[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 117 (Friday, August 1, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S10914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Pryor):
  S. 1563. A bill to require the Federal Communications Commission to 
report to Congress regarding the ownership and control of broadcast 
stations used to serve language minorities, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, Senator Clinton and I are proposing 
legislation to protect the voices of language minorities in our 
country. Representative Robert Menendez will be introducing a companion 
bill in the House after the August recess. Our bill is called the 
National Minority Media Opportunities Act. Its goal is to see that 
Americans who are members of any ``language minority'' groups under the 
Voting Rights Act--defined as American Indian, Asian Americans, Alaskan 
Natives, and Hispanic Americans--are not injured by excessive media 
concentration of companies that broadcast primarily in their native 
languages.
  Neither the Federal Communications Commission's new broadcast 
ownership regulations adopted on June 2 nor the previous regulations 
deal with the effects of growing media concentration on citizens 
relying on minority-language broadcasts for their news and information.
  The FCC's new rules are already controversial because they allow 
excessive concentration, in spite of its effect on competition, the 
diversity of views, and other major national, State, and local 
priorities. Unfortunately, the specific and often more harmful effects 
of such concentration on minority populations have gone largely 
unnoticed.
  For instance, surveys show that the majority of the nearly 40 million 
Hispanic Americans rely significantly on Spanish-language broadcast 
media for their news and information. Forty percent--nearly 16 
million--of them rely predominantly on Spanish-language broadcast 
media, and 25 percent--nearly 10 million--rely exclusively on it.
  Additional measures are clearly needed to guarantee that Americans 
who are members of minority language groups will continue to have 
access to diverse sources of news, information and cultural 
programming, and to opportunities for ownership of their media.
  Our bill addresses these concerns by requiring the FCC to hold public 
hearings, with notice and opportunity to comment, before approving the 
transfer of a license for a station serving a minority-language 
audience. It also requires the FCC to report to Congress on issues 
involving the concentration of ownership and control of minority-
language broadcast media and the effects of excessive concentration on 
competition and diversity in these minority-language markets.
  The bill will continue the Nation's strong commitment to competition 
in broadcast media and the fullest possible participation in the 
political process for all our citizens, including the growing number of 
those whose first language is English. We look forward to working with 
our colleagues in Congress to enact this needed legislation.
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