[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 100 (Tuesday, June 17, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H5431-H5432]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PUBLIC RADIO RECOGNITION MONTH
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1002) expressing support for
designation of April 2008 as ``Public Radio Recognition Month,'' as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1002
Whereas the mission of public radio is to create a better
informed public that is challenged and invigorated by a
deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and
cultures;
Whereas the programming content created and distributed by
public radio is based on 3
[[Page H5432]]
core values: qualities of mind, qualities of heart, and
qualities of craft, which exemplify the inherent meaning of
localism by placing value and financial investment in local
and regional assets to gather and distribute a collection of
programming that informs and improves community;
Whereas public radio is known for distinctive, award-
winning programming that includes ``Morning Edition'', ``All
Things Considered'', ``A Prairie Home Companion'',
``Marketplace'', ``Speaking of Faith'', and ``This American
Life'';
Whereas America's more than 800 public radio stations serve
every State and every congressional district with news,
information, cultural, and music programming that are unique
to free radio;
Whereas some 33,000,000 Americans listen to public radio
programming each week;
Whereas the public radio audience has doubled in the past
15 years and has increased by some 70 percent in the past
decade;
Whereas public radio stations are licensed by community
foundations, colleges, universities, school boards,
libraries, and other local nonprofit entities;
Whereas public radio stations are locally licensed, locally
staffed, and locally programmed, and have tailored their
programming to meet the needs of local audiences;
Whereas public radio stations on average receive more than
85 percent of their annual funding from local sources;
Whereas public radio's public service finds expression
through a deep music discovery, education, and enrichment
experience for both its audience and the performers, singer-
songwriters, musicians, lyricists, and composers, which
places the greatest emphasis on a valued partnership with
performers to bring all facets of music into the lives of its
audience in a way that is found nowhere else;
Whereas public radio has preserved and enhanced the
archetypal musical formats of American music history, such as
jazz, classical, folk, bluegrass, the blues, and Celtic;
Whereas public radio is responding to its commitment to
community-based and fact-based journalism with several
initiatives, including the Local News Initiative, a national
effort to increase public radio's service to communities
through investments in station capacity to provide in-depth,
serious, and balanced news, and Public Insight Journalism, a
pioneering concept that uses citizens to help cover the news
by sharing their observations, knowledge, and expertise;
Whereas public radio has embraced digital broadcasting
technology because of its inherently inclusive nature and
potential to expand public service programming; and
Whereas public radio exists to serve the public interest:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses support for the designation of a ``Public
Radio Recognition Month''; and
(2) encourages the celebration of America's public radio
stations for their contributions to our Nation's communities
and enduring civic spirit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
General Leave
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Illinois?
There was no objection.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
might consume.
Mr. Speaker, public radio, of course, is one of the things that all
of us spend a great deal of time listening to. As a matter of fact,
there are many of us, and many people in America, who feel that if they
don't get the opportunity to listen, to know what has taken place, to
recognize what is going on in our country, then they are seriously
deprived.
Whereas the mission of public radio is to create a better informed
public that is challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and
appreciation of events, ideas and cultures; and whereas public radio is
almost a mainstay in hundreds of thousands and perhaps even millions of
Americans' homes. We wake up in the morning, many families go to bed at
night, and public radio is the balance that they need to feel that the
information they are receiving is not being commercialized, that it is
information that is coming straight from wherever the purveyors have
gotten it.
{time} 1600
They are not necessarily trying to shape ideas in one direction or
another, but to simply give information to people that they can use and
take advantage of and make it a part of their everyday lives.
So, based upon those facts and based upon that information, it is
certainly my pleasure to express support for this legislation. I want
to commend the gentleman from Oregon, Mr. Blumenauer, for introducing
it.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I too rise in support of the resolution.
National Public Radio is important. KPBS in my hometown represents a
voice that provides a plethora of information that would not otherwise
be available.
Some of the information that I hope they would provide would be to
get to the true causes of our high oil prices. In San Diego, Public
Broadcasting is playing a role in saying that $5 gas is unacceptable.
Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, public radio is not yet making us aware
of just why it is so high.
The fact that over 2 billion acres are not available for exploration
of oil and gas in California is part of the reason that last weekend I
paid $5-plus for a gallon of gas in my home district. That, Madam
Speaker, is in fact something that we need to take care of. We need to
have public radio and all of our communications systems running on full
bore.
I do note, Madam Speaker, that this is an April resolution. This is a
resolution that we are so far behind in the important business of the
House, we are only getting to now celebrating April of 2008 for Public
Broadcasting. I find it interesting that we were so busy, and yet we
didn't have time to find out what were the real causes of high oil and
gas prices, why America is importing half a trillion dollars a year of
other people's oil and a similar growing amount of natural gas and
other resources.
So I would hope that when we get this April legislation off our
plate, we would turn to the important issues of the day, certainly the
incredibly high price of gas in my home district, caused by a lack of
domestic exploration.
And if we have just a little time, perhaps we could find out why in
the midst of the sub-S meltdown, we discover that Members of this body
and Members of the body on the other side of the dome were in fact
getting special deals that saved themselves tens and hundreds of
thousands of dollars on their home mortgages. These investigations need
to happen, because we need to solve the problem of how America finds
itself with financial meltdown. We need to find out what it is going to
take to get American oil and high-paying American jobs flowing again.
Madam Speaker, I would yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I would urge support of this
resolution and yield back the balance of our time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Jones of Ohio). The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1002, as
amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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