WASHINGTON • Anti-piracy bills in Congress are losing sponsors amid the blackout of many websites to protest the reach of the legislation.

Sen. Roy Blunt announced this afternoon that he was removing his name from the Senate's Protect IP Act, or PIPA, because he now considers the legislation flawed and in need of work.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also withdrew as a co-sponsor of the Senate legislation while two House members dropped from the list of sponsors of a House companion bill titled the Stop Online Piracy Act, better known as SOPA.

Blunt, R-Mo., said that he had signed on as a co-sponsor of the Senate legislation given concerns about businesses losing $135 billion annually as a result of rogue internet sites.

But he said he has concluded that Senate Democrats should not be pushing forward with the legislation in its present form.

"The right to free speech is one of the most basic foundations that makes our nation great, and I strongly oppose sanctioning Americans' right to free speech in any medium -- including over the Internet," Blunt said in a statement.