This bill has gained bipartisan support, with three Democratic and four Republican co-sponsors.

Republican Representative George Cleveland gained the support of nineteen Republican co-sponsors, and several similar sentiments from other North Carolina House Republicans.

Posey's bill gained the support of 12 Republican co-sponsors.

The long-promised legislation had 54 Republican co-sponsors, enough to pass it with three votes to spare and without a single Democratic vote.

He said the bill, which is overwhelmingly backed by Democrats, had seven Republican co-sponsors.

Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, with 12 Republican co-sponsors, introduced his own bill, the Summer Operations and Services Relief and Reform Act.

All 10 Republican co-sponsors had earlier pledged their allegiance to Grover Norquist and the Americans for Tax Reform, by signing his anti-tax pledge.

Before Wednesday's protests, PIPA had 16 Republican co-sponsors and 23 Democratic ones.

By August 2010 the organization had helped to secure 170 Republican co-sponsors for a petition by Rep. Steve King to force a vote on repealing the healthcare reform.

"It's a fairness situation," said the senator, Carl L. Marcellino, who has recruited three Republican co-sponsors in the upper house.