Frederick Boucher


 * For the similarly named State Department spokesman, and former Ambassador and diplomat, see Richard A. Boucher.

Frederick Carlyle "Rick" Boucher, a Democrat, represented the Ninth Congressional District of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982 to 2011.

Iraq War
Boucher voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) has been at the forefront of efforts to change the DMCA. In 2003, he introduced the Digital Media Consumers’ Rights Act of 2003 and reintroduced in two years later as the Digital Media Consumers’ Rights Act of 2005 with Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif). The bill would have amended the DMCA to allow individuals seeking to make fair use of movies and songs the ability to crack digital locks for non-infringing purposes. It also would have required the Federal Trade Commission to oversee a program whereby copy-protected CDs would require warning labels.

In the 110th Congress, Boucher has re-introduced a modified version of the bill, which is now called the Freedom And Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship (FAIR USE) Act of 2007. The new bill, whose bill number – H.R. 1201 – mirrors the section of the copyright law that it aims to amend – is again co-sponsored by Doolittle. The measure would ease hurdles in legal battles between innovators and copyright holders providing six special circumstances allowing entities like libraries and archives to circumvent digital locks. It would also limit the fines, or statutory damages, for copyright infringement.

Specifically, the bill carves out five new exemptions varying from the Copyright Office, in addition to circumvention for educational purposes. It would enable circumvention for the purpose of avoiding commercial or objectionable content in an audiovisual work, for transmitting a work over a home or personal network as long as it’s not uploaded for the mass, to gain access to a work in the public domain as well as a work for purposes of criticism, news reporting, or research, and enabling a library or archives to meet requirements of 108(a)(2) to preserve or secure a copy or replace one.

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act
In 2006, When the Republican majority brought their ethics package, the Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, to the floor, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) offered a motion to recommit with instructions to strike the text of the bill and replace it with the text of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, the Democrat's ethics bill. The motion to recommit failed by three votes, after Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) led a group of four Democrats, himself and Reps. Boucher, Martin Sabo (D-Minn.), and Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), to vote with the Republicans.

Bio
Born August 1, 1946, Congressman Boucher is a native of Abingdon, Virginia, where he currently lives. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Roanoke College and his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. He has practiced law on Wall Street in New York and in Virginia. Prior to his election to Congress, he served for seven years as a member of the Virginia State Senate.

Congressional career
He was first elected to Congress in 1982, defeating longtime incumbent William C. Wampler.

Congressman Boucher has been active on Internet-related legislation, including a bill which became law in 1993 authorizing electronic commerce by permitting for the first time the transmission of commercial messages over the Internet. His proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries contributed to the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Congressman Boucher originated the House Internet Caucus and is currently its co-chairman. He also created the Digital Media Consumer's Rights Act (DMCRA) legislation and co-authored the Anti-SPAM Act of 2003.

2006 elections
In 2006, Republicans nominated Charles W. Carrico to face Boucher in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006)  Boucher retained his seat.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Energy and Commerce
 * Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
 * Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
 * House Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Energy and Commerce
 * House Committee on the Judiciary
 * Assistant Minority Whip
 * Founder and Co-chair, House Internet Caucus

More Background Data

 * 2006 Virginia CD 9 Candidate List from VIS

External resources

 * Official website
 * Internet and Technology Initiatives
 * House Energy and Commerce Committee
 * House Judiciary Committee
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Richmond Democrat
 * Appalachian Voices