[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 89 (Wednesday, June 29, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H5368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, this week's Supreme Court decisions have 
been a mixed bag, and I did not like the eminent domain ruling which, 
in my view, is contrary to America's great tradition and respect for 
public property.
  Why is it that Americans can be born poor and yet realize the 
American Dream? It is because Americans can dream and create and own 
and benefit from their labor.
  I was glad to see the Court reinforce private property, at least when 
it comes to intellectual property. It is so important that our digital 
marketplace not become a place where anything goes and where pirates 
and robber barons rule the Information Highway.
  As a Member of Congress from Tennessee, I have a great number of 
constituents, small business owners who write music, create television 
programming, films, radio content, people who write books and publish 
them and develop software. The creative community is alive and well and 
working hard in Tennessee.
  I can tell my colleagues that illegal downloading has hurt our 
songwriters and our performers. And I am not talking about 
millionaires; I am talking about small business people. They are the 
backbone of the entertainment industry.
  As cochairman of the Congressional Songwriters Caucus, I applaud the 
Grokster decision and hope that they will promote a fair and digital 
marketplace.

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