Dear <<Profile\First Name Default='Neighbor'>>,

On Wednesday, Wikipedia and hundreds of other websites participated in a one-day blackout, removing services from the internet to protest the so-called Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).  On that day alone, more than 1,000 New Jerseyans contacted me to oppose the legislation.  They are right to be concerned:  as written, SOPA would undermine the security, competitiveness, and freedom of the internet.  Although the problem of online piracy – the theft of copyrighted music, movies, and writing – exists, SOPA is a poor solution.

In an unusually specific clause in our Constitution, the framers provided copyright protection for people who compose and create "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts."  In their genius they recognized that, by granting exclusive copyrights to creative individuals, the government actually could enhance creativity and communication throughout society.

Nowadays, technology has pushed down the cost of illegal copying, leading to a dramatic increase in infringement.  So what to do?  Ban photocopies?  Ban computers?  Ban the internet?  That would be foolish.  Yet SOPA veers too far toward the extreme of hampering useful technology.

Under SOPA’s extremely broad language, entire websites – such as YouTube or Wikipedia – could be removed from the internet if even one or two users posted pirated material.  The mechanism for these takedowns would compromise the internet’s infrastructure, the domain name system, in a way that would leave users more vulnerable to fraud.  Even worse, SOPA would allow copyright holders to demand punitive actions without first facing an open hearing in a court of law.  Groups as diverse as the American Library Association, Human Rights First, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Freedom House have warned against the bill’s stifling effect on the internet.

We can find a better approach to preventing theft of creative products without killing the creative process or public communication.  Existing law already enables copyright holders to demand that U.S. websites remove infringing content.  That protection could be expanded by allowing the International Trade Commission to cut off payments, after a fair and transparent process, to websites that willfully and primarily infringe on copyrighted material.  A bipartisan alternative striking this reasonable balance is making its way through Congressional committee examination.

Honoring Edith Savage-Jennings

At a breakfast this week celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., I had the privilege of honoring our neighbor Edith Savage-Jennings.

When Edith was 13, movie theaters in Trenton were still segregated. Black moviegoers were required to sit in the balcony. But she went to the theater with several friends, including the future mayor of New York, David Dinkins, and they sat downstairs. When asked to move to the balcony, they refused. And she has been making history quietly, but forcefully, ever since.

Later, at the request of President Kennedy, she joined Helen Meyner – the wife of New Jersey Governor Bob Meyner – in Mississippi, where they ferreted out areas of racial unrest and helped to lead the struggle to desegregate the state’s schools.

Edith has always been humble about her achievements.  At the mass in her honor after her induction into the National Civil Rights Museum, she said, "I want people to know that no one does this alone.''  Yet her manner, her resolve, and her contributions remain truly extraordinary.

Stop Tax Haven Abuse

Earlier this week, the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group released a report, "Representation Without Taxation," that lists 30 large companies that pay more for lobbying than they pay in taxes.  It also points to 280 large corporations that receive tax subsidies and pay an effective tax rate of 18.5 percent (not the 35 percent tax rate that corporations frequently complain about).

I support the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, which would authorize fines of up to $1 million against companies that fail to disclose foreign transactions that could result in a tax benefit.  This is an important step towards ensuring that corporations pay their fair share like the rest of us.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress

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