Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for his generosity. Mr. Speaker, I, like my colleague from New York (Mr. Nadler), rise in support of this bipartisan legislation for several reasons. To begin with, section 119 of the Copyright Act expires on December 31. It is particularly important for unserved households, namely, customers who can't receive an over-the-air-signal of a local network. Thus, if Congress fails to act, millions of Americans stand to lose access to their broadcast television service. H.R. 4572 responds to this problem, in pertinent part, by extending for 5 years the section 119 license authorization, thereby ensuring continued service to millions of Americans. The other reason that I support this bill is that it is a good example of how Congress can work on a bipartisan basis and produce legislation offering effective solutions. There are many issues regarding the relationship between broadcast television stations and distributors that would benefit from similar efforts by stakeholders working together to see if consensus can be obtained. In particular, I have long argued that content creators should be compensated appropriately for their works. Negotiations in the free market can often best ensure that artists and content creators are fairly compensated. In some cases, we have seen consumers pulled into the middle of such negotiations. No one wants this to happen. It is not good for consumers, nor is it good for the parties involved.…”