BREAKING: Harry Reid Delays PIPA Vote

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided to postpone action on the Protect IP Act.

In a statement, Reid said “In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT IP Act.”

From the Senator’s Twitter feed:

@SenatorReid
Senator Harry ReidIn light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT IP Act #PIPA 30 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@SenatorReid
Senator Harry ReidThere’s no reason that legitimate issues raised about PROTECT IP can’t be resolved. Counterfeiting & piracy cost 1000s of #jobs yearly #pipa 29 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

@SenatorReid
Senator Harry ReidAmericans rightfully expect to be fairly compensated 4 their work. I’m optimistic that we can reach compromise on PROTECT IP in coming weeks 25 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

This comes less than 24 hours after top Republican Senator Mitch McConnell called for the PIPA vote to be delayed. He urged the Senate Majority to shelve the bill until more study can be done.

Support for both PIPA and SOPA has been waning, and it looks like Wednesday’s internet-wide protests have had a major impact on the Congress as a whole. On that day, Republican Senator Marco Rubio (a co-sponsor of the legislation) dropped his support.