Lawmakers who support piracy bills under fire

{mosads}GOP Reps. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.) and Lee Terry (Neb.) withdrew their support on Tuesday.

SOPA’s Democratic co-sponsors are Reps. Joe Baca (Calif.), John Barrow (Ga.), Karen Bass (Calif.), Howard Berman (Calif.), Judy Chu (Calif.), John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Ted Deutch (Fla.), Tim Holden (Pa.), John Larson (Conn.), Bill Owens (N.Y.), Adam Schiff (Calif.), Brad Sherman (Calif.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) and Mel Watt (N.C).

In the Senate, the Protect IP Act is sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The Democratic co-sponsors are Michael Bennet (Colo.), Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Ben Cardin (Md.), Bob Casey Jr. (Pa.), Chris Coons (Del.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Al Franken (Minn.), Kirsten Gilibrand (N.Y.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Herb Kohl (Wis.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Robert Menendez (N.J.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Tom Udall (N.M.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.).

Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) has also signed on as a co-sponsor.

Protect IP’s Republican co-sponsors are Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Bob Corker (Tenn.), Michael Enzi (Wyo.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), John McCain (Ariz.) and James Risch (Idaho).

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) withdrew their support for the bill on Wednesday.

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) signed on as a co-sponsor in June but withdrew his support just four days later. 

SOPA and Protect IP are designed to go after foreign websites that offer illegal copies of movies, songs and TV shows with impunity. The legislation would empower the Justice Department and copyright holders to demand that search engines delete links to sites deemed to be “dedicated” to copyright infringement. Ad networks and payment processors would be prohibited from doing business with the sites.

Movie studios, record labels and business groups say piracy legislation is needed to stop the illegal downloading of movies, music and other copyrighted content, and argue that legislative action is long overdue. 

But consumer groups and Web companies warn the bills would stifle innovation and censor free speech. They say the legislation would impose an unreasonable burden on websites to police user-generated content and could lead to legitimate websites getting shut down.

In a massive protest on Wednesday, thousands of websites including Google and Wikipedia posted messages opposing the legislation.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on Protect IP on Tuesday. Smith says he plans to move SOPA through the House Judiciary Committee next month. 

–Updated at 6:50 p.m.