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This letter was sent by OpenCongress user dillonj12 on February 22, 2012 in opposition to H.R.3261 Stop Online Piracy Act. Privacy setting: PUBLIC
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H.R.3261 Stop Online Piracy Act
I am writing as your constituent in the 1st Congressional district of Maryland. 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. Personally, I do not like this bill because I believe that it unneccessarily infringes on the public's ability to express their creativity on the internet. While I do believe that online piracy is a bad thing I do not believe that this is the proper way to go about stopping it, and that this bill will create even more hardships regarding online piracy. I am not alone in this thought, as 99% of users on OpenCongress.org, a free, non-partisan resource, also oppose H.R.3261.

Sincerely,
John Dillon
This letter was a reply from the office of Rep. Andy Harris [R, MD-1] on February 27, 2012.
Reply from Representative Andy Harris
Thank you for taking the time to share your comments. Please know that
your views are important to me, and I will provide a comprehensive
response as soon as possible. If this is a non-legislative matter that
requires my immediate attention, please contact my Kent Island District
Office at: 410-643-5425.
This letter was a reply from the office of Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D, MD] on March 12, 2012.
Protect IP Act




Dear Mr. Dillon:



Thank you for writing to me about legislation to combat online piracy.
It's good to hear from you.



The PROTECT IP Act (S. 968) would give the Department of Justice (DoJ)
authority to identify and take legal action against websites that
advertise counterfeit or pirated merchandise. While I support
combatting online piracy, I will not vote for this bill in its current
form and the Senate is not expected to consider it in the near future.
The bill has a number of provisions that I am concerned about,
particularly language affecting Domain Name Servers (DNS). Congress
needs to go back to the drawing board to fix this and other problems
with this bill.



Illegal downloading of movies, TV shows and music is a real problem that
threatens American jobs, harms industries, and hurts our economy.
However, we need to make sure that the solution isn't worse than the
problem. Any efforts to strengthen the protection of copyrighted
materials must be well planned and not stifle free speech or innovation.
Thanks once again for writing. Please let me know if I can be of
assistance in the future.


Sincerely,
Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator


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