SOPA

The theft of intellectual property rights from those who create our music and film entertainment is a serious problem which should be addressed.  Up and coming artists all too often find themselves robbed of the fruits of the labor.

At the same time, any effort to address this problem must acknowledge the integral role of the internet as a highway of global commerce and a social network which brings human beings together across the globe.  It was for this reason that I sponsored H. Res. 95 which resolved “That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should not enact any legislation that would grant State governments the authority to impose any new burdensome or unfair tax collecting requirements on small online businesses and entrepreneurs, which would ultimately hurt the economy and consumers in the United States.”  The internet is a place where people interact and transact business, and government should be careful not to obstruct the fruition of what can only be described as one of the most important innovations of our time.

In this regard, I raised serious questions concerning the impact of SOPA on cybersecurity during our legislative mark-up in the House Judiciary Committee.  I regret to say that there were no hearings in the Judiciary Committee on this issue and none of the witnesses who testified at the one hearing we held were sufficiently knowledgeable on this issue to even discuss it.  As the Chairman of the Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee, I expressed my deep concern over the potential impact of the legislation on the security of the internet.  I am pleased that these efforts did result in the removal of the DNS blocking provisions from the bill.

Although this decision does improve the House version of the bill, there are other questions which remain concerning the legislation.  The legislation still raises a serious issue about government censorship of the internet and whether some remedies in the current SOPA legislation are overly broad.  I am greatly concerned that there is a rush to judgment on this bill.  As the DNSSEC issue revealed, the Judiciary Committee lacks sufficient knowledge to continue consideration of SOPA at this time.  The process should be opened up and we should hear from a diverse field of witnesses before acting.  Those opposed to the remaining provisions of the bill should be heard.  Only then do we have a basis for determining whether further action on this legislation is warranted.