Issue Position: Broadcast Indecency

Issue Position

Millions of families across the world spent a portion of Super Bowl Sunday enjoying a great game while in the company of family and friends. Unfortunately, their enjoyment quickly turned to dismay when the family entertainment suddenly changed to a shockingly provocative and appalling halftime performance. While the events of that show left many Americans frustrated and upset, I cannot begin to imagine what those few moments might have meant for a family with small children who were innocently watching a prime time sporting event often promoted as family-friendly.

I believe it is important that we not lose sight of the fact that the halftime performance also included references to drug use and a disrespectful use of the American flag. Millions of families from across the globe turned on their televisions that night hoping to see an exhilarating football game between two great teams. Instead, the performers and producers managed to turn yet another much-anticipated television event into an uncomfortable, distasteful experience for children and parents alike.

Another unacceptable example of this problem is the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) refusal to sanction a performer's use of an expletive on national television during the Golden Globe Awards. The FCC's decision to not punish the performer sets a dangerous precedent that may well permit such words to be broadcast in ever growing frequency in the future. In response to what is an intolerable decision by the FCC, I have written to FCC Chairman Michael Powell asking him to reconsider the decision and to move aggressively to sanction those individuals and entities that violate indecency standards.

I have also asked Chairman Powell to take swift action against those responsible for this year's Super Bowl halftime show - including the performers and the networks. It is a violation of federal law to broadcast "obscene or indecent programming" or to utter "obscene, indecent or profane language by means of radio communication." I believe these two most recent examples clearly demonstrate that the media elite believe they are immune from federal laws and regulations governing decency on publicly-owned airwaves.

In addition, I recently joined Representative John Sullivan and 70 of my colleagues in sponsoring House Concurrent Resolution 298. This resolution calls for vigorous enforcement of the federal obscenity laws.

Congress, under the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has been holding hearings to investigate the situation, and has been working with the FCC on this matter. In response, Chairman Powell is now heading in the right direction. Immediately following the Super Bowl, he condemned the halftime show and ordered a swift and aggressive investigation. In addition, he is now asking his fellow FCC Commissioners to overturn their ruling on the Golden Globe's incident and take action against the performer. I commend Chairmen Powell for taking these actions and look forward to working with him should any changes in law be required.

In addition to these initiatives designed to uphold standards on our Nation's airwaves, I also supported legislation targeting unwanted and sometimes obscene email messages. Millions of Americans have become frustrated by unsolicited and undesired e-mails, commonly known as SPAM. Consumers should have the ability to protect themselves and their children from such messages, especially those that are vulgar or pornographic. I joined 392 of my colleagues in passing a Senate-sponsored anti-spam bill, which the President recently signed into law.

This legislation is designed to give consumers more control over unwanted e-mail and promises stiff punishment for senders of unlawful, deceptive spam. It includes a number of tough civil and criminal penalties against the senders of unlawful unsolicited e-mail and addresses a number of other issues including special warnings for pornographic messages and the idea of a "do not spam" list modeled after the "Do Not Call" telephone solicitation list. While this legislation is a good first-start - it may take additional action by Congress to ensure these messages are not widely distributed to those who do not want them.

One of the most unfortunate consequences of our nation's quantum leaps forward in technology and innovation has been the immediate availability of corrupt influences on children and young adults. Parents are constantly guarding against these influences and working hard to ensure their children are raised correctly and instill in them a sense of self worth, pride and respect for others. Parents, therefore, must be given the opportunity to raise their children in an environment free of indecent or profane language streaming from our nation's public radio and television airwaves.

While there are many pressing issues facing our nation and its citizens, I can think of very few challenges that are more important than providing families and children with the opportunity to learn from and enjoy television programming untainted by the stench of drugs, sex, and violence during primetime hours. Rest assured, I will continue to working to dissuade further broadcasts of such crude and offensive language on public television, uphold standards of decency on our airwaves, and seek stiffer penalties for those who betray federal law and regulations governing indecent or obscene actions on our nation's airwaves.

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