Intake questions on 94 LT1

Ok, I was messing with my intake and I took it all apart and found a plastic tube connected to the bottom side elbow of the rubber intake hose. What I would like to know is..... is this piece necessary? Again, it attaches to the bottom of the rubber intake elbow at the curve and is about 18-24 inches long and has no outlet. It's like a single piece that attaches to nothing and has no other opening other than where it is hose clamped to the elbow.
What is this piece and does it serve any purpose. Also would it hurt anything to remove it and block the hole?

It is probably used to dampen the sound of the air flowing through the rubber elbow...deaden the "sucking" sound while it is running. That is just a guess though.