Buchanan Urges Obama to Stand Up to China on Intellectual Property

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, the Sunshine States only member of the Ways and Means Committee, urged the Obama administration Tuesday to stand up to China and defend intellectual property.

China has ignored U.S. intellectual property rights for too long, Buchanan said at a Ways and Means meeting. This blatant infringement of copyrights and patents has cost our country millions of jobs and billions of dollars. This is simply not acceptable.

Buchanan pointed to a study from the U.S. International Trade Commission that found that America lost almost $50 billion in 2009 due to intellectual property infringement. The study also found that if China raised its intellectual property standards, that figure would have dropped by more than $21 billion -- and American companies would see almost $88 billion in new revenue and add 2.1 million jobs.