[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 15 (Monday, February 5, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E160-E161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PARENTS TELEVISION EMPOWERMENT ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                       HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY II

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 1, 1996

  Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, the bill I am introducing 
today addresses a problem faced by parents across the country--
controlling what their children see on television.
  Parents can control what movies their children see, but what can a 
parent do when their kids can turn on the TV every night and see murder 
and gore? What can a parent do when their kids can come home after 
school, flip on the TV and see talk shows with titles such as, ``Nude 
Dancing Daughters, ``Incest Family,'' ``Get Bigger Breasts or Else,'' 
and ``Women Who Marry Their Rapists''?
  The television industry, in a rush for ratings, too often takes an 
anything goes attitude and loses its sense of responsibility. The 
industry has every right to make a profit, but when in the process they 
help to debase our culture, we have to say enough is enough. They're 
chipping away at our moral foundation and, in the long run, this will 
be disastrous. It may sound corny in this day and age, but it's still 
true: A society without clear collective values and strong morals is 
like an engine without oil--eventually, it grinds to a halt.
  The Parents Television Empowerment Act of 1996 requires the Federal 
Communications Commission to establish a toll-free number that 
television viewers can call to complain about violence and other 
patently offensive material. The complaints would be considered by the 
FCC when deciding whether to renew the licenses of stations that aired 
the material.
  Callers' comments would also be forwarded to the offending stations, 
and the stations would have to respond to each caller.
  This is not censorship. This is an attempt to give viewers a better 
way to bring pressure on television producers and to help improve a 
situation that has truly gotten out of hand.
  The average American child watches 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of 
violence on television before finishing elementary school. Study after 
study has shown that television violence causes aggressive and violent 
behavior in children who watch it. Despite this growing body of 
evidence, TV and cable companies continue to broadcast murders, rapes, 
and gratuitous violence into our living rooms.
  Psychologists have raised strong concerns about the impact on 
children from talk shows that explore such topics as incest, rape, and 
pornography in an manner intended more to sensationalize and shock than 
educate and inform.
  The V-chip is part of the solution. But I think that the conversation 
about this problem should not be just in our living rooms, but also in 
institutions where public policy is made.
  Television producers are fond of saying, ``We're only giving viewers 
what they want.'' Well, this bill gives consumers, especially parents, 
a way to tell the television industry what it wants.

Statement of Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II Regarding the Parents 
                   Television Empowerment Act of 1996

       Mr. Speaker, the bill I am introducing today addresses a 
     problem faced by parents across the country--controlling what 
     their children watch on television.
       When it comes to movies, parents can control what their 
     children see by paying attention to ratings. But what can a 
     parent do when their kids can turn on the TV almost every 
     night and see murder, blood and gore? What can a parent do 
     when their kids can come home after school, flip on the TV 
     and see talk shows with titles such as, ``Nude dancing 
     daughters,'' ``Incest Family,'' and ``Wives of Rapists''?
       The television industry, in a rush for ratings, too often 
     takes an `anything goes' attitude and loses its sense of 
     responsibility. The industry has every right to make a 
     profit, but when in the process they help to debase our 
     culture, we have to say enough is enough. In the long run, 
     this chipping away at our moral foundation will be 
     disastrous. It may sound trite, but it's certainly true: A 
     society without clear collective values and a strong sense of 
     moral responsibility is like an engine without oil.
       The Parents Television Empowerment Act of 1996 requires the 
     Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a toll-
     free number that television viewers can call to complain 
     about violence and other patently offensive material. The 
     complaints would be considered by federal officials when 
     deciding whether to renew the licenses of stations that aired 
     the material.
       The FCC would be required to publish summaries of viewer 
     comments on a quarterly basis. The comments would also be 
     forwarded to the offending station and would become part of 
     that station's relicensing process. The stations must, under 
     law, respond to each complaint.
       Let me stress: This is not censorship. This is not some 
     sort of pollyanish attempt to block out the real world. This 
     is an attempt to give viewers a better way to bring pressure 
     on television producers and to help improve a situation that 
     has truly gotten out of hand.
       The average American child watches 8,000 murders and 
     100,000 acts of violence on television before finishing 
     elementary school. Study after study has shown that violence 
     on television causes aggressive and violent behavior in 
     children who watch it. Despite this growing body of evidence, 
     networks, cable TV companies and producers continue to 
     broadcast murders, rapes and gratuitous violence into our 
     living rooms for our children to see.
       While there is less scientific evidence about the impact of 
     television talk shows on children, psychologists have raised 
     strong concerns about them. Many of these shows explore 
     topics such as incest, rape and pornography in a manner 
     intended more to sensationalize and shock than educate and 
     inform.
       Television producers are found of saying, `We're only 
     giving viewers what they want. Let the market decide what 
     shows appear on TV.' Well, this bill simply establishes a way 
     to make the market work better by giving consumers, 
     especially parents, an avenue to express their opinions and 
     concerns.
       Concern about television programming cuts across lines of 
     ideology, race and gender. There's an outcry across the land 
     to give people a better way to do something about what they 
     see on TV. My bill gives them that opportunity.

