[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 4, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S27-S28]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               OBSTRUCTION OF BIPARTISAN COPYRIGHT BILLS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, in the waning days, weeks and months of the 
108th Congress, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle were working 
hard to pass important bipartisan legislation that would have protected 
America's innovators and artists, made more spectrum available for 
broadband services, enhanced 911 services, and fixed a technical glitch 
that was threatening the Universal Service Fund. Unfortunately, others 
were apparently working just as hard to obstruct these measures. This 
obstruction was intended only to force the Senate into passing 
legislation that everyone knew was doomed in the House. It was a flawed 
plan that was destined to fail. And fail it did, but not before it also 
prevented enactment of critically important and bipartisan intellectual 
property legislation.
  The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act will go down as a victim 
of this obstructionism. This was an uncontroversial intellectual 
property bill that would have protected the rights of those who lead 
the United States' intellectual property industry. That industry makes 
the United States the global leader in innovation, and it deserves our 
support. Protecting these individuals from the theft of their work 
appeared to mean little to some of my colleagues. A Republican plan to 
hijack this important legislation, which lasted until the very last 
moment of the 108th Congress, ensured that it would not pass in time 
for the House to take it up and pass it. They succeeded in preventing 
the bicameral passage of the most important intellectual property 
legislation before the Congress this year. This was wrong.
  The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act of 2004 contained 
important and uncontroversial measures. The ART Act, a bill that passed 
the Judiciary Committee and then the full Senate by unanimous consent, 
would have provided new tools in the fight against bootleg copies of 
movies snatched from the big screen by camcorders smuggled into 
theaters. And it would have adopted a creative solution developed by 
the Copyright Office to address the growing problem of piracy of pre-
release works. The Film Preservation Act would have helped ensure that 
the Library of Congress is able to continue its important work in 
archiving our nation's fading film heritage. Some of America's oldest 
films--works that document who we were as a people in the beginning of 
the 20th Century--are literally disintegrating faster than they can be 
saved. The Preservation of Orphan Works bill would have allowed greater 
access to certain works in the last years of their copyright term. The 
Fraudulent Online Identity Sanctions Act would have protected against 
online trademark infringement by prohibiting the use of fraudulent 
Internet addresses to commit such infringement. Finally, FECA would 
have clarified that services allowing home viewers of prerecorded 
movies to skip objectionable content does not violate the copyright 
laws. Obstructionism from certain Republicans has ensured that all of 
these problems are left unresolved by the 108th Congress.
  Thankfully, two provisions of this bill were able to pass as stand 
alone bills. Thanks to the hard work of Senator Biden, the House 
version of critical anti-counterfeiting legislation passed. 
Unfortunately, additional language on which Senator Biden worked 
tirelessly was passed too late for House action. Again, the Republican 
obstruction was at work and to blame. The Cooperative Research and 
Technology Enhancement Act also passed both houses, largely because a 
Senate version had passed earlier in the year, and the Republican 
obstructionists in the Senate could not subvert that bill.
  There is other legislation that has fallen to this ill-conceived plan 
to hijack popular legislation. The bipartisan Junk Fax bill would have 
protected both consumers and many industries, by placing reasonable 
limits on senders of unsolicited faxes. That bill, too, was passed too 
late for House action on account of the Republican roadblock.
  Thankfully, at the last minute, another important and bipartisan 
piece of legislation was allowed through the roadblock. The 
telecommunications package contained critically important provisions 
that will enhance 911 service, allow spectrum reallocation, and 
preserve the ability of the Universal Service Fund to do its important 
work. These are not controversial or partisan provisions. E911 will 
ensure that first responders can provide an essential public service. 
The spectrum reallocation trust fund will free more space for

[[Page S28]]

wireless broadband services. This will help the American economy by 
promoting jobs and education. The Universal Service Fund provision will 
fix an accounting glitch that if left unattended will seriously impede 
the USF as it goes about its critical work. Again, these 
uncontroversial provisions were held up and almost failed because of 
this obstructionism.
  All of these bills were hijacked and sidetracked, in order to coerce 
the passage of a bill that everyone knew would not pass the House. I am 
thankful that the telecommunications legislation was eventually able to 
pass, but what does it mean that the telecommunications bill became 
law, while the intellectual property bill is left unfinished? It seems 
those responsible for this obstruction do not take the needs of 
America's innovative leaders very seriously. That attitude will 
undermine the American economy, and threaten America's leadership in 
the creative industries. So, because of this Republican roadblock, 
America's innovators and artists will have to struggle through more 
uncertainty, without the tools they need to defend their rights. That 
is a shame.

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