Broadcast-Decency Bill/TAKE ACTION:

Broadcast-Decency Bill/TAKE ACTION:
May 17, 2006 Broadcast-Decency Bill Sponsor Promised Vote by Pete Winn, associate editor Congress may finally increase fines for offensive programming. The Senate sponsor of legislation designed to crack down on broadcast indecency said today he's been given assurances his bill will receive a vote before the Senate recesses for Memorial Day. But an inside-the-Beltway publication is reporting that the powerful chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee is waffling on the issue and may refuse to allow a vote on any bill. http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0040530.cfm Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., told reporters he has been given assurances his Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act (S. 193) will soon get a vote. "It looks like to me that we're going to have a good chance to get this passed in the Senate," he said. "If we do, we'll be able to go to conference (committee), and I think we will be able to get a bill out of the House and the Senate." Brownback's proposal would increase fines for indecent radio or television broadcasts from the current $32,500 per incident to $325,000 per violation. A similar bill sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., that would raise it to $500,000 has already passed the House. If the chambers pass differing versions, a conference committee would iron out the final language. Brownback said he talked with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the chairman of the Commerce Committee, who has been standing in the way of a vote. "He told me he is supportive of getting this narrow bill through the Commerce Committee," Brownback said. "If we're not able to get it through the committee, we still have the opportunity of being able to have the leadership bring it up -- in essence, bypassing the committee -- and bring it up on the Senate floor." But The Hill reported today that Stevens is still refusing to let any broadcast indecency bill out of his committee. Bob Peters, president of Morality in Media, said it's obvious to him that Stevens has "a mixed agenda" when it comes to reducing the level of sex and violence on the airwaves. "On the one hand," he said, "Stevens has been holding hearings on the subject of broadcast indecency on cable television and the problem of children accessing pornography on the Internet, and these hearings have gained a considerable amount of publicity. Yet the bottom line is that nothing has resulted -- no legislation." Under federal law, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can fine a TV or radio station that airs indecent programming between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. "Indecent" generally includes off-color jokes and language that is common on late night talk shows and programs such as Saturday Night Live. Obscene programming is a violation at any time of day. "Obscene" includes language such as the f-word and graphic sexuality. Peters said Stevens is not only blocking passage of bills designed to toughen standards for broadcasters, he's also stopped bills that aim at doing something about cable TV, which is not subject to FCC regulation. Pat Trueman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said even if the Senate does get a chance to vote on Brownback's bill, that legislation is more narrowly defined than Upton's version. "The House bill actually allows the FCC to revoke licenses of radio and television networks that distribute indecency," Trueman said. "The Senate bill doesn't do that." Brownback, meanwhile, said something needs to be done to stem the amount of "indecent and prurient" material being broadcast over the public airwaves. He noted a huge increase of it in the last few years. "It is ridiculous that people would be allowed to use public property -- which the airwaves are -- for (degrading) radio and TV over-the-air broadcasts" he said. "We wouldn't allow (other) public property to be used in this means." Peters said the decline began more than 30 years ago. "I don't know how Sen. Stevens could believe in 2006 that the broadcast television industry -- or the cable industry, for that matter -- is going to clean up its act without legislation," he said. "By not letting these bills come up for a vote, he's just ensuring that smut is going to continue to reign on television." TAKE ACTION: Please contact your U.S. senators and ask them to support efforts to pass a broadcast decency enforcement bill, whether Sen. Brownback's S. 193 or Rep. Upton's tougher H.R. 310.

Senate Passes Broadcast Decency Enforcement Bill
May 19, 2006 Senate Passes Broadcast Decency Enforcement Bill by Pete Winn, associate editor Majority leader bypasses roadblock to bring Brownback legislation up for a vote. Pro-family groups scored a huge victory Thursday night when the Senate, by unanimous consent, finally passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act - S. 193. "We're very pleased," said Daniel Weiss, senior analyst, media and sexuality, at Focus on the Family Action. "We've been fighting for this for more than two years. It is great news that the Senate finally moved on indecency legislation. We are looking forward to a time when the Federal Communications Commission finally has the ability to take effective action against unacceptable content on the airwaves." If it becomes law, the legislation would increase fines for violations of federal broadcast-indecency standards tenfold -- raising the maximum penalty to $325,000 per violation. Lanier Swann, director of government relations at Concerned Women for America, called the vote "a tremendous triumph for the American family." "We thank Senator Sam Brownback for introducing this legislation," she said, "and applaud Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist for taking the lead and pushing for a speedy, unanimous vote," Swann also thanked the thousands of people who, she said, "have put their heart and soul into calling, e-mailing and lobbying senators on this valuable legislation. This is truly your victory!" Brownback, meanwhile, was jubilant his bill got the Senate's OK. "It's time that broadcast-indecency fines represent a real economic penalty and not just a slap on the wrist," the Kansas Republican said. "Radio and television waves are public property, and the companies who profit from using the public airwaves should face meaningful fines for broadcasting indecent material." Frist, R-Tenn., clearly made good on his promise to bring the bill to the floor for a vote before Congress recesses for Memorial Day -- even though the legislation had been bottled up at the committee level by the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. "The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act has been pending, in essence, for the last two years," Frist told CitizenLink today. "That is wrong, and when it was brought to my attention, I took it to the floor, had to work through a number of potential problems and within the last 24 hours, we were able to deliver on a very important bill." Pat Trueman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, explained that Frist used a maneuver called "hot-lining" to bypass Stevens' committee. Hot-lining means a bill is adopted by unanimous consent. "For a unanimous-consent vote, no single senator can object," Trueman said. "So, Senators Frist and Brownback worked something out with Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada to assure there would be no negative votes. Then they voted without a roll call." In fact, the majority leader said unanimous consent came only after he had worked to overcome what he called "a lot" of initial opposition. "But we had the opportunity to talk one by one to each individual," Frist said, "and made the point that broadcast TV has unfortunately pushed the envelope of decency and good taste time and time again. And though it's not our job as legislators to censor the broadcaster, it is our job to ensure that the FCC guidelines are enforced." The House version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., was passed in 2005. Upton's bill has higher fines -- $500,000 per incident -- and would allow the FCC to take away the licenses of broadcasters who had been convicted of more than three indecency violations. Because the Senate and House have passed different bills, they now must reconcile the two versions. Two years ago, in a similar situation, a compromise could not be reached and the bill did not become law. But Frist suggested an alternate path for this time. "We have the opportunity to ask the House to pass the same bill that we actually passed," he said, "in which case that bill can be sent directly to the president." Trueman said the fact of the matter is that the Senate is unlikely to agree to give the FCC free rein to revoke licenses -- so House passage of the Senate version would be the best chance for it to become law. "I know the House is talking about it," he said, "and if they would do that, they would still end up with a very tough bill." TAKE ACTION: Please take a moment to thank Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and bill sponsor Sen. Sam Brownback for advancing S. 193, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act. http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0040567.cfm

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