Passage of H. R. 32

PASSAGE OF H.R. 32

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I rise today to compliment my friends in the House of Representatives for passing expeditiously H.R. 32--the Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act--as amended by the Senate.

In addition to a few technical changes, I am pleased that the bill included the entirety of S. 1095, the Protecting American Goods and Services Act, introduced last year by myself and Senator LEAHY.

I am particularly pleased to work with the senior Senator from Vermont in our continued bipartisan effort to protect intellectual property rights as well as to work on other important issues. Last year, we worked together on a matter near and dear to my heart--good government legislation related to the Freedom of Information Act, and it indeed has been a pleasure to work with him again. His staff has worked tirelessly with mine--especially Susan Davies, whose hard work and dedication to the goal of making good public policy is a testament to her, to Senator LEAHY, and to good legislative process.

The combined package passed today in the form of H.R. 32 represents important, bipartisan legislation designed to combat the trafficking of illegitimate goods throughout the world. The rampant distribution of illegitimate goods--be it counterfeited products, illegal copies of copyrighted works or any other form of piracy--undermines property rights, threatens American jobs, decreases consumer safety and, oftentimes, supports organized crime and terrorist activity.

Amazingly, it is estimated that between 5 percent and 7 percent of worldwide trade is conducted with counterfeit goods and services. According FBI estimates, counterfeiting costs U.S. businesses as much as $200 to $250 billion annually--and that costs Americans their jobs--more than 750,000 jobs according to U.S. Customs.

In recent years, this plague on global trade has grown significantly. According to the World Customs Organization and Interpol, the global trade in illegitimate goods has increased from $5.5 billion in 1992 to more than $600 billion per year today. That is $600 billion per year illegally extracted from the global economy.

But for me, as chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship, I find it most troubling that the counterfeit trade across our borders and throughout the world threatens our safety and our national security. Most frighteningly, evidence indicates that the counterfeit trade supports terrorist activities. Indeed, al-Qaida training manuals recommended the sale of fake goods to raise revenue.

Further, counterfeit goods undermine our confidence in the reliability of goods and service. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that 2 percent of the 26

million airline parts installed each year are counterfeit. And the Federal Drug Administration estimates that as much as 10 percent of pharmaceuticals are counterfeit.

And the reach of counterfeiting runs deep in my own home State of Texas. Data is difficult to collect, but a 1997 piece detailing Microsoft's efforts to combat counterfeiting and piracy--while dated--pointed out that this type of activity costs Texas over 10,000 jobs and almost $1 billion. Today, we know those numbers are much higher.

We must act to stop this illegal activity. The legislation we passed today will help us do just that. It is not complicated--nor is it long, but its global impact will be significant. The legislation is designed to provide law enforcement with additional tools to curb the flow of these illegitimate goods and it is perhaps even more critical for businesses, large and small, throughout America and for ensuring the safety of consumers around the globe.

Those who traffic in counterfeit goods put Americans in danger, support terrorism and undermine the health of our Nation's economy. S. 1095--or the ``PAGS Act''--as included in the legislation passed today--fills certain important gaps in current counterfeiting law by clarifying the term ``trafficking'' to ensure that it is illegal to:

Possess counterfeit goods with the intention of selling them; give away counterfeit goods in exchange for some future benefit--in effect, the ``bartering'' of counterfeit goods in such a way that avoids criminality; import or export counterfeit goods or unauthorized copies of copyrighted works.

This bill will protect property rights, protect consumer safety, preserve American jobs, and bolster the American economy by cracking down on the trade of illegal counterfeit goods and services.

Each of these items was highlighted by the Department of Justice in its October, 2004 report on its Task Force on Intellectual Property. In it, the Department describes the significant limitation law enforcement oftentimes faces in pursuing counterfeiters and offers, among others, the principles embraced in the Protecting American Goods and Services Act, as possible solutions to these obstacles.

This legislation, and other reforms, will help turn the tide of the growing counterfeit trade. The legislation is critically important to law enforcement--but it is even more critical for businesses, large and small, throughout America--including in my home State of Texas--as well as for ensuring the safety of consumers around the globe. Those who traffic in counterfeit goods put Americans in danger, support terrorism and undermine the health of our nation's economy. It is time to put an end to this scourge on society.

I look forward to the President signing this legislation into law, and in so doing, protecting property rights, protecting consumer safety, preserving American jobs and bolstering the American economy.

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