                               H.R. ----

       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 ``Parents Television 
     Empowerment Act of 1996''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) The average American child watches 8,000 murders and 
     100,000 acts of violence on television before finishing 
     elementary school.
       (2) Many of the poorest and potentially most vulnerable 
     groups in our society are the heaviest viewers of television.
       (3) Television violence is often presented without context 
     or judgment as to its acceptability.
       (4) Most of the violence on television is presented during 
     times when children are likely to be viewing.
       (5) The 1972 Surgeon General's Report, Television and 
     Growing Up: The Impact of Televised Violence, found that 
     there was a significant and consistent correlation between 
     television viewing and aggressive behavior and a direct, 
     causal link between exposure to televised violence and 
     subsequent aggressive behavior on the part of the viewer.
       (6) The 1982 National Institute of Mental Health report, 
     Television and Behavior: Ten Years of Scientific Progress and 
     Implications for the Eighties, found that ``violence on 
     television does lead to aggressive behavior by children and 
     teenagers who watch the programs,'' and that some viewers 
     learn to be passive victims.
       (7) Numerous other studies establish a causal connection 
     between watching violence on television and increasingly 
     violent behavior of children.
     
[[Page E161]]

       (8) There has been a proliferation of television talk shows 
     that, in a race for ratings, air ever more outrageous 
     programs dealing with rape, incest, and other sensitive 
     topics in a manner that seeks to sensationalize and shock 
     rather than educate and inform. Although the impact on the 
     hundreds of thousands of children who view these programs has 
     yet to be fully documented, the programs have raised strong 
     concerns among psychologists.

     SEC. 3. AMENDMENT.

       Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new section:

     ``SEC. 714. COMPILATION AND PUBLICATION OF COMPLAINTS 
                   CONCERNING VIOLENT PROGRAMMING.

       ``(a) Establishment of Facility for the Collection of 
     Comments and Complaints.--The Commission shall, within 6 
     months after the date of enactment of this section, establish 
     a toll-free number for the collection of comments, 
     suggestions, and complaints from the public concerning the 
     transmission by broadcast stations or cable systems of 
     programming containing depictions of violence and other 
     patently offensive material. The Commission shall take 
     such steps as may be necessary to publicize such number 
     and the Commission's functions under this section.
       ``(b) Publication of Data Concerning Complaints.--The 
     Commission shall publish in the Federal Register, on a 
     quarterly basis, a summary of the comments, suggestions, and 
     complaints received pursuant to subsection (a) during the 
     preceding period. Such summary shall include--
       ``(1) a breakdown of the complaints by broadcast or cable 
     network and broadcast station, and by program name, date, and 
     time;
       ``(2) an identification, with respect to the 50 programs 
     for which the highest number of complaints were received, of 
     the production company, the principal advertisers supporting 
     network distribution, the broadcast or cable network and 
     broadcast station, and the program name, date, and time; and
       ``(3) a statement of observed trends in such complaints as 
     compared with complaints received during prior periods.
       ``(c) Available of Records.--The Commission shall 
     transcribe the comments, suggestions, and complaints received 
     pursuant to this section and shall--
       ``(1) transmit to each licensee any comments, suggestions, 
     or complaints made with respect to its station; and
       ``(2) make the transcribed comments, suggestions, and 
     complaints available for public inspection.

     The Commission shall omit from any records transmitted or 
     made available under this subsection the name and address of 
     any caller requesting confidentiality.
       ``(d) Report to Congress.--The Commission shall include in 
     each annual report to Congress under section 4(k) an analysis 
     of the complaints received pursuant to this section. Such 
     analysis shall include--
       ``(1) an evaluation of whether, consistent with its 
     obligations to serve the public interest and meet the 
     educational and informational need of children, the 
     broadcasting industry has effectively responded to the 
     comments, suggestions, and complaints received pursuant to 
     this section regarding video programming containing 
     depictions of violence and other patently offense material; 
     and
       ``(2) such recommendations as the Commission considers 
     appropriate to secure more conscientious fulfillment of those 
     obligations with regard to such programming.''.

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