[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 107 (Wednesday, September 13, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8528-S8529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MARKETING OF VIOLENT FILMS AND VIDEOS

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today the Commerce Committee had an 
oversight hearing on violence marketed to children by the entertainment 
industry. This oversight is long overdue. I congratulate Senator McCain 
for holding such a hearing.
  The purpose of the hearing was to look at the FTC study that just 
came out that charged the entertainment industry with marketing of 
violent films and videos to children.
  The bottom line is that as we have heard President Clinton and Vice 
President Gore respond to the FTC rulings, there is an inconsistency in 
their responses and how they have generally interacted with Hollywood 
over the last 8 years.
  I establish as a basis for my remarks some quotes from the various 
newspapers of the recent month and a half. For instance, on September 
12, the Washington Post, commenting on this, said:

       In separate time zones, but with one message, President 
     Clinton and Vice President Gore delivered a joint threat to 
     the entertainment industry today that harsh regulation could 
     come if the makers of explicit and violent movies, recordings 
     and video games do not stop advertisement at children.

  I continue to read from the same story in the Washington Post. Later 
on it says:

       But Gore has not always appeared consistent on this issue. 
     In 1987, as he was gearing up for his first presidential 
     campaign, Gore and his wife held a meeting with rock music 
     executives in which Gore apologized for his role in a 1985 
     Senate Commerce Committee hearing on rock music lyrics. A 
     tape of the meeting was obtained by Daily Variety. Tipper 
     Gore, who had testified at the hearing on behalf of the 
     Parents Music Resource Center, called the hearing ``a 
     mistake. . .that sent the wrong message.''
       Last year, the Los Angeles Times reported that Gore met 
     privately with potential donors in the entertainment industry 
     in July 1999 and told them the idea for the FTC study--

  Which I just referred to--

       was Clinton's and not his, and that he was not consulted.

  Then on August 18, the Chicago Tribune shows an inconsistency in how 
they react and work with Hollywood at different times. It says:

       In southern California, records show, Gore and the 
     Democratic National Committee so far have raised $10.3 
     million--a 13 percent increase--at a time when the DNC's 
     nationwide fundraising pace is lagging behind 1996, when 
     Clinton ran for re-election.

  Quoting further in the article:

       Gore generated $443,050 in hard money from the 
     entertainment industry, 86 percent more than Clinton in 1996. 
     He also took in $340,375 from lawyers and lobbyists, a 66 
     percent increase, and $124,350 from real estate interests, an 
     82 percent jump.

  Now I will quote from the August 18 Los Angeles Times. The reference 
in the headline reads: ``. . .The Vice President is building upon that 
legacy'' to follow Clinton's close relationship with Hollywood. ``He 
has already raised more than the President did in '96.''

  Later on in that article, referring to a person whom I do not know--
his name is Reiner:

       But Reiner . . . has expressed greater support for Gore 
     than he had for Clinton. He has

[[Page S8529]]

     hosted fund-raisers for Gore at his home, stumped for him on 
     television and even flew to Ohio to join him at a campaign 
     event last week.

  A reference to the fact there were Hollywood types campaigning 
strongly for the Vice President because there was some chagrin in 
Hollywood, at least for a short period of time, about whether he is a 
legitimate crusader against Hollywood violence, which Senator Lieberman 
is, that he was being selected as Vice President.
  The Los Angeles Times reports on August 17, 2000--and this was Vice 
President Gore doing this.

       The effort to blunt any dissent over Lieberman's selection 
     started as word leaked out of his ascension to the ticket. 
     Gore, according to an associate, made a round of soothing 
     calls to Hollywood figures, including moguls Jeffrey 
     Katzenberg and David Geffen.

  I have already congratulated Senator McCain for holding this hearing. 
We need to do what we can to stop violence being peddled by Hollywood 
so our young people do not think it is right to kill anybody. I do 
think it is wrong for the very people who are carrying on this 
crusade--the Vice President and the President--schmoozing at the same 
time they are carrying on this campaign with Hollywood.
  I want to comment on Vice President Gore's curious interest in 
criticizing the entertainment industry for producing violent movies, 
television shows, and video games that promote immorality and attack 
traditional family values.
  I do not doubt for 1 minute, as I have already indicated, that 
Senator Lieberman is very sincere in his views on this matter, but the 
fact is that the Vice President is at the top of the Democratic ticket, 
and everyone knows that he will set the real tone should he be elected 
in November.
  The fact is that the Vice President has taken a record amount of 
money from the entertainment industry. I refer, again, to the Chicago 
Tribune. The Vice President and the Democratic National Committee have 
raised $10.3 million from southern California as of August this year, a 
13 percent increase over 1996, and the Vice President has gotten 
$443,050 in hard money from the entertainment industry, 86 percent more 
than President Clinton received in 1996.
  The Clinton-Gore administration has been a real friend to the 
Hollywood liberals over the years. I guess all of those campaign 
contributions have had some effect. I think that when Hollywood 
producers hear one of their best friends in Washington criticize the 
entertainment industry, they just look to their ``cozy relationship'' 
with Clinton-Gore. The Hollywood moguls know Gore does not really mean 
what he says; at least that is a clear signal. Hollywood knows Gore 
does not really want to ``rock the boat.''
  For instance, how many times at these fundraisers that they had was 
the opportunity taken to protest the violence coming from Hollywood 
through their films and their videos?
  According to the L.A. Times, the Vice President privately told a 
group of Hollywood donors that he had nothing to do with President 
Clinton's effort to study whether Hollywood markets violence to 
children and that he was not consulted on the issue. That was in 1999.
  But now that the study is out--this study came out this week--Vice 
President Gore is talking it up and taking credit. The Vice President 
is acting as if he has not made private promises to his big campaign 
donors and to Hollywood notables that they should not worry about a 
crackdown on Hollywood excesses. But we have heard all of this before.
  In 1988, then-Senator Gore made similar promises after holding 
hearings into offensive music lyrics. It appears the Vice President 
will say what he wants to say, what he needs to say, to anybody he 
needs to say it to, just to get elected. I think the American people 
will not be fooled by these kinds of bait-and-switch tactics. They know 
a phony act when they see one.
  In fact, Hollywood liberals are actively campaigning for the Vice 
President. For example, according to press reports, stars and movie 
producers have hosted Gore fundraisers, and some have even stumped for 
Gore around the country. So much then for standing up to Hollywood as 
opposed to schmoozing with them.
  The American people need their leaders to take a genuine interest in 
building a civil society of which we can all be proud. We need leaders 
who will make sure children are protected from violence and immorality 
peddled under the guise of entertainment.
  What we do not need is the Vice President telling the American people 
one thing while--with a wink and nod towards Hollywood, towards the big 
shots of the movie industry--assuring the Hollywood elite he does not 
mean what he says as he pockets their cold cash.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Rhode Island is 
recognized.

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