Antipiracy bill critics were not the only ones reminding Congress Wednesday that they would be keeping track of how they voted on the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA).
While newly-launched VoteForNet.com was getting voters to sign a pledge to support legislators who vote against the bills, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was reminding those same lawmakers in a letter that it could include their votes in its annual accounting of how they fared on key votes for chamber members, which includes PIPA.
"The Chamber urges the full Senate to fully debate and pass this important measure," it said in the letter. "Recent announcements by sponsors of the legislation have made clear that important issues of internet operation, security, and freedom will be addressed by a manager's amendment, which will modify provisions of S. 968 dealing with blocking of rogue sites. The amended legislation is a more narrowly tailored approach designed to target the worst offenders."
The Chamber put the sting in the tail of the letter, however, in bold, underline: "The Chamber strongly urges you to support S. 9867 and may consider votes on, or in relation to, S. 986, including procedural votes, and any weakening amendments, in our annual How They Voted scorecard."
