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Cato Daily Dispatch for July 16, 2003

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(Links to outside sources were active as of the date of this dispatch; however, not all news sources maintain links to current stories indefinitely. Some links also may require registration.)

Senators Propose Eliminating Funding for Pentagon Surveillance Program

"Without fanfare, senators debating defense spending for next year have proposed eliminating all money for the Pentagon's development of a vast computerized terrorism surveillance program that has raised privacy concerns," reports the Associated Press.

"In the past, Congress has limited the Defense Department's ability to implement the system now known as Terrorism Information Awareness while allowing research to proceed, but the new provision goes further to ban funding outright.

"'No funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense ... or to any other department, agency or element of the federal government, may be obligated or expended on research and development on the Terrorism Information Awareness program,' the provision says."

In "'Partial' Information Awareness," Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., director of technology policy, writes: "It's one thing to give up privacy for security if there's no other choice. With TIA we may be sacrificing privacy for no security benefit at all. And potential unintended effects on e-commerce, and a raft of likely new mandates give all the more reason to reconsider."

D.C. Voucher Initiative Advances Through House Committee

"A school voucher initiative for the District advanced through the House Appropriations Committee yesterday with $10 million in funding, and Senate appropriators put finishing touches on a $40 million plan that would include money for the District's public schools and public charter schools," according to The Washington Post.

"The action came amid fierce partisan maneuvering, however, as Democratic opposition to President Bush's education choice program appeared to solidify in the Senate with threats of a filibuster.

"But supporters of the voucher plan hailed yesterday's vote by the House committee and a possible bipartisan deal in the Senate Appropriations Committee as important steps toward the president's goal."

Education Policy Analyst Casey Lartigue in "The Need for Educational Freedom in the Nation's Capital," writes: "To improve education in the nation's capital, we must consider options beyond spending more money in a system that even supporters acknowledge is troubled. . . . Public schools that are little more than holding pens must not be sheltered from private competition. The city must find a way to create competition within the system, with the goals of giving parents power over the education of their children, fostering an environment that will create a climate for education entrepreneurs to flourish, and taking education out of the hands of feuding politicians."

Committee Vote Possible on Internet Tax Bill

"Lawmakers on the the House Judiciary Committee who have long opposed taxation of Internet services will have a chance today to vote on a bill (H.R. 49) that would make permanent a national moratorium on Internet access taxes," CQ Today reports. "The moratorium has been in place for nearly five years but is scheduled to expire Nov. 1.

"The bill, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., also seeks to outlaw 'discriminatory' taxes that treat Internet purchases differently than other sales.

"The bill also would prohibit double taxation of Internet purchases. If you live in Virginia and bought a book from Seattle-based Amazon.com, for example, you could not be charged both Virginia sales tax and Washington state sales tax."

In "Internet Tax: The New OPEC for Politicians," Fiscal Policy Analyst Veronique de Rugy writes: "It should go without saying that states, as sovereign entities, should have control over their tax policy. Tax harmonization and tax cartel are not the answer to the Internet tax debate. Taxpayers would be the big losers of this sordid game and freedom and economic growth would be permanently damaged."

Jonathan Block, editor, jblock@cato.org