After last night’s ridiculous delay in the hearing, the race to the SOPA vote is off like a herd of turtles today after the House Judiciary Committee “abruptly adjourned” earlier without setting a new date for the vote. In other words, who knows when it will see any action on the House floor.
The adjournment and subsequent delay came after a flurry of new amendments had been presented by committee members, which was a part of what has been described as a “marathon” debate. The Congressional members adjourned in order to turn their attention “to a floor vote on a nearly $1 trillion spending bill that would avert a government shutdown.”
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the Committee Chairman and fervent SOPA-pusher, didn’t consider any of the backlast against SOPA thus far to have any legitimacy. From The Hill:
“I am pleased that the unfounded claims of critics of the Stop Online Piracy Act have overwhelmingly been rejected by a majority of House Judiciary Committee members,” Smith said. “The criticism of this bill is completely hypothetical; none of it is based in reality. Not one of the critics was able to point to any language in the bill that would in any way harm the Internet. Their accusations are simply not supported by any facts.”
So stay tuned next week when Congress might reconvene and maybe we’ll actually see a vote on SOPA. Until then, enjoy all of your unlimited free speechiness on the Internet this weekend!