[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 103 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H4407-H4408]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 2246, MEDIA MARKETING ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) is recognized for 5 minutes.

[[Page H4408]]

  Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise this evening and 
discuss a topic that is important to all of us, which is our Nation's 
children.
  Two months ago, I was in a truck stop and I saw a young man playing a 
video game. I did not think much about it, but I went up behind him and 
watched what he was doing. He was shooting a laser gun, but he was not 
shooting at targets. He was not shooting ducks. He was shooting people. 
Every time he hit one, an arm flew off and the blood spurted, or a head 
flew off and the blood spurted. I was really impressed by the violence 
of the game. This young man was about 10 years old. Nowhere on that 
game was any type of rating indicating that this was inappropriate for 
a young person.
  As I saw that, I began to have a flashback to some of the school 
shootings we have had, and I realized that the United States currently 
is the most violent nation in the world for young people, with the 
highest homicide rate and the highest suicide rate of any nation in the 
civilized world. Our out-of-wedlock birthrate has risen from 5 percent 
in 1960 to 33 percent today. And so you say, what has happened here? 
Why has our culture unraveled in the way that it has?
  I am sure we can point the finger at a great many different reasons 
and causes, but I would say one of the chief causes is the influence of 
violent, explicit material in the entertainment industry. Because, you 
see, the average child spends 25 hours a week watching movies, playing 
video games and listening to recorded music and probably spends about 
an hour or less talking to his or her parents. That 25 hours has a huge 
impact. Some of it is benign, but much of it is really pernicious and 
very harmful.
  In September of 2000, the Federal Trade Commission prepared a 
reported entitled Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children. This is 
what they found, and I quote:
  ``The pervasive and aggressive marketing of violent movies, music and 
electronic games to children undermines the credibility of the 
entertainment media industries' parental advisory ratings and labels.''
  In other words, they were doing this in violation of their own 
ratings. The entertainment industry at that time was warned to quit 
marketing adult material to children in violation of their own rating 
system. This was done in September of 2000.
  Then a follow-up study was done of the entertainment industry's 
progress in January of 2001. It was found that a year later some 
progress had been made but not very much. Whatever progress had been 
made was in ratings of movies, video games and their advertising, but 
practically no change at all had occurred in the ratings and in the 
advertising of the recording industry.
  So much of the rap music, much of the music that young people listen 
to, is relatively targeted to kids; and much of it is violent and very 
explicit. Since there has been relatively little progress in this area, 
H.R. 2246, the Media Marketing Accountability Act of 2001, has been 
introduced in the House. This is a companion to Senate bill 792. This 
bill simply requires the entertainment industry to advertise adult-
rated material to adult audiences.
  Some people bring up the issue of the first amendment. They say, 
well, this is obviously a violation of free speech principles. Yet I 
think it is important that we think about this a little bit, because 
this bill does not in any way tell the entertainment industry what they 
write or what they produce. It does not edit content. It simply says 
this: If you are going to have a rating system, PG, R, adult, whatever 
it may be, then let us make that, if it is adult rated, that you do not 
advertise in preteen and teenage magazines and on movies that are G 
rated and do not market it on TV programs that are primarily aimed at 
children.
  It is very simple. It is not a violation of free speech.
  I think that we have really let our standards slip abysmally in this 
country. All of us who are adults have stood by and we have let it 
happen. We have watched it happen. I think that it is time that 
Congress steps up to the plate. I think Congress can do something about 
this. I think we can send a message to the entertainment industry. I 
hope that Congress will do the right thing and will support H.R. 2246, 
the Media Marketing Accountability Act.

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