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FC: Tom Bliley retiring from Congress -- and it's about time
From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 12:17:45 -0500
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,34893,00.html Declan's Capitol Letters by Declan McCullagh (declan () wired com) 3:00 a.m. 11.Mar.2000 PST If a long career as a prudish and partisan Republican is grounds for praise, Virginia Congressman Tom Bliley ought to be canonized. At least that's what trade associations seemed to think after the powerful chairman of the House Commerce Committee said this week that he would retire in 2000. "Bliley has been a champion of the high-tech community, and we will miss his leadership and support," said Robert Holleyman, president of the Business Software Alliance. "We thank Chairman Bliley for his support and wish him the best." It's true that back in 1996, Bliley did push forward securities-reform litigation that Silicon Valley loved and Democrats loathed. In fact, it led to a veto and then the first veto override of Bill Clinton's presidency. And Bliley did back a moratorium on Internet taxes. But what the BSA failed to say is that while Bliley, 68, has kowtowed to corporations since his election to the House in 1980 -- you can place good odds on him cashing in now with a lucrative lobbying job -- he's been just as frequently anti-Internet user. Some examples: Bliley not only defended his support for an anti-erotica law that a federal judge has declared unconstitutional, but last year he also asked an appeals court to overturn that decision. He also suggested making it a crime to publish information about chemical plant safety on the Net. The defendants in the two DVD lawsuits brought by Motion Picture Association of America member companies have Bliley to thank: He, along with the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, supported the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that made the cases possible. Besides, Bliley isn't leaving just because he wants someone else to have a turn. Nope. House Republican rules adopted in 1995 limit how long a legislator can be chairman of a committee, and Bliley's time is up. [...remainder snipped...] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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- FC: Tom Bliley retiring from Congress -- and it's about time Declan McCullagh (Mar 11)