[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             DAY OF SILENCE

  (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. INSLEE. Mr. Speaker, many of the 70 million Americans who enjoy 
music over the Internet woke up and their music was silent today, and 
the reason, because of an outrageous decision by a Federal agency that 
caused outrageous increases of 300 to 1200 percent of the copyright 
fees that Internet Web broadcasters have to pay. And in protest of that 
outrageous decision, Web broadcasters today have joined together in a 
day of silence to let Americans know what's going to happen if Congress 
refuses to act to right this wrong.
  And I call today on my colleagues who will be hearing and have heard 
from many of their constituents on this day of silence. I hope they 
will cosponsor H.R. 2060, the Internet Radio Equality Act.
  The simple fact is, if we do not pass this bill, Web broadcasters are 
going to go out of business. Many of the 70 million Americans who enjoy 
music over the Internet will not get to listen to it.
  Congress needs to act. It's the right thing to do. Let's pass this 
bill.

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