My Letter to Congress: H.R.3261 Stop Online Piracy Act

I am writing as your constituent in the 3rd Congressional district of Washington. I oppose H.R.3261 - Stop Online Piracy Act, and am tracking it using OpenCongress.org, the free public resource website for government transparency and accountability.

Sen. Murray, I know that you took $4,250 in the 2010 election cycle from entertainment industry/broadcast & motion pictures interest groups who support H.R.3261.

Sen. Murray, I know that you took $20,250 in the 2010 election cycle from cable & satellite tv production & distribution interest groups who support H.R.3261.

Sen. Murray, I know that you took $50,550 in the 2010 election cycle from pharmaceutical manufacturing interest groups who support H.R.3261.

Sen. Murray, I know that you took $12,684 in the 2010 election cycle from health, education & human resources interest groups who support H.R.3261.

Sen. Cantwell, I know that you took $1,000 in the 2010 election cycle from entertainment industry/broadcast & motion pictures interest groups who support H.R.3261.

Sen. Cantwell, I know that you took $1,000 in the 2010 election cycle from cable & satellite tv production & distribution interest groups who support H.R.3261.

Sen. Cantwell, I know that you took $3,900 in the 2010 election cycle from commercial tv & radio stations interest groups who support H.R.3261.

Sen. Cantwell, I know that you took $750 in the 2010 election cycle from pharmaceutical manufacturing interest groups who support H.R.3261.

Sen. Cantwell, I know that you took $750 in the 2010 election cycle from health, education & human resources interest groups who support H.R.3261.

I do have a large issue with my elected representitives taking that much money from special interest groups.

Don't you think it's about time you began to pay attention to your constituents?

99% of users on OpenCongress.org, a free, non-partisan resource, oppose H.R.3261..
Sincerely,
Jon Jefferies

Dear Mr. Jefferies,



Thank you for contacting me about the internet streaming of copyrighted
material. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.



On May 12, 2011, Senator Leahy (D-VT) introduced S. 968, the Preventing
Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual
Property (PROTECT IP) Act. Under current federal law, U.S. law
enforcement officials and holders of copyrights, trademarks, and
patents, have limited legal remedies available to combat internet
websites that are registered in foreign countries but operate in the
United States by selling products, services, and/or content that
violates U.S. intellectual property law. If enacted, the proposed
legislation would create an expedited process for the Department of
Justice and intellectual property rights holders to shut down through a
court order these websites by targeting the owners and operators of the
Internet site, if known, or the domain name registrant associated with
the Internet site.



While I am supportive of the goals of the bill, I am deeply concerned
that the definitions and the means by which the legislation seeks to
accomplish these goals will have unintended consequences and hurt
innovation, job creation, and threaten online speech and security. On
November 17, 2011, I signed a letter along with Senators Ron Wyden
(D-WA) objecting to the bill as it is currently written.



I intend to work with the proponents of this legislation to explore and
advance proposals that include effective methods to combat intellectual
property rights violations while avoiding the collateral damage inherent
in the current legislation. The goals of this legislation can be
achieved without doing serious damage to cyber security and the ability
of the Internet to facilitate a global marketplace of ideas and
commerce. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind
should I have the opportunity to vote on this or similar legislation
regarding intellectual property rights.



Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter.
You may also be interested in signing up for periodic updates for
Washington State residents. If you are interested in subscribing to this
update, please visit my website at http://cantwell.senate.gov
. Please do not hesitate to contact me in
the future if I can be of further assistance.




Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator

For future correspondence with my office, please visit my website at
http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/

Dear Mr. Jefferies:



Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy
Act , which is currently pending in the United States House of
Representatives. I appreciate knowing your views on this matter.



In the Senate, this legislation would fall under the jurisdiction of the
Judiciary Committee. While I am not a member of that Committee, I want
to assure you that I will be following the progress of this bill and
will keep your views in mind if this or related legislation comes before
the full Senate for consideration.



If you would like to know more about my work in the Senate, please feel
free to sign up for my weekly updates at
http://murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=GetEmailUpdates
murray-iq&crop=14278.8448075.8241567.9090631&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fmurra
y.senate.gov%2fpublic%2findex.cfm%3fp%3dGetEmailUpdates> . Again, thank
you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.


Sincerely,

Patty Murray
United States Senator


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