S.1010

Dear Senator Leahy,

Please strongly oppose S.1010 in your role on the Rules and Administration Committee.

This legislation would remove the hiring authority of the Register of Copyrights from the Librarian of Congress
and make it an appointment of the president, which would then require Senate confirmation. This is not needed.
This would politicize this office which is the opposite of what we need right not. ALA, the Association of
College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries call the bill “mystifying” given that,
if passed, Congress would voluntarily give up its power to appoint its own copyright advisor and assign it to
the president. The bill also grants the president power to fire the appointee at any time which is, in the
current climate, a terrible idea.

Librarians are champions for balanced copyright policy that includes both the general public and content
creators, which are often one and the same. Neither benefit from this distraction in the midst of a major
digital modernization at the Copyright Office, which is making good progress.

Thanks

Jessamyn West