Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), architect of the much-criticized “Stop Online Piracy Act,” released a statement praising fellow lawmakers for “overwhelmingly” rejecting criticisms of the bill, shortly after adjourning a contentious 15-hour markup hearing on it around 1:30 pm ET.
Smith’s statement reveals that the House Judiciary Committee could resume the markup hearing and move the bill closer toward’s passage as early as next week, although early 2012 is more likely.
Here’s Smith statement on the hearing in full:
“I am pleased that the unfounded claims of critics of the Stop Online Piracy Act have overwhelmingly been rejected by a majority of House Judiciary Committee members.
“Members consistently voted by a 2-1 margin to defeat amendments that would have made it more difficult to stop the problem of counterfeit products and online theft of America’s intellectual property. The Committee consistently rejected proposals that would have made it harder to protect American jobs and American innovators.
“The criticism of this bill is completely hypothetical; none of it is based in reality. Not one of the critics was able to point to any language in the bill that would in any way harm the Internet. Their accusations are simply not supported by any facts.
“This much-needed legislation makes it harder for foreign thieves to steal and sell America’s intellectual property. The Stop Online Piracy Act protects the profits, products and jobs that rightly belong to American innovators.”
We’ve reached out to Smith’s office for more information on when the hearing is expected to resume and will update when we receive a response.
