House Proceeding 05-06-08 on May 6th, 2008 :: 0:20:00 to 0:40:00
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emergencies. like 911 and hurricane katrina, nurses are also involved in medical and nursing research and performing a wide range of nonclinical functions. today, there are 2.4 million registered

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nurses in the united states. 92% of the registered nurses are women. 531,000 is the numb31er of licensed vocational nurses. 1.8 million is the number of nursing psychiatric and home health

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aides. we cannot do without them. i greatly commend the american nurses association and the academy -- american academy of nurses, practicingers and all of the nursing associations and

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academic institutions who train nurses and promote the advancement of the profession. i look forward to working with members of the associations, academia and others in making certain that we continue

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to increase the amount of nurses. in closing, i wish to thank my colleagues. again, congresswoman johnson, congresswoman capps, congresswoman mccarthy, for their leadership on this issue.

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and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution. and i want to thank you very much, my colleague from texas, of course, mr. green, and of course others who have been involved

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in this resolution. on that note, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from nebraska.

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>> thank you, mr. speaker. in our closing, let me just once again reiterate our appreciation to the authors of this bill, ms. johnson from texas and capps from -- lois capps from california. mccarthy

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from new york and once again, encourage our side of the aisle to vote yes on this measure. we have no further requests for time. so, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker

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pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. in closing i join my colleague from nebraska in encouraging all our

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members to support this resolution in recognition of nurses for this week and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time is expired. the question is, will the house

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suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1086. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those votinhaving responded in the affirmative, the rules

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are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. >> mr. speaker. mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from -- >>

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i object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the

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chair's prior announcement, further proceengs on this motion will be postponed. >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? mr. conyers: i

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move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4279 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4279, a bill to enhance remedies for violations

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ofntellectual property laws and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant of the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers, and the gentleman from texas, mr. smith, each will

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control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their

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remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. conyers: including extraneous material and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

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mr. conyers: ladies and gentlemen, today we move to dramatically step up our nation's intellectual property laws and enforcement efforts. with so much unpleasant economic news in the headlines,

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the measure before us, h.r. 4279, puts resources toward aiding a sector of the economy that employs an estimated 18 million workers. that is 13% of our labor force, and accounts for half

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of all the united states exports, driving 40% of the country's growth. as a result of less than effective enforcement, however, counterfeiting and piracy cost the united states' economy somewhere

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in the neighborhood of $250 billion a year and creates the loss of about 750,000 american jobs. and so h.r. 4279 will do these important things. it will prioritize intellectual property protection

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to the highest level of our government by creating an office in the white house that will be responsible for coordinating the intellectual property efforts of eight diverse agencies and

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producing a national joint strategic plan for i.p. enforcement. it will elevate i.p. enforcement within the department of justice and provide more resources for investigating and prosecuting

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i.p. crimes. it will make changes to both civil and criminal i.p. laws to enhance the ability of intellectual property owners to effectively protect their rights. and it will increase penalties

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for i.p. violations that endanger public health and safety. throughout the process of developing this bill, we heard many expressions of support as well as a number of expressions of

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concern. but we've been able to work out these issues on a bipartisan basis at every step of the process. i congratulate the distinguished members of the judiciary committee, both republicans and democrats,

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for their cooperation in this process. now, as a result, the measure is supported by the consumers electronics association, the digital media association, the net coalition, the internet commerce coalition,

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the coalition for consumers' pictures rights and the printing industry's association and more. and that's in addition to the support we've already had from the teamsters, the directors

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guild of america, sciu, the coalition against counterfeiting and piracy, the motor equipment manufacturing association, the motion picture association of america, even farmer and nbc universal.

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intellectual property protection is among the key issues that will determine american competitiveness in the 21st century, the ability to create, innovate and generate the best artistic technological

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and knowledge-based intellectual property is the formula for continued growth in the global economy. fundamental to the promotion of human progress. and this committee of ours, the judiciary

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committee, has given these items involved in the measure extensive consideration, lots of compromise back and forth and we feel that this bill will make important contributions to the fight against

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counterfeiting and piracy. it was reported by voice with strong bipartisan statements of support and i urge my colleagues to vote for its passage and, mr. eaker, i reserve the balance of my time.

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the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman

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is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, at the outset, i want to recognize chairman conyers, subcommittee chairman berman and ranking member howard coble of the subcommittee, each of overwhelm

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i have enjoined -- enjoyed -- each much whom i have enjoyed working with. at a time when many americans are facing a slowing economy and increasing cost of food and fuel, it is imperative that congress

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put aside any differences we may have and work together to promote the interest of u.s. entrepreneurs and industry. over the past 25 years, perhaps no group of industries has contributed more

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to the tremendous and sustained growth in our economy than those who rely on strong patent, trade mark and copyright protections. american intellectual property industries, including entertainment,

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high-tech and pharmaceutical industries, account for over half of all u.s. exports. . employ 18 million american workers. american technology, entertainment, and productivity based enterprises

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serve as the cornerstone of our economic and export strength. because of the important role i.p. industries play in our economy, we cannot take these innovations or the creativity and investment

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required to bring them to life for granted. unfortunately the tremendous success of these innovators, creators, and rights holders has made them prime targets for thieves who seek out

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items protected by patent, copyright, trademark, or trade secret designation. these thieves not only steal the creations of others, but also reap the monetary benefits by reproducing and distributing

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the products themselves. and the losses attributed to counterfeiting affect more than the inventer. according to the u.s. government american businesses lose approximately $250 billion each year

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to pirated and counterfeited goods. the theft of intellectual property has also cost nearly 750,000 americans their jobs. given the current state of the economy, preventing these crimes and

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enforcing i.p. laws must be a top priority for the federal government. h.r. 4279, the prioritizing resources and organization for intellectual property act of 2008, which is also known as proip, is a measure

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designed to respond directly to these challenges. specifically the bill strengthens our laws against counterfeiting and pie acy, provides new resources to key agencies involved in the

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enforcement of i.p. rights, and mandates a new and unprecedented level of coordination and leadership on i.p. enforcement issues from the white house. mr. speaker, the incentive to innovate

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and the ability to profit from the creation of new intellectual property cannot be sustained without enforcing the rights that protect the ownership of such valuable and tangible property.

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while our government agencies are doing more today to protect intellectual property than ever before, the reality is that we must do much more. we must make it increasingly difficult and

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costly for counterfeiters and traffickers, some of whom are connected to organized crime, to steal and profit from american innovations. because intellectual property is such an important asset to both

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the inventor and economy as a whole, congress has the responsibility to ensure that i.p. enforcement is made a permanent priority of every administration. by supporting the pro-i.p. bill, the

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house will send a clear msage that there is a bipartisan commitment to ensure the next president and succeeding administrations have the resources, organizations, and strategies required to protect

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our vital national and economic interest. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support thiess bill, h.r. 4279, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman

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reserves the balance of his time. mr. conyers: i rise now to yield to myy dear friend and chairman of the intellectual property committee who's worked on this subject matter for so many years.

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howard berman has been a bell weather in -- bellwether in bringing together the groups and i'm happy to yield him as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

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mr. berman: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman conyers, for those kind words. i rise today in support of h.r. 4279. american inventors, artist, and businesses rely on intellectual

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property rights to protect the value of their creive works. these works, unfortunately, are being ripped off around the world. the rampant counterfeiting and piracy of u.s. products is having

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a devastating impact on our economy. couldn'ter fit and pirated products -- counterfeit and pie rated products may account for up to 8% of world trade and a significant portion of this illicit

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trade are knockoffs of american products. latest estimates indicate that u.s. businesses lose up to $250 billion a year due to intellectual property theft. this level of counterfeiting and piracy of u.s.

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intellectual property rights translates to job losses, lower tax receipts, and a greater trade deficit. it has also led to public health and safety threats ranging from exploding batteries to

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toxic pharmaceuticals and sawdust break pads. the economic left and safety problems that counterfeit and pirated problems pose for u.s. businesses must be dealt with. given the difficult economic

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times we find ourselves in, it is much more important we address these problems quickly and effectively. i'm aware of the recent efforts the administration to stem the tide of counterfeit and

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pirated products. the depament of homeland security has seized record numbers of counterfeit and pirated goods coming through the border. the department of justice is prosecuting and convicting

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more intellectual property thieves. the patent and trademark offices has stationed representatives in foreign countries to advocate for better enforcement. despite these efforts intellectual

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property theft is on the rise. more must be done, h.r. 4279 is more. the act strengthens our civil and criminal laws in way that is attack the organizational structures, intellectual property

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thieves are using and reduce the economic incentives that thieves have to engage in commercial-scale counterfeiting and piracy. the act devotes more resources to investigate and prosecute

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intellectual property crimes. the act also provides more resources for the u.s. government to work with other governments to improve intellectual property enforcement abroad. and probably most

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importantly h.r. 4279 provides a permanent and effective means of coordinating intellectual property enforcement activities. this includes the creation of an intellectual property enforcement

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representative in the executive office of the president and requiring that a national strategic plan to counter intellectual property theft be created complete with clear goals and benchmarks that

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will facilitate accountability. i'd like very much to thank chairman conyers, ranking member smith, ranking member of the subcommittee coble, and all of their staffs as well as mine for the hard work

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they have put in to crafting this bill. the hard work shows in both the scope of the reforms and in the strong support for the bill by u.s. businesses and labor groups. and chairman conyers

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outlined a number of those organizations and the broad sweep of -- that they cover and their strong endorsement. i'm also pleased to say the amendments adopted in the bill bere us go a long way

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to alleviating concerns raised over the operational independence of agencies like the ustr and the department of justice. without compromising the underlying reforms. h.r. 4279 will bolster u.s.

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efforts to combat counterfeiting and piracy and i urge support of the bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. >> i yield to the gentleman

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from north carolina, mr. coble, the ranking member of the intellectual property subcommittee and former chairman of the intellectual property subcommittee, as much time as he may consume. the

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speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. coble: i thank the gentleman from texas. mr. speaker, at the outset i, too, want to recognize and express thanks to judiciary chairman

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john conyers, ranking member la mart smith, and subcommittee chairman howard berman for having medicaid every -- having made every effort to address all concerns raised during the development

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of this legislation. mr. speaker, the prioritizing resources and organization for intellectual property act of 2008 reflects a bipartisan recognition and shared commitment to the strengthening

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of our nation's intellectual property laws. a comprehensive measure it is not confined to making marginal improvements in the available civil and criminal authorities. instead it incorporates bold

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and urgently needed provisions that will permanently elevate the importance of intelctual property, i.p. enforcement in future administrations. this is accomplished by providing focused and

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accountable strategic leadership in the executive office of the president and a key enforcement agencies. mr. speake in considering why we should take steps to improve the enforcement of u.s. i.p.

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rights, members should be aware that united states loss from global copyright piracy and counterfeiting cost our innovators and entrepreneurs from $200 billion to $250 billion each and

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every year. the impact in america has been widespread. more than 750,000 americans in communities across our land have lost their jobs due to counterfeiting and piracy. counterfeit goods lack proper

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control, quality control, and can be dangerous. toothpaste, medicines, cigarett, fake auto parts are but a small sample of the virtually unlimited supply of goods that have been counterfeited. the united

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states chamber of commerce has done an excellent job of documenting the extent of this problem. i encourage anyone interested in learning about these issues to visit the chamber's website for additional

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information or to take the time to watch the documentary, "illicit" which was produced by the national geographic anti-chamber. fighting piracy and counterfeiting as you-all know is easier

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said than done because most of the illicit activity occurs outside our borders. in recent years the federal government has made progress in improving both our domestic and global enforcement efforts,

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but it is also clear that achieving success in the fight against piracy and counterfeiting requires governmentwide coordination and cooperation. in addition to autrizing the office of the united

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states intellectual property enforcement representative, h.r. 4279 also raises the profile of i.p. enforcement within the department of justice through the creation of a new i.p. enforcement division.