Creative Rights Caucus Announces Leadership for 119th Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Creative Rights Caucus announced its bipartisan, bicameral leadership for the 119th Congress, with Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA-28) and Laurel Lee (R-FL-15) serving as House Co-Chairs and Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) serving as Senate Co-Chairs. Rep. Lee, a Member of the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, replaces former Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03) who retired after the 118th Congress. Rep. Chu and Sens. Hirono and Tillis will carry on as Co-Chairs.
The Creative Rights Caucus serves to educate Members and the public about the importance of preserving and protecting the rights of the creative community in the United States. Creative works are among our most precious cultural and economic exports because the ingenuity, skill, and craftsmanship of American creators are highly prized, and cannot be duplicated anywhere else in the world, with the core copyright industries added more than $2 trillion to our nation’s GDP and employed 11.6 million people in 2023 alone. American creators of motion pictures, music, software, books, visual arts, and other creative works rely on Congress to protect their intellectual property by strengthening and enforcing our copyright laws.
“I established the Creative Rights Caucus in 2013 to educate my colleagues on the number of people, the level of creativity, and the degree of expertise required to make creative products in in America,” said Rep. Chu. “Creative workers are in every congressional district across the country, and when creative works are stolen through piracy, money is taken out of the pockets of middle class artists and professionals who make up the large majority of workers in the industry. I’m excited to welcome Rep. Lee as Co-Chair of the Creative Rights Caucus for the 119th Congress, and I look forward to collaborating with her on initiatives and programming that will help ensure intellectual property is protected, workers are fairly compensated, and a jewel of America’s economy – the creative industry – is nurtured.”
“I am proud to join the Creative Rights Caucus as Co-Chair with Congresswoman Judy Chu to support and advocate for the millions of American creators,” said Rep. Lee. “The creative industry contributes more than $1.8 trillion to our GDP and employs nearly 10 million people, making them a vital part of our nation’s economic strength and global competitiveness. As Co-Chair, I will work to protect the rights of our creators, ensuring they have the tools and protections necessary to innovate, prosper, and share their work with the world.”
“I’m glad to join Rep. Chu, Senator Tillis, and our new co-lead, Rep. Lee, in continuing to lead the Creative Rights Caucus. Creative industries are vital to our economy. In my home state of Hawaii alone, the creative economy supports tens of thousands of jobs and contributes billions to our gross state product,” Senator Hirono said. “But creators also give us so much more. Their works bring us together, capture our history, and allow us to share our culture with the world. I look forward to working with my colleagues to highlight the contributions of our nation’s creators and to make sure their works are protected now and into the future.”
“As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, I have made it my mission to ensure strong, reliable, and predictable IP rights for the creative community and to ensure that theft of IP is not tolerated,” said Senator Tillis. “I am excited to further my bipartisan work as Co-Chair of the Creative Rights Caucus alongside Senator Hirono. I look forward to working with her and our House Co-Chairs, Representatives Chu and Lee, to protect and promote America’s creative community and ensure that the U.S. remains the global leader in creative industries.”