[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 12, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5152-S5153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CORRECTION TO THE RECORD

                                 ______
                                 

VIOLENT AND REPEAT JUVENILE OFFENDER ACCOUNTABILITY AND REHABILITATION 
                              ACT OF 1999

  The text of amendments Nos. 326 and 328 did not appear in the Record 
of May 11, 1999. The permanent Record will be corrected to reflect the 
proper order. The text of the amendments follow:
                                 ______
                                 

                         REED AMENDMENT NO. 326

  (Ordered to lie on the table.)
  Mr. REED submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the 
bill (S. 254) to reduce violent juvenile crime, promote accountability 
by rehabilitation of juvenile criminals, punish and deter violent gang 
crime, and for other purposes; as follows:

       On page 265, below line 20, add the following:

     SEC. 402. APPLICABILITY OF CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY ACT TO 
                   FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Firearms are one of the few consumer products not 
     subject to consumer product safety regulations.
       (2) There are currently no quality and safety standards in 
     place for domestically manufactured firearms. In contrast, 
     minimal quality and safety standards have been applied to 
     imported firearms since passage of the Gun Control Act of 
     1968.
       (3) As a result, firearms made in the United States often 
     lack even the most basic safety features designed to prevent 
     unintentional shooting by children. Such features include 
     cylinder locks, trigger locks, magazine disconnect safety, 
     manual safety, and increased trigger resistance.
       (4) In 1996 alone, 1,134 people were killed in the United 
     States by accidental firearm discharges, including 376 people 
     aged 19 years and under. In addition, 162 children aged 14 
     years and under committed suicide using a firearm.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to reduce the 
     number of unintentional shootings in the United States each 
     year, especially among children, by permitting the Consumer 
     Product Safety Commission to regulate firearms and ammunition 
     so as to develop uniform safety standards and protect the 
     public against unreasonable risks of injury from firearms and 
     ammunition.
       (c) Applicability of Consumer Product Safety Act.--Section 
     3(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 
     2052(a)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph (E).
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                       HOLLINGS AMENDMENT NO. 328

  (Ordered to lie on the table.)
  Mr. HOLLINGS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to 
the bill, S. 254, surpa; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

    TITLE--CHILDREN'S PROTECTION FROM VIOLENT TELEVISION PROGRAMMING

     SEC.   SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Children's Protection from 
     Violent Programming Act''.

     SEC.   FINDINGS.

       The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Television influences the perception children have to 
     the values and behavior that are common and acceptable in 
     society.
       (2) Broadcast television, cable television, and video 
     programming are--
       (A) pervasive presences in the lives of all American 
     children; and
       (B) readily accessible to all American children.
       (3) Violent video programming influences children, as does 
     indecent programming.
       (4) There is empirical evidence that children exposed to 
     violent video programming at a young are have a higher 
     tendency to engage in violent and aggressive behavior later 
     in life than those children not so exposed.
       (5) Children exposed to violent video programming are prone 
     to assume that acts of violence are acceptable behavior and 
     therefore to imitate such behavior.
       (6) Children exposed to violent video programming have an 
     increased fear of becoming a victim of violence, resulting in 
     increased self-protective behaviors and increased mistrust of 
     others.
       (7) There is a compelling governmental interest in limiting 
     the negative influences of violent video programming on 
     children.
       (8) There is a compelling governmental interest in 
     channeling programming with violent content to periods of the 
     day when children are not likely to comprise a substantial 
     portion of the television audience.
       (9) Because some programming that is readily accessible to 
     minors remains unrated and therefore cannot be blocked solely 
     on the basis of its violent content, restricting the hours 
     when violent video programming is shown is the least 
     restrictive and most narrowly tailored means to achieve a 
     compelling governmental interest.
       (10) Warning labels about the violent content of video 
     programming will not in themselves prevent children from 
     watching violent video programming.
       (11) Although many programs are now subject to both age-
     based and content-based ratings, some broadcast and non-
     premium cable programs remain unrated with respect to the 
     content of their programming.
       (12) Technology-based solutions may be helpful in 
     protecting some children, but may not be effective in 
     achieving the compelling governmental interest in protecting 
     all children from violent programming when parents are only 
     able to block programming that has in fact been rated for 
     violence.
       (13) Technology-based solutions will not be installed in 
     all newly manufactured televisions until January 1, 2000.
       (14) Even though technology-based solutions will be readily 
     available, many consumers of video programming will not 
     actually own such technology for several years and therefore 
     will be unable to take advantage of content based ratings to 
     prevent their children from watching violent programming.
       (15) In light of the fact that some programming remains 
     unrated for content, and given that many consumers will not 
     have blocking technology in the near future, the channeling 
     of violent programming is the least restrictive means to 
     limit the exposure of children to the harmful influences of 
     violent programming.
       (16) Restricting the hours when violent programming can be 
     shown protects the interests of children whose parents are 
     unavailable, are unable to supervise their children's viewing 
     behavior, do not have the benefit of technology-based 
     solutions, are unable to afford the costs of technology-based 
     solutions, or are unable to determinate the content of those 
     shows that are only subject to age-based ratings.

