[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 125 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 125

     To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal 
 Communications Commission to establish an ethnic and minority affairs 
                                section.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 1999

  Mr. Engel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal 
 Communications Commission to establish an ethnic and minority affairs 
                                section.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ethnic and Minority Bias 
Clearinghouse Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF ETHNIC AND MINORITY AFFAIRS SECTION.

    (a) In General.--Section 5 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 155) is amended by inserting after subsection (e) the following 
new subsection:
    ``(f)(1) There shall be established within the Commission an ethnic 
and minority affairs section. Such ethnic and minority affairs section 
shall--
            ``(A) establish a clearinghouse for complaints, grievances, 
        and opinions relating to radio, television, and cable 
        television broadcast programming and their depiction of ethnic 
        and minority groups;
            ``(B) collect, analyze, and prepare information from public 
        and private agencies relating to the portrayal of ethnic and 
        minority groups by radio, television, and cable television 
        broadcast programming, and furnish such information, upon 
        request and without charge, to public and private agencies that 
        serve the needs and interests of such groups;
            ``(C) conduct an annual conference which shall be designed 
        to focus public attention upon the images of ethnic and 
        minority groups depicted by radio, television, and cable 
        television broadcast programming, discuss the impact which 
        these images have on such groups, and encourage the 
        participation of such individuals and public and private 
        organizations that serve the interests of such groups; and
            ``(D) prepare and transmit to Congress an annual report 
        which details the activities of the ethnic and minority affairs 
        section, including a compilation of all complaints, grievances, 
        and opinions filed under paragraph (1).
    ``(2) The chairman of the Commission shall establish an advisory 
committee to assist the ethnic and minority affairs section in 
implementing the annual conference pursuant to paragraph (1)(C). The 
advisory committee shall be composed of 15 members chosen from among 
radio and television broadcasters and program producers, educators, 
representatives from the mental health community, and leaders from 
ethnic and minority communities.''.
    (b) Time Limit.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Commission shall establish the ethnic and minority 
affairs section referred to in section 5(f) of the Communications Act 
of 1934 as amended by this Act.
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