Frank Pallone: “I want to urge support for this bill. I signed on as an original cosponsor not because I wanted to curb diversity or…”

“I want to urge support for this bill. I signed on as an original cosponsor not because I wanted to curb diversity or local interest but rather because I wanted to protect them. My home State of New Jersey is completely dominated by New York radio to the north or Philadelphia radio to the south and in between are the small local radio stations which strive to remain distinctly New Jersey in focus and content. Obviously, this makes for a fairly crowded radio dial already. Unilaterally adding more stations in my opinion is not the solution. In fact, in my State, low-power FM may even cramp local New Jersey stations and disrupt consumers by interfering with local broadcasts or by duplicating local services and formats. Even National Public Radio has concerns that the low-power FM program will hamper its broadcasts. Accordingly, NPR supports the bill. Mr. Chairman, I have no quarrel with the goals of the low-power FM program. However, its application needs to be examined and evaluated by the Congress.”