Hank Johnson: “I thank the ranking member, and I appreciate his work. I appreciate the chairman's work on this bill. I believe that…”

“I thank the ranking member, and I appreciate his work. I appreciate the chairman's work on this bill. I believe that this proposal is ill-timed, and that is why I rise in opposition to it. Today, World Intellectual Property Day, the protection of our Nation's intellectual property and, specifically, our copyrights is too important to take lightly. The system for the appointment of the Register of Copyrights has long been in place, and selection of the head of the Office of Copyrights has been within the purview of the Librarian of Congress, this Nation's top librarian. The system is not broken, but the entire system, including the Library of Congress, is in need of congressional attention and upgrade. What is needed is modernization, which requires more funding. Our first order of business should be to fund adequately the operations of the Library of Congress as well as the Office of Copyrights. But in these days where we are trying to keep the government from closing, you see what we are dealing with in that regard. It is fitting that this decision remain with the Librarian, as she has an interest in protecting copyrighted materials as head librarian. The nomination and consent process has been politicized, with the recent theft from President Obama of a United States Supreme Court appointment serving as Exhibit A.…”