     SEC.   . UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF VIOLENT VIDEO PROGRAMMING.

       Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 701 
     et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 715. UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF VIOLENT VIDEO 
                   PROGRAMMING.

       ``(a) Unlawful Distribution.--It shall be unlawful for any 
     person to distribute any violent video programming to the 
     public during hours when children are reasonably likely to 
     comprise a substantial portion of the audience.
       ``(b) Rulemaking Proceeding.--The Commission shall conduct 
     a rulemaking proceeding to implement the provisions of this 
     section and shall promulgate final regulations pursuant to 
     that proceeding not later than 9 months after the date of 
     enactment of the Children's Protection from Violent 
     Programming Act. As part of that proceeding, the Commission--
       ``(1) may exempt from the prohibition under subsection (a) 
     programming (including news programs and sporting events) 
     whose distribution does not conflict with the objective of 
     protecting children from the negative influences of violent 
     video programming, as that objective is reflected in the 
     findings in section 551(a) of the Telecommunications Act of 
     1996;
       ``(2) shall exempt premium and pay-per-view cable 
     programming; and
       ``(3) shall define the term `hours when children are 
     reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the 
     audience' and the term `violent video programming'.
       ``(c) Enforcement.--
       ``(1) Civil penalty.--The Commission shall impose a civil 
     penalty of not more than $25,000 on any person who violates 
     this section or any regulation promulgated under it for each 
     such violation. For purposes of this paragraph, each day on 
     which such a violation occurs is a separate violation.
       ``(2) License revocation.--If a person repeatedly violates 
     this section or any regulation promulgated under this 
     section, the Commission shall, after notice and opportunity 
     for hearing, revoke any license issued to that person under 
     this Act.
       ``(3) License renewals.--The commission shall consider, 
     among the elements in this review of an application for 
     renewal of a license under this Act, whether the licensee has 
     complied with this section and the regulations promulgated 
     under this section
       ``(d) Distribute Defined.--In this section, the term 
     `distribute' means to send, transmit, retransmit, telecast, 
     broadcast, or cablecast, including by wire, microwave, or 
     satellite.''.

[[Page S5153]]

     SEC.   . SEPARABILITY.

       If any provision of this title, or any provision of an 
     amendment made by this title, or the application thereof to 
     particular persons or circumstances, is found to be 
     unconstitutional, the remainder of this title or that 
     amendment, or the application thereof to other persons or 
     circumstances shall not be affected.

     SEC.   . EFFECTIVE DATE.

       The prohibition contained in section 715 of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (as added by section--03 of this 
     title) and the regulations promulgated thereunder shall take 
     effect 1 year after the regulations are adopted by the 
     Commission.

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