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Press Release

Upton Indecency Bill Continues on Fast Track
Upon passage by committee, the bill will soon be considered by the full House

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, made the following statement as his legislation to clean up the public airwaves, H.R. 310, was considered by the Energy and Commerce Committee. Among other things, Upton’s bipartisan measure, H.R. 310, raises the amount the FCC can fine broadcasters for airing indecent material from $32,500 to $500,000 per violation. Upton’s measure passed the House last year and similar legislation passed the Senate, but final agreement could not be reached before the end of the 108th Congress.

Upton ’s full opening statement is provided:

I want to thank Chairman Barton, Ranking Member Dingell, and Mr. Markey for their tremendous bipartisan cooperation on H.R. 310, both in terms of their original sponsorship of it and their willingness to expedite the Committee’s consideration of it. I also want to thank those members of the Committee who have cosponsored the bill.

H.R. 310 mirrors the bill which, last year, this Committee approved 49-1 and the House subsequently passed by a vote of 391-22.

This legislation would significantly enhance the Federal Communications Commission’s broadcast decency enforcement authority. As stewards of the public’s airwaves, radio and television broadcasters have an obligation to abide by the decency laws which have been on the books for decades and have been upheld in the courts. Most of our local broadcasters act responsibly, but there are still too many who continue to push the envelope of indecency during the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. , when children are most likely to be in the audience. I would note that some broadcasters have taken to heart the seriousness of this debate and, on their own, have adopted internal policies to better control what goes over the public’s airwaves over which they have stewardship. Clear Channel’s “zero tolerance” policy as part of its “Responsible Broadcast Initiative,” is one such example of this good corporate citizenship.

But for those broadcasters who continue to act irresponsibly, the FCC needs adequate authority to enforce the law, and this bill would deliver that.

Currently, the maximum fine which the FCC can impose for violation of the decency laws is $32,500 per violation, which, to some broadcasters, is merely the “cost of doing business” and, as such, is hardly a deterrent. H.R. 310 would increase the maximum fine to $500,000 per violation.

In addition, under current law, the FCC may hold a license revocation hearing for any broadcaster who is found liable for an indecency violation. However, the FCC has never held such a license revocation hearing. H.R. 310, among other things, would require the FCC to hold a license revocation hearing for any broadcaster who has been found liable for three indecency violations; this is the so-called “three strikes” provision. Importantly, in order for a “strike” to count toward the “three strikes” triggering a license revocation hearing under the bill, each finding of liability must have gone through an exhaustive legal process - all the way to final judgment. This is an important element to protect broadcasters’ legitimate due process rights. Also, it is important to note that this provision does not require the FCC to revoke the license of a broadcaster after the third “strike,” it merely requires a hearing to consider the matter with no prejudice toward the outcome of such hearing. Of course, under current law, the FCC can hold a license revocation hearing after the “first strike,” “second strike,” or “third strike,” so all this provision does is require, at a minimum, that such a hearing is held after the “third strike.”

Other provisions in the bill would:

• Ensure that the FCC, when setting penalties, takes into consideration the degree of culpability of the violator, whether the violator is a company or individual, and if it is a company, the size of the company and market served.

• Permit the FCC to fine an individual on the first indecency offense.

• Require the FCC to complete action on indecency complaints within 180 days.

• Force the FCC to take indecency violations into account during license application, renewal and modifications.

• Require the FCC to hold a license revocation hearing to consider revoking the broadcast station license if the licensee has violated the FCC’s indecency rules three times within the term of a license.

• Compel the FCC to report to Congress annually regarding the agency’s broadcast decency enforcement activities.

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