[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S81]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PREVENTING ILLEGAL RADIO ABUSE THROUGH ENFORCEMENT ACT
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 374, S. 1228.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1228) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to
provide for enhanced penalties for pirate radio, and for
other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mrs. FISCHER. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered
read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered
made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 1228) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read the third time, and passed as follows:
S. 1228
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 ``Preventing Illegal Radio
Abuse Through Enforcement Act'' or the ``PIRATE Act''.
SEC. 2. PIRATE RADIO ENFORCEMENT ENHANCEMENTS.
Title V of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 501 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``SEC. 511. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR PIRATE RADIO BROADCASTING;
ENFORCEMENT SWEEPS; REPORTING.
``(a) Increased General Penalty.--Any person who willfully
and knowingly does or causes or suffers to be done any pirate
radio broadcasting shall be subject to a fine of not more
than $2,000,000.
``(b) Violation of This Act, Rules, or Regulations.--Any
person who willfully and knowingly violates this Act or any
rule, regulation, restriction, or condition made or imposed
by the Commission under authority of this Act, or any rule,
regulation, restriction, or condition made or imposed by any
international radio or wire communications treaty or
convention, or regulations annexed thereto, to which the
United States is party, relating to pirate radio broadcasting
shall, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, be
subject to a fine of not more than $100,000 for each day
during which such offense occurs, in accordance with the
limit described in subsection (a).
``(c) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of the PIRATE Act, and annually thereafter, the
Commission shall submