McConnell Recommends Tabling Online Piracy Bill

With a number of Senators abandoning support for new online piracy laws, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is calling on Senate Democrats to reconsider bringing the controversial bill up for a vote.The PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) would block access to foreign websites that supporters claim are "dedicated to theft” and break U.S. copyright laws. But critics suggest the legislation would "censor the Internet", including McConnell's counterpart, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who threatened to filibuster the legislation.In a statement Thursday, McConnell says the Democratic majority should table PIPA pending resolution of "the serious issues" with the legislation:From McConnell's office: "While we must combat the on-line theft of intellectual property, current proposals in Congress raise serious legal, policy and operational concerns. Rather than prematurely bringing the Protect IP Act to the Senate floor, we should first study and resolve the serious issues with this legislation. Considering this bill without first doing so could be counterproductive to achieving the shared goal of enacting appropriate and additional tools to combat the theft of intellectual property. I encourage the Senate Majority to reconsider its decision to proceed to this bill."