[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E378-E379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF MARKEY-BURTON BILL TO ENCOURAGE CONTENT-BASED TV 
                                RATINGS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 1997

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, the v-chip provision in the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996, which became law last year, was 
intended to help parents take control of what comes into their homes 
and their children's minds via the television set by allowing them to 
block out programs that they believe contain too much violence, sex, or 
adult language.
  Under the 1996 act, the broadcast industry was encouraged to 
establish rules for rating violence, sex, and other indecent material 
so that parents would be able to make informed decisions on what 
programs their children could or could not watch.
  However, rather than devising a system that truly informs parents 
about the content of the television programs, the entertainment 
industry has proposed an age-based rating system. This type of rating 
system fails our children because it does not provide parents with 
comprehensive information to make informed choices about what their 
children watch.
  This age-based system is too broad and vague for parents. Parents 
have said over and over that they want a television rating system to 
tell them what's in a program, not who should view it. According to a 
nationwide survey conducted by the National Parent and Teachers 
Association, 80 percent of parents stated that they want separate 
ratings for sex, violence, and language content to help them make 
informed and educated evaluations of television shows.
  The National PTA, the American Medical Association, the American 
Academy of Pediatrics, the Children's Defense Fund, the Family Research 
Council, and numerous other organizations have all criticized the age-
based ratings system. Instead they advocated ratings based on program 
content to help parents with the ability to block out objectionable, 
content-specific programming.

  Today, I am joining my colleague from Massachusetts, Congressman 
Edward J. Markey, and 11 other cosponsors, to introduce legislation 
that seeks to ensure that parents will be able to keep their children 
from watching violent programs. I would like to commend my colleague 
from Massachusetts for all the hard work he has done over the past few 
years to provide parents with a tool to make informed choices on what 
their children watch on television. This legislation encourages the 
broadcast industry to adopt a content-specific ratings system that 
would allow parents to block out violent programming. If the industry 
prefers, it can choose not to label those shows that are violent and 
can keep the age-based system. However, the broadcaster would not be 
allowed to televise programs that contain violent content during the 
hours of the day when children are most likely to comprise a 
substantial portion of the audience. Broadcasters have a choice--either 
adopt a content-specific programming system that allows parents to 
block out violent programs, or only air those shows during the times 
when the majority of children aren't watching television.
  Parents want a content-based rating system to help them protect their 
children from being

[[Page E379]]

exposed to inordinate amounts of violence, sex, and vulgar language on 
television. Hopefully, this bill will encourage the entertainment 
industry to do what is right for our Nation's children, and ultimately 
our Nation's future.

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