(Washington, D.C.) – On March 23, 2017, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, (D-Mich.) introduced H.R. 1695, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017.  This legislation would change the way the Register of Copyrights is appointed.  Council for Citizens Against Government Waste President Tom Schatz issued the following statement regarding the introduction of H.R. 1695:

“The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste applauds the introduction of H.R. 1695, the Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017.  The Register of Copyrights holds a position of high responsibility and plays a key role in protecting intellectual property rights.  Rather than continuing to be a direct hire of the Librarian of Congress, the Register of Copyrights should be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.  H.R. 1695 makes that much-needed adjustment to the appointment process for the Register, and should be followed up with legislation to further modernize the U.S. Copyright Office.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.