Story highlights The Senate voted Thursday, 75-20, to bar permanently state and local governments from taxing access to the Internet

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure

(CNN) The Senate voted Thursday to bar permanently state and local governments from taxing access to the Internet, something Congress has prevented repeatedly before but only on a temporary basis.

It passed 75-20 as part of a customs enforcement measure that already cleared the House and will now go to President Barack Obama for his expected signature. Some of the no votes were directed at the underlying customs bill, a trade measure opposed by many Democrats.

Not included in the bill Thursday was a separate measure that would allow state and local officials to require online retailers like Amazon to collect and pay sales tax, just as brick and mortar stores are required to do. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised Democrats he would allow a vote later this year on that issue.

Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee is one of three GOP senators who voted against the bill.

"The federal government shouldn't be telling the states what their tax structure should be," he told reporters after the vote.

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