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This letter was sent by OpenCongress user Curry1994 on November 06, 2011 in opposition to S.3480 Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010. Privacy setting: PUBLIC
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S.3480 Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010
I am writing as your constituent in the 3rd Congressional district of Oregon. I am writing as your constituent in the 3rd Congressional district of Oregon. I am writing as your constituent in the 3rd Congressional district of Oregon. I am writing as your constituent in the 3rd Congressional district of Oregon. I oppose S.3480 - Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, and am tracking it using OpenCongress.org, the free public resource website for government transparency and accountability.
I sick and tired of government doing what they want and not listening to we the people, yes we the people. Your vote to appove this bill violating my rights to privacy also affect you and will force me to rethink any thoughts to ever vote for you again.
Kudos to Merkley for not taking money from special interest groups supporting this bill, you other two shame you. Vote no and down this bill protect our rights and the voice of the people.

Sincerely,
Kelley Curry
This letter was a reply from the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley [D, OR] on December 21, 2011.
Responding to your message
Oregon's Senator Jeff
Merkley


Dear Kelley,



Thank you for contacting me to share your views about S.3480 -
Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010. I appreciate
knowing your views on this matter.



This legislation falls under the jurisdiction of the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs 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 I 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 go
to my website, http://merkley.senate.gov/
merkley-iq&crop=14201.6888384.6183450.7311284&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fmerk
ley.senate.gov%2f> , to sign up for my e-newsletter updates or to email
me directly.



Again, thank you for contacting me. Please stay in touch.




Sincerely,

Jeffrey A. Merkley
United States Senator

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This letter was a reply from the office of Sen. Ron Wyden [D, OR] on March 16, 2012.
Response from Senator Ron Wyden to your e-mail
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Dear Mrs. Curry:

Thank you for contacting me regarding Internet censorship. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

The Internet is increasingly integral part of everyday life. It is changing the way we communicate with each other, the way we learn about the world and the way we conduct business. In fact, the Internet is changing the way that people govern themselves.

Online copyright infringement and international commerce in counterfeit merchandise is a legitimate problem. Unfortunately, legislative proposals were recently advanced to address this problem that if passed they would most certainly damage the fundamental architecture of the Internet. These proposals sought to establish a harmful censorship regime that would erode fundamental freedoms of speech and the press. These proposals, the Protect IP Act (PIPA) introduced in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) introduced in the House of Representatives, represented a direct threat to innovation and economic engines of the Internet. Accordingly, I worked for more than a year to stop these proposals from becoming law.

I take a back seat to no one in ensuring that intellectual property rights, like copyrights and trademarks, are respected. In fact, I have sponsored bipartisan legislation to do that: the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act (OPEN). I have also worked to strengthen the Customs Service and aid their efforts in stopping counterfeit goods at the border. But any effort to combat infringement of intellectual property rights must not do more harm than good to the forces of creativity and innovation that our IP laws were created to foster. Unfortunately, the collateral damage of PIPA and SOPA would far outbalance the remedies they offered.

From the moment when these bills were unveiled, I suggested legislative changes to the proposals to ensure that they would not be harmful to free speech and to the integrity of the Internet. Unfortunately, the backers of PIPA and SOPA had little interest in compromising with me or those who shared my concerns. As a result, I launched a public effort to filibuster PIPA in the Senate and was prepared to force weeks of debate on the legislation. I also established a bipartisan coalition to ensure that the public understood the problems with PIPA and SOPA, so that they could make their views known to the Congress.

On January 18, with just under a week before the Senate would begin a process to overcome my filibuster, more than 15 million Americans contacted Congress through e-mail, phone calls, and social networks. It changed Washington. Before January 18, the prevailing view was that PIPA and SOPA would easily pass into law. By January 20, it became clear that there were not enough votes to overcome my filibuster, or pass PIPA. As a result, the legislation was pulled from the Senate schedule and backers of SOPA in the House of Representatives acknowledged defeat. This could not have happened were it not for the public, primarily through online social media, learning about the proposal and raising a coordinated communication effort with Congress.

Congress can learn from this experience. Instead of constructing legislation intended to assist the narrow interests of the well-connected in Washington, DC, legislation should be advanced in a way that enables the public to understand the proposals and provide their views so that what become law represents the interests of all Americans.

Thank you for contacting me and keeping me apprised on the issues that are important to you. I will continue to fight for you and for an open Internet.
This letter was a reply from the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley [D, OR] on April 20, 2012.
An update on recent developments in the Senate regarding federal budget policy
Oregon's Senator Jeff
Merkley


Dear Kelley,



I know you're committed to making our federal budget fairer and more
sustainable, so I wanted to make sure you were aware of an important
vote that recently took place in the Senate.



This week, the U.S. Senate had the opportunity to make sure
millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes. Inspired
by billionaire investor Warren Buffett - who rightly asked why he
should pay a lower tax rate than his secretary - President Obama
proposed the much-needed "Buffett Rule."



This rule would ensure that millionaires and billionaires cannot use
loopholes and special exceptions to pay a lower tax rate on their
income than hardworking middle class families. It would do so by
closing loopholes for those earning more than $1 million, scaling up to
an effective minimum tax rate of 30% for households earning more than
$2 million.



As a cosponsor of this legislation, I was very glad that the Senate
scheduled time to debate and vote on it this week. Unfortunately, a
minority of senators filibustered the motion to begin debate on the
legislation. I am deeply disappointed that the Senate could not even
debate this common-sense bill.



When we make decisions about our budget, we also make a statement about
our values as a nation. Are we a nation that showers millionaires and
billionaires with handouts they don't need? Or do we protect Social
Security and Medicare, invest in our infrastructure, and give our
children the skills they need in a 21st century economy?



With so many in our society making sacrifices to get by, I do not
believe our federal government should be using its limited resources to
pad the wallets of the most affluent, which is exactly what our current
tax system does. Please know that I will keep fighting for a fairer and
more fiscally responsible tax system.




All my best,

Jeffrey A. Merkley
United States Senator

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