Margin of Democratic Opposition to Register of Copyrights Bill Eyed Ahead of Likely House Passage
The House appeared all but certain at our deadline to be on track to pass the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act (HR-1695) Wednesday, with several lobbyists telling us they will closely watch the margin of opposition the bill gets from House Democrats as an indicator of the bill's trajectory in the Senate. House Republicans appeared likely to give unanimous support to the bill, while House Democrats have been divided on it (see 1704200047). HR-1695 would make the register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term (see 1703230068).
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The outcome of a late Tuesday House Rules Committee meeting on HR-1695 appeared likely to provide a better sense of how Democratic opponents, led by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., would spin the bill on the House floor, two lobbyists said. House Rules was to meet at 5 p.m., after our deadline, to consider a trio of proposed amendments to the bill, including one from Lofgren that would allow Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to still appoint a permanent replacement for ousted Register Maria Pallante. Associate Register Karyn Temple Claggett has been acting register since Hayden removed Pallante in October (see 1610210061, 1610240052 and 1701120027). Lofgren unsuccessfully sought to attach similar amendments to HR-1695 during the House Judiciary Committee’s March markup of the bill (see 1703290066).
Lofgren's proposed amendment is unlikely to make it into a House-passed HR-1695 regardless of whether House Rules allows a floor vote on it, several lobbyists said. “It's a poison pill that [Lofgren] introduced for the sole purpose of neutering this bill,” a content-side lobbyist said. “The whole purpose of [seeking passage of HR-695] is so we can have the Copyright Office modernization debate without the prejudice of a permanent register who might put their thumb on the scales on way or the other.” There is “no reason to believe” House Republicans would support Lofgren's amendment when it “directly contradicts” the bill's goals, another lobbyist said. House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and Reps. Bob Brady, D-Pa., and G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., signed on Tuesday to a revised version of the Lofgren amendment.
Lofgren will doubtless “have her moment on the House floor” in opposition to HR-1695 and “she may have a few allies, but based on what we understand from [House Judiciary's 27-1 vote in favor of the bill] and other indicators, the bill should pass overwhelmingly,” said Association of American Publishers Vice President-Legal and Governmental Affairs Allan Adler. The potential margin in favor of HR-1695 appears to be “very, very strong” with substantial support from House Democrats, a content-side lobbyist said. “It's really just a question of how much we'll run up the score.” Lofgren, Brady, Butterfield and Doyle are among the 12 House Democrats who are known to oppose the bill. The other known opponents include Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., and Reps. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Diana DeGette, D-Colo., Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.
Lofgren may have alienated some potential opponents of the bill by “casting aspersions” on Pallante and making “false” claims of an underlying racially based motive for seeking to reduce Hayden's role given she's the Library of Congress' first female and first African-American leader, a content-side lobbyist said. A tech sector lobbyist said it's impossible to downplay the racial undertones to opposition to Hayden since it was an underlying factor during her 2016 Senate confirmation process. The lobbyist noted it's “telling” that the Content Creators Coalition (c3), which supports HR-1695, sent a letter Tuesday to Congressional Black Caucus members, who publicly opposed the bill, asking them to reconsider their position.
“As artists of color, we find it deeply offensive that opponents of this bill have attempted to recast their anti-creators’ rights goals into a smear campaign against its sponsors and supporters, insinuating that the legislation is about" Hayden's race and gender, said c3 President Melvin Gibbs and other group leaders in the letter. CBC dean and House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers, D-Mich., is one of the bill's lead sponsors and former CBC head Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is among the bill's co-sponsors. “Their lifelong and unshakeable commitment to civil rights is a historical fact and should be honored and respected, not opportunistically and baselessly questioned just to score a few empty political points.”
Re:Create Coalition Executive Director Joshua Lamel and several tech lobbyists acknowledged the House is likely to pass HR-1695, with Lamel citing pressure from Conyers and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., as a major factor in many members' votes. “I think that's unfortunate because there's a lot that keeps coming out” about the bill's implications that should be a source of concern for House Democrats, Lamel said. “I frankly feel this is being pushed as an anti-Hayden initiative.” Concerns about the bill could still lead a number of House Democrats to vote against it, including some House Judiciary Democrats who supported the bill during the committee markup, one tech lobbyist noted. Lamel said he's still focused on the House vote but if HR-1695 passes “I'll wake up Thursday morning and figure out what's next” in terms of addressing a Senate companion to the bill.