[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 154 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7720-H7721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1830
            COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENT LOUDNESS MITIGATION ACT

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 2847) to regulate the volume of audio on commercials.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2847

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Commercial Advertisement 
     Loudness Mitigation Act'' or the ``CALM Act''.

     SEC. 2. RULEMAKING ON LOUD COMMERCIALS REQUIRED.

       (a) Rulemaking Required.--Within 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission 
     shall prescribe pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 
     (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) a regulation that is limited to 
     incorporating by reference and making mandatory (subject to 
     any waivers the Commission may grant) the ``Recommended 
     Practice: Techniques for Establishing and Maintaining Audio 
     Loudness for Digital Television'' (A/85), and any successor 
     thereto, approved by the Advanced Television Systems 
     Committee, only insofar as such recommended practice concerns 
     the transmission of commercial advertisements by a television 
     broadcast station, cable operator, or other multichannel 
     video programming distributor.
       (b) Implementation.--
       (1) Effective date.--The Federal Communications Commission 
     shall prescribe that the regulation adopted pursuant to 
     subsection (a) shall become effective 1 year after the date 
     of its adoption.
       (2) Waiver.--For any television broadcast station, cable 
     operator, or other multichannel video programming distributor 
     that demonstrates that obtaining the equipment to comply with 
     the regulation adopted pursuant to subsection (a) would 
     result in financial hardship, the Federal Communications 
     Commission may grant a waiver of the effective date set forth 
     in paragraph (1) for 1 year and may renew such waiver for 1 
     additional year.
       (3) Waiver authority.--Nothing in this section affects the 
     Commission's authority under section 1.3 of its rules (47 
     C.F.R. 1.3) to waive any rule required by this Act, or the 
     application of any such rule, for good cause shown to a 
     television broadcast station, cable operator, or other 
     multichannel video programming distributor, or to a class of 
     such stations, operators, or distributors.
       (c) Compliance.--Any broadcast television operator, cable 
     operator, or other multichannel video programming distributor 
     that installs, utilizes, and maintains in a commercially 
     reasonable manner the equipment and associated software in 
     compliance with the regulations issued by the Federal 
     Communications Commission in accordance with subsection (a) 
     shall be deemed to be in compliance with such regulations.
       (d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
       (1) the term ``television broadcast station'' has the 
     meaning given such term in section 325 of the Communications 
     Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325); and
       (2) the terms ``cable operator'' and ``multi-channel video 
     programming distributor'' have the meanings given such terms 
     in section 602 of Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 522).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Eshoo) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to urge my colleagues to vote in 
favor of a bill designed to eliminate the ear-splitting levels of 
television advertisements and return control of television sound 
modulation to the American consumer. A vote for this bipartisan bill 
with 90 cosponsors will send it on to the President for his signature, 
and when he signs it, it will bring relief to millions of television 
viewers across the country.
  I first introduced the CALM Act more than 3 years ago in the previous 
Congress. The premise of the bill then, as now, was simple, to make the 
volume of commercials and regular programming uniform so consumers can 
control sound levels.
  The problem with ear-splitting TV advertisements has existed for more 
than 50 years--not 5, 50. Television advertisers first realized that 
consumers often left the room during commercials, so they used loud 
commercials to grab their attention as they moved to other parts of 
their home. This has been one of the top complaints to the Federal 
Communications Commission for decades.
  The bill directs the FCC to adopt the engineering standards 
recommended by the body that sets the technical standards for digital 
television as mandatory rules within 1 year. These standards were 
developed when I introduced the legislation in the last Congress.
  So now we don't have to wait another 50 years for a solution. With 
the passage of this legislation, we will end the practice of consumers 
being subjected to advertisements that are ridiculously loud, and we 
can protect people from needlessly loud noise spikes that can actually 
harm their hearing. This technical fix is long overdue, and under the 
CALM Act, as amended by the Senate, consumers will be in the driver's 
seat.
  I look forward to the enactment of this bill, but most importantly, 
so do millions of consumers across the country. So I urge my colleagues 
to vote for the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  How many times a night does this scenario play out: You're on your 
couch and you're watching a nice program. The program has people 
conversing and it's getting to that pinnacle point in the show and it 
fades, and the commercial comes on and it's really loud. You reach for 
your remote and you can't find the remote. Your spouse in the other 
room, with her impatient voice, says, Turn that down, but you can't 
find the remote. You say, where is that blankedy-blank remote. Then you 
look between the cushions and there it is. You hit the mute button, and 
peace and calm is now restored in the living rooms of thousands of 
American households.
  Several of my colleagues, people in this House, have said that this 
act isn't needed, but for that living room on that night it was sure 
helpful to restore calm. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness 
Mitigation, or CALM Act, is why we are here today. Some say, and 
especially coming on the heels of the last bill, a Diabetes Awareness 
Month bill, that maybe there are more important issues to deal with; 
well, not for that family in that living room on that night.
  I do want to point out one thing here in that the industry has 
recognized that there is an issue with the loudness of the commercials. 
On November 5, 2009, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, ATSC, 
announced the approval of an industry standard, the ``ATSC Recommended 
Practice: Techniques for Establishing and Maintaining Audio Loudness 
for Digital Television,'' which provides guidance to creators and 
distributors of TV content focusing on audio measurement, audio 
monitoring techniques, and methods to control loudness. It's not as 
easy as we may think to control that, especially when you come off of a 
calm commercial or a show into a more boisterous commercial.
  Now this bill has been amended in the Senate to codify that standard 
that has been developed by the experts. The industry will move to solve 
the purported concerns by simply moving to comply with that consensus 
standard. Furthermore, the act would create a kind of ``safe harbor'' 
by deeming an operator that installs, utilizes and maintains the 
appropriate equipment and software in compliance with the act.
  Now while many Members may feel that there are more important issues 
for this Congress to deal with, this is the issue at hand. And as a 
member of the Energy and Commerce Committee where this went through 
regular order of subcommittee and committee, we stand in support.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank all of the 
staff, both at the committee and certainly at my office, that have 
worked hard on

[[Page H7721]]

this bill over the last 3 years. And I would like to thank Mr. Terry 
for the remarks that he made about the legislation.
  This really is a very simple bill. It started out as a one-page bill, 
it's now maybe two and a few lines. It was never drafted with the 
intent that it would solve some of the great, great challenges that are 
facing our country. It is a small bill, but it is consumer friendly. 
And it does recognize the complaints that the American people have 
registered with the FCC over the last 50 years; in fact, it's been the 
top complaint.
  I want to thank the broadcasters for working with us, for those that 
came up with the technology, the technology standard that will be the 
national standard for broadcasters, satellite and cable.
  Again, I would like to thank all that were involved in this and urge 
my colleagues to vote for this bill. I think that we will have more 
peace in homes across the country, as Mr. Terry described it.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am an original cosponsor of 
the House companion to the bill we are considering today.
  I appreciate the leadership shown by Congresswoman Eshoo, who 
introduced the CALM Act and moved it through our committee and saw it 
passed by voice vote on the floor late last year.
  I am pleased we have the opportunity to consider these measures once 
again, because I believe it is important to set some boundaries for 
reasonable practices for television advertisements.
  Perhaps only during the Super Bowl do Americans actually look forward 
to television commercials.
  The rest of the time, most of us are mildly inconvenienced but 
understand that this short time spent watching ads allows for the 
programming we enjoy.
  What has become increasingly prevalent and extremely disruptive is 
the distinctly higher volume of sound of these commercials compared 
with the volume of the programming. There is a significant difference 
and it interferes with the viewer's ability to enjoy the experience.
  This bill will effectively end this discrepancy in volume.
  I believe that this is reasonable regulation and preserves the 
viewers' ability to control their own electronic devices without wildly 
fluctuating sound.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 2847.
  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. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  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.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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