[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NEW TELEVISION PROGRAM RATING SYSTEM NOT PROVIDING ENOUGH INFORMATION 
      FOR PARENTS TO MAKE CHOICES FOR THEIR CHILDREN'S TV VIEWING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Coburn] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. Speaker, permit me to take a moment to clarify a 
statement that I issued yesterday criticizing NBC's broadcast of 
``Schindler's List'' last Sunday evening which was broadcast during 
prime time viewing hours. I would want my colleagues of this body as 
well as this country to not have any mistake that I believe that this 
movie is a landmark movie, a remarkable movie that profoundly affected 
me as well as my wife and our family as we watched it. Indeed I 
instructed my daughters to view this movie and I have had many 
discussions with friends and neighbors alike about the atrocities of 
the Holocaust that were made aware to us and made apparent to us 
through this movie. I feel terrible that my criticism of NBC for airing 
this movie has been misinterpreted as a criticism of ``Schindler's 
List'' or the millions of Jewish people who died senselessly during the 
Holocaust. To all those that I have offended I offer an apology, and I 
personally apologize for appearing insensitive to the worst atrocities 
known to human kind.
  As many of you know I am a practicing physician dealing with life and 
death issues almost every day. I have devoted most of my adult life to 
working with religious groups across the spectrum. Religious tolerance 
is the hallmark of my professional and personal life. However I 
continue to be disturbed by the new television program rating system 
recently implemented by the broadcast and cable television network.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been the leader on this issue since I arrived in 
Congress. As many of you will recall I offered an amendment on the 
floor of this House to the Telecommunication Reform Act of 1996, an 
amendment that would encourage parental responsibility for what their 
children watch on television. My amendment which passed the House would 
have accelerated new TV program blocking technologies that were coming 
to the marketplace. I did not support the V chip technologies because 
it was an abdication for parents responsibility for what their parents 
watch.
  The bottom line is that parents need enough information to make good 
decisions for their children. Our children in our country are in 
trouble, and part of it is because of parental failure. We must have 
parental guidance, but we also must protect those children who have no 
parental guidance.

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