| Senator Kerry has promoted a number of initiatives that are good for the "new" economy. Although the digital economy has been in decline from its recent boom, Senator Kerry still believes in the long-term importance of this sector and supports initiatives that will help it grow and contribute to the overall economy in the future. |
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| Some of Senator Kerry's most important priorities include
strong support of making the tax credit for research and development
permanent, to encourage innovation in the long term. He has
also worked to ensure that the high tech industry has enough
skilled workers to enable it to continue to grow. To that
end, Senator Kerry believes that the short term fixes must
be coupled with long term solutions whereby we educate our
own students in science, math and technology. Senator Kerry
also supports legislation that would lift many restrictions
on the types of products-from high performance computers to
encryption software-that U.S. companies can sell abroad, so
that U.S. companies can compete in the world market. Senator Kerry has been a leader in the area of Internet privacy. In 1999, he and Senator McCain introduced legislation designed to provide consumers with a meaningful level of protections for their online privacy. Although that bill failed to move through Congress, Senator Kerry continues to try to shape the debate on Internet privacy, and he is hopeful that a bill protecting consumers' privacy can move this year. He believes it is especially important to provide substantial protections for sensitive information, such as medical and financial information, that may be supplied or obtained online. As a member of the Conference Committee
for Electronic Signatures legislation, Senator Kerry helped
negotiate a final bill that gives electronic signatures
the same legal recognition as handwritten signatures in
order to ensure greater efficiency, cost savings, and eventual
ubiquity of e-commerce. In addition, he worked for the ultimate
inclusion of consumer-friendly provisions to ensure that
consumers engaging in electronic transactions are provided
the opportunity to give meaningful consent to the delivery
of documents electronically. This was important to prevent
fraud, and also should provide consumers more confidence
in the medium. Senator Kerry has worked for many years on an effort to craft compromise legislation in the area of Internet tax. Senator Kerry believes that there needs to be a level playing field between Internet retailers and bricks-and-mortar establishments, and that the Internet should not be a tax-free haven. He also recognizes that now more than ever, states need a secure tax base from which to fund education, police, firefighters and antiterrorism measures. At the same time, he believes that neither consumers nor Internet retailers should be unduly burdened with cumbersome procedures to collect taxes online. Although there currently a short-term moratorium on Internet taxes, he will continue to work to achieve a permanent solution to the problems. |
