Joe Barton: “I am in support of this rule. The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004, H.R. 3717, has overwhelming bipartisan…”

“I am in support of this rule. The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004, H.R. 3717, has overwhelming bipartisan support. H.R. 3717, which was adopted on a vote of 49 to 1 by my Committee, increases the Federal Communications Commission's authority to assess fines for indecent broadcasts. As Janet Jackson revealed to the entire Nation during the Super Bowl Halftime, broadcasters and performers have stopped minding the public's store, allowing all sorts of offensive material to travel across the public airways. This is not a new problem. For years now, radio programming has gotten progressively more base, and within the last year and a half a number of so-called celebrities have let expletives fly on live broadcast television coverage of awards shows. Federal law already allows the FCC to assess fines on licensees and non-licensees for the broadcast of indecent content during hours when children are likely to be in the audience, and courts have made clear that the FCC's definition and regulation of indecent content is constitutional. The problem, however, is that the FCC currently is authorized to assess a maximum fine of only $27,500 per violation on licensees, and $11,000 per violation on individuals. Such weak penalties amount to little more than a cost of doing business, and provide little to no deterrent.”