Is the GOP planning a sell-out on the Internet Sales Tax?

The House is delaying voting on the Continuing Resolution (CR) until next week because they are still considering whether or not to add President Obama's request for authority to arm the Syrian rebels fighting ISIS (because arming Mid-Eastern rebels always works out well for us). There is no indication that the House Leadership will make any other adjustments to the CR except to give Obama new authority and new money for military action in Iraq and Syria.

Throwing the authorization and funding for new military action into the CR is nothing more than a way to ensure that both the new authorization and the CR pass without any controversial or extended debate. Doing so is a cynical maneuver that allows Congress to avoid doing due diligence on its most important functions-- funding the government and authorizing military action.

It is also bad that the House will not reconsider some of the current provisions in the CR. The other day, I pointed out how the CR's language extending Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im bank) could mean the House leadership is trying to make it easier to get a longer-term extension of Ex-Im bank through the House by taking away the strongest leverage of the anti-Ex-Im bank forces.

Ironically the CR also makes it easier to pass the National Internet Tax Mandate by setting up a fight over it in the lame duck-- the opposite of leadership's approach to the Ex-Im bank. You see, the CR extends the Internet Access Tax Moratorium until December. So when Congress reconvenes for the lame duck they will not only have to deal with the budget, but also with extending the Internet Access Tax Moratorium before going home for Christmas.

This gives tremendous leverage to the bipartisan group of Senators--led by Dick Durbin and Lamar Alexander--who have threatened to block any legislation extending the Internet Access Tax Moratorium unless it has the National Internet Tax Mandate attached to it. Since senators and representatives are going to be very anxious to get home for Christmas and avoid a government shutdown* they are likely to agree to attach the Internet Sales Tax to the legislation extending the Internet Access Tax Moratorium for Christmas.

Campaign for Liberty will continue to oppose any and all legislation containing the National Internet Tax Mandate.

* Personally I think government shutdown would be the BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER.