Russ Feingold: “I rise today to describe why I opposed the amendment offered by the senior Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain, to this…”

“I rise today to describe why I opposed the amendment offered by the senior Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain, to this legislation on the issue of schools and libraries blocking children's access to certain materials on the Internet, and supported the alternative amendment on this topic offered by Senator Santorum. The McCain amendment prohibits schools and libraries from receiving federal funds under the E-Rate program if they do not install software to block children's access to two specific kinds of information: materials that are obscene and materials that constitute child pornography. The Santorum amendment contains a similar prohibition on funding, but gives the local community the flexibility to decide what materials are inappropriate for children's viewing and to implement a comprehensive policy on minors' Internet use if they want to continue to receive the E-Rate. I feel that local communities, not the federal government, should decide what materials are suitable for children's viewing.”