[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 168 (Thursday, November 1, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13701-S13702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 2298. A bill to prohibit an applicant from obtaining a low-power 
FM license if an applicant has engaged in any manner in the unlicensed 
operation of any station in violation of section 301 of the 
Communications Act of 1934; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
would preserve the Federal Communications Commission's right to deny a 
low-power FM license if the applicant has run afoul of basic, 
longstanding Federal restrictions on the transmission of radio waves, 
such as if the applicant has been previously fined for running an 
unlicensed ``pirate'' radio station.
  Before the issuance of low-power licenses, numerous individuals and 
entities operated low-power FM stations without a broadcast license. 
These ``pirate'' stations many times broadcasted in open defiance of 
the Commission's initial ban on LPFM broadcasts. From January 1998 to 
February 2000, the Commission shut down, on average, more than a dozen 
unlicensed radio stations each month. On several separate occasions, 
these unlicensed radio stations actually disrupted air traffic control 
communications.
  Congress, through the enactment of the Radio Broadcast Preservation 
Act of 2000, directed the FCC to modify its low-power FM rules to 
``prohibit any applicant from obtaining a low-power FM license if the 
applicant has engaged in any manner in the unlicensed operation of any 
station in violation of section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934'' 
so the Commission could curtail these pirate stations and disruption 
occurrence.
  My concern is by completely repealing section 632, which pending 
legislation proposes, it hinders the ability of the FCC to prohibit 
applicants from receiving low-power FM licenses. The Commission is 
responsible for making sure broadcasters follow the basic rules and 
regulations that are inherently essential to having a broadcast service 
that serves public interest since broadcasters are utilizing public 
spectrum. This legislation retains a targeted response to the problem 
of pirate broadcasting.
  The commission is to grant a broadcast license only if the ``public 
interest, convenience, and necessity would be served.'' Completely 
repealing Section 632 could hinder the FCC from upholding this 
responsibility with respect to low-power FM broadcasters. For this

[[Page S13702]]

reason, we must act to preserve the FCC's authority to be able to 
prohibit low-power FM licenses to applicants that have violated basic 
tenets of broadcast policy--it is only logical that we do this to 
ensure businesses that use the public spectrum, in any capacity, 
adhered to laws government has put in place to serve and protect the 
public interest.
  I hope my colleagues join me in supporting the critical legislation.
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