Kirk Watson: “I find this very odd, this situation we are in. We heard a number of our Republican colleagues come to the floor today…”

“I find this very odd, this situation we are in. We heard a number of our Republican colleagues come to the floor today to object to particular spending items in the bill, but this might be a first. Mr. Pence has an amendment here to prevent spending on something that doesn't exist. Mr. Chairman, I think it's worth us having a real debate on the need for a fairness doctrine. But before we get into the merits of the Fairness Doctrine, we should point out that the Fairness Doctrine has not existed since 1987, so that the argument that the Fairness Doctrine has somehow caused bias in America media is a complete red herring. But I think we need to take a hard look at what happens to our public dialogue in this country when only six companies have dominion over public debate. Mr. Pence says he doesn't want the Federal Government deciding what is fair and what is not fair, but at least the Federal Government is accountable to voters. And so I think we need to get back to what is really fair in an open society. And I urge my colleagues to vote against the Pence amendment.”