Measuring the Economics Driving Investments and Access for Diversity Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5567) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission to consider market entry barriers for socially disadvantaged individuals in the communications marketplace report under section 13 of such Act.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5567

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Measuring the Economics Driving Investments and Access for Diversity Act of 2020'' or the ``MEDIA Diversity Act of 2020''. SEC. 2. CONSIDERING MARKET ENTRY BARRIERS FOR SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS.

Section 13(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 163(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``(4) Considering socially disadvantaged individuals.--In assessing the state of competition under subsection (b)(1) and regulatory barriers under subsection (b)(3), the Commission, with the input of the Office of Communications Business Opportunities of the Commission, shall consider market entry barriers for socially disadvantaged individuals in the communications marketplace in accordance with the national policy under section 257(b).''.

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Mr. McNERNEY. 5567.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5567, the Measuring the Economics Driving Investments and Access for Diversity Act of 2020, or, simply, the MEDIA Diversity Act of 2020.

This bill promotes much-needed diversity in the communications marketplace, and I commend Representatives Veasey and Long and their staffs for all their efforts towards this bipartisan bill.

I also, of course, want to thank Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, full committee Chairman Pallone, Ranking Member Walden, and Ranking Member Latta for their work in bringing this bipartisan legislation to the floor.

This bill requires the FCC to consider, with the input of its Office of Communications Business Opportunities, market entry barriers for socially disadvantaged individuals in the communications marketplace.

When Representatives Long and Veasey first introduced this bill in January of this year, it was, of course, a different time. The murder of George Floyd has since led to protests across the country, highlighting decades of racial inequalities.

Those inequalities exist in our communications marketplace. For example, the owners of broadcast and cable media outlets do not reflect our diverse population. These media outlets can influence people's opinions and perceptions through educational, political, entertainment, and news programming.

Diversity in ownership of media outlets helps to ensure that programming offers different perspectives and that viewers have access to programming that is relevant to them.

Experts have also found that ownership diversity can provide financial and competitive benefits. But in a concentrated communications marketplace, barriers for entry still exist, and the Federal Communications Commission is already tasked with studying what those barriers are. This bill simply asks the FCC to also consider market entry barriers for socially disadvantaged individuals.

Creating ownership parity to reflect the country's diversity is a worthy goal, and this bipartisan effort is just a small step that can have a genuine impact in identifying market entry barriers.

To be clear, there is so much more that we need to do, and the Energy and Commerce Committee, 2 weeks ago, reported out two additional bills that also take important steps to diversify our media market, one of which my Republican colleagues unfortunately objected to.

I would call on my Republican colleagues to support those measures as well when they come to the floor. This is no time to say that our work is done. We must recognize that Americans need transformative change to meet this moment.

While incremental steps are crucial, we must do more. These additional measures that were just reported by the committee, like this one, are modest changes that will help begin the task of comprehensive reform.

I am proud of the good work done by the members of the committee, and I am proud of this bill. I hope we can come together as a committee and as a Congress and do the additional work that is needed.

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5567 promotes much needed diversity in the communications marketplace. As the Member who represents the most racially and ethnically diverse city in the country, Stockton, California, I want to make sure that the owners of broadcast and cable media outlets reflect our diverse population. H.R. 5567 is a step toward achieving that goal.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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