Louise Slaughter: “Mr. Chairman, it is no wonder that so many of our colleagues have been lobbying heavily to oppose the section 305…”

“Mr. Chairman, it is no wonder that so many of our colleagues have been lobbying heavily to oppose the section 305, despite the fact that the air waves are a public resource. And let me restate that again. Despite the fact that the airwaves belong to the people of the United States, the Broadcasting Industry Association has spent millions of dollars lobbying against legislation to regulate political ads. If we add up the money that was spent lobbying for the broadcasting industry from 1996 to 1999, the total is well over $111 million. In the past few years, I have personally encountered the power of the broadcasting lobby. Throughout the 1990s I lobbied for a bill called Fairness in Political Advertising which would have required stations to offer modest blocks of free television time to candidates. However, the broadcasting industry spent $11 million to defeat that one bill. The broadcasting industry has successfully blocked reform by spending vast amounts of money to protect its interest. I find it extremely ironic that this body would consider an amendment to protect this special interest group as we work to limit the influence of special interest money in our political process. If we are really serious about campaign finance reform we must preclude this provision.”