Read Congressman Simpson's Letter to Gov. Kempthorne regarding the SRBA
Read Congressman Simpson's Letter to Gov. Kempthorne regarding the SRBA
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. - By a vote of 389-38, the United States House of Representatives approved legislation that takes significant steps to ensure television and radio programming intended for families truly is suitable for families. The bill now will be considered by the U.S. Senate.
Idaho Congressmen Mike Simpson and C.L. "Butch" Otter supported the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005, H.R. 310 - a bill that increases fines from $32,500 to $500,000 for each violation of Federal Communications Commission obscenity standards.
"The House's action is another important step in our efforts to remove indecent content from our public airwaves," said Simpson. "This bill, in no way changes the laws governing broadcasters and is consistent with decades of court rulings. This bill simply puts fines for indecency at a level where the standards can no longer be ignored."
"Broadcasters -- like everyone else -- have the constitutional right to express themselves, but they need to realize that abusing that right has consequences," Otter said. "The existing fines don't seem to be enough to get the attention of the broadcast industry or even individual broadcasters these days. They see it as little more than a troublesome cost of doing business. We want to get their attention, so that the industry gets to a point where it more effectively regulates itself."
In addition to raising the fines from $32,500 to $500,000 per violation, the legislation mandates a license revocation hearing after the third offense by a broadcaster and also imposes on the FCC a 180 day "shot clock" to act on indecency complaints filed by consumers. Additionally, the bill raises the amount the FCC can fine networks and entertainers who willfully or intentionally violate decency standards from $11,000 to $500,000.
The bill also includes protections for local affiliates from fines in instances, like the 2004 Super Bowl, where they had no way of knowing what would be broadcast by the network. Using the public airwaves comes with the responsibility to follow the FCC decency standards that apply to programming that airs during the family hours of 6:00am to 10:00pm - the times when children are most likely to be tuning in.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/id02_simpson/broadcast_decency.html