[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S4249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    AMENDMENT ON WZLS RADIO STATION

 Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I have agreed not to offer an 
amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill regarding a radio 
station in my State, because I am told that a point of order may be 
raised against it. But, Mr. President, I will continue to probe this 
matter further. I intend to request documents from the FCC on this 
issue. Further, I think that the Commerce Committee should hold a 
hearing to investigate the irregularities concerning this case.
  Mr. President, in 1987, Zeb Lee and his family attempted to get a new 
FM station license in Asheville, NC. At the time, Mr. Lee had owned and 
operated a successful AM station in the area for 40 years.
  By all accounts, Mr. Lee has been a model citizen and a model radio 
station operator, this is in stark contrast to a lot of what is taking 
place on radio today.
  In 1993, a full 6 years later, Mr. Lee was awarded the station on a 
temporary basis, beating out 12 other applicants. Several of his 
competitors were found to be unqualified. In fact, one lied about his 
ability to operate a station. Another lied about his heritage in order 
to obtain a minority preference.
  Pending final approval, Mr. Lee was required by the FCC to sell his 
AM station and to begin constructing a new FM tower. In reliance on the 
Government, he did both. A week after Zeb Lee was on the air, the FCC 
issued a public notice freezing all licensing proceedings affected by 
the Bechtel versus FCC case.
  In an unusual move, in 1996, the full FCC Board reversed all previous 
decisions and awarded temporary operating authority to the four 
opponents of Zeb Lee in the original application process. The four 
opponents were acting as a group by this time.
  Mr. President, here we are, 10 years later--and Mr. Lee is still 
fighting his case with the FCC. He was on the air for 3 years--only to 
be told by the FCC that he would now be taken off the air, once his 
opponents could go on.
  Mr. President, this is a highly unusual case. This was the only 
station, affected by the Bechtel case, where the initial decision was 
reserved. Furthermore, the FCC has never issued final regulations 
pursuant to the Bechtel case.
  And what did the four opponents who got the radio station do with the 
new license--they have shopped for another buyer.
  The four opponents have now turned over their temporary license to a 
large out of state radio company.
  The fact of the matter is that the opponents in the licensing process 
had no intention of running a radio station. They only hope was that 
Zeb Lee would buy them off--in other words pay ``blackmail.'' If that 
did not work--and they did win the radio station--they would transfer 
those rights for a big profit.
  Mr. President, this process is wrong. It is deeply flawed.
  Any bureaucratic process that takes 10 years, by itself is an 
outrage.
  But the process that bankrupts an 80 year old man is truly wrong.
  If he losses the station, the end result will be that a family owned 
radio business, located in Asheville area for 40 years, will have lost 
the radio license in a deeply flawed process.
  His four opponents never had any intention of operating a radio 
station, they only wanted to flip the license to a larger company.
  This is wrong, and it must stop.
  Mr. President, my amendment would have provided that Zeb Lee could 
continue to operate his station for a period of 6 more months. This 
would allow the Congress to review this matter. It would allow us to 
get to the bottom of what the FCC is doing.
  We have to make certain that this process has been fair and even 
handed, but quite frankly, judging from the facts, there have been 
serious problems with this entire issue.
  Mr. President, in conclusion, I can assure all the citizens in 
Asheville that I will continue to pursue this matter with 
vigor.

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