Political Landscape:

Rep. Adam Schiff and other congressional leaders last week unveiled the “2009 International Piracy Watch List” in an effort to call attention to some of the world’s worst offenders in terms of pirated media.

As co-chairman of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, Schiff joined his colleagues at a news conference to call out China, Russia, Canada, Spain and Mexico as having reached “alarming levels” of copyright piracy as a result of “a lack of political will to confront the problem.”

The combined copyright industries for movies, television, music, books, video games and software generate more revenue than the automobile, aircraft or agriculture, according to Schiff’s office.

The five countries identified in the watch list reportedly siphon off billions of dollars from the domestic economy each year.

Reps want provisions for small businesses

Local congressional representatives Brad Sherman, Adam Schiff and David Dreier voted in support of amending the Small Business Act to provide entrepreneurial training and for veterans.

The bill would also direct the Small Business Administration to set up program to address small-business needs for Native Americans and to more effectively track assistance to women-owned businesses and nonprofits.

The agency would also have to report back to Congress on measures to increase efficiency and cut down on duplicative services as it develops more programs to foster entrepreneurial endeavors.

The fiscal year 2010-11 bill would also push the administration to create grant programs for new green business ventures and establish small-business help centers throughout the country.

In voting to the measure, Dreier said the bill would provide “the resources and support needed to help these entrepreneurs expand their businesses, hire more workers and get our economy back on its feet.”

The Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009 overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives with 94% of the vote, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration.

Cities unite against cuts in Web campaign

The League of California Cities, in its ongoing effort to push back against a proposal from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to borrow up to $2 billion in local property taxes to help balance the state’s 2009-10 fiscal year budget, has launched its “Save Your City” Web campaign, which features online videos of city officials talking about how the provision would effect local public services.

The league has attacked Schwarzenegger’s proposal as “fiscally irresponsible” at a time when dozens of cities have already adopted resolutions of extraordinary financial hardships due to precipitous decline in revenues to support essential public services, such as police and fire.

— Jason Wells and Zain Shauk