard-earned tax dollars elsewhere.

Bliley and Tauzin requested the FCC data in a May 13th letter they sent to FCC Chairman William Kennard on the proposed phone tax increase.

"This is a double whammy," Bliley said. "The Gore Tax is forcing all consumers to pay more for their telephone, wireless and paging services. And then, to add insult to injury, consumers in most states end up subsidizing someone else's Internet access.

"Take, for example, my own state of Virginia. Even before the FCC doubled the tax today, Virginians paid $50.2 million during the first cycle of the Gore Tax, but in return, got back only $24.9 million from the FCC," Chairman Bliley said. "By contrast, Puerto Rico paid only $13.3 million in the first cycle, but pocketed a whopping $47.6 million in subsidies!

"The Gore Phone Tax is fundamentally illegal and unfair. It's unfair to all consumers, and it's unfair to three-quarters of the States," Chairman Bliley said.

"No one should be surprised by today's vote," Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) said. "Clearly the FCC is getting its marching orders from the White House. In my opinion, this is a thinly veiled attempt to prop up Al Gore's sagging Presidential campaign," Tauzin said.

"This is an illegal tax on telephone consumers nationwide," Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) said.

Under the current tax, the 38 states (plus the District of Columbia) that export consumer tax dollars are: Arkansas, California, Colorado; Connecticut, Delaware; District of Columbia; Florida, Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Utah; Vermont; Virginia; Washington; West Virginia; and Wyoming.