WASHINGTON, DC – In a move bound to make some in the broadcast television and radio world proclaim “holy sh*t!,” the US House of Representatives voted yesterday to approve legislation that will increase the penalty for broadcasting “indecent material” to as much as $325,000 per violation, with a cap of $3 million per incident.President George W. Bush has already vowed to sign the bill, called the “Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act,” into law at first opportunity. The Act passed in the Senate unanimously last month and sailed through the House with a 379-35 vote last week.
While the Act increases fines and strengthens the authority of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to punish over-air broadcasters for broadcasting foul language and racy content, the measure does not extend to cable and satellite broadcasters, leaving such entities beyond the FCC’s authority.
Conservatives and “family” groups cited the bill’s passage as a clear triumph, despite the reach of the legislation extending only as far as broadcast media.
“This is a victory for children and families,” said Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), one of the bill’s primary sponsors. “After two years, Congress is sending a bill to the president that will raise broadcast indecency fines to a meaningful level.”
L. Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, hailed the bill’s approval, saying that families “are fed up with the sexually raunchy and gratuitously violent content that’s broadcast over the public airwaves, particularly during hours when millions of children are in the viewing audience.”
“We applaud the U.S. House for listening and acting to hold broadcasters responsible for their violations of the law,” Bozell added in a press release. “We hope that the hefty fines will cause the multibillion-dollar broadcast networks finally to take the law seriously.”
Gary Ackerman (D-NY) was one of very few Representatives to voice any objection to the Act.
“What is at stake here is freedom of speech and whether it will be nibbled to death by election-minded politicians and self-righteous pietists,” Ackerman said in a statement this week.
Dennis Wharton, spokesman for The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), said the NAB would prefer that Congress leave it up to the country’s radio and TV stations to police themselves.
“The NAB position is that we think responsible self-regulation is preferable to government regulation in areas of program content,” said Wharton.
Lanier Swann, Director of Government Relations for the Concerned Women for America (CWA), asserted that approval of the Act was a case of lawmakers heeding the call of their constituents and praised Brownback and other proponents of the bill for their “dedication.”
“This victory belongs to the citizens and grassroots organizations who have taken a stand for families by insisting that senators heed their demand for clean airwaves,” said Swann. “It has been encouraging and inspiring to witness the number of people who have risen up to the challenge of protecting their families.”
Swann cited Brownback, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Rep, TN), Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (Rep, IL), and House Majority Leader John Boehner (Rep, OH), for their “dedication to passing this bill in both the Senate and the House.”
“Their leadership has been instrumental in this pro-family triumph,” said Swann. “Senator Frist especially deserves the thanks of moms and dads across the nation for his bold and creative efforts to free the bill from an intransigent committee chairman who bottled up the legislation for well over a year.”
