Tom Coburn: “This amendment is a worthwhile alternative to the V-chip. It puts parents, not the Federal Government, in the driver's…”

“This amendment is a worthwhile alternative to the V-chip. It puts parents, not the Federal Government, in the driver's seat on the subject of television program viewing choices. The amendment of the gentleman from Massachusetts assumes only that a congressionally mandated board will know best. The Markey amendment calls on Government to choose one technology over another, not the marketplace. I thought that was what this was all about, the marketplace deciding how we make these decisions. His amendment calls on the Government to mandate a single technology and develop rating systems and require the transmission of those ratings. Whether it is a Government agency or a Government-mandated board, it is still the same. My amendment says that the market knows best. With dozens of devices already on the market and dozens more in the development stage, the Federal Government should not be in the business of forcing a single solution on consumers. A statutory mandate will develop much more advanced, better technologies that will empower parents better and further. There is no question that television is a powerful influence in our society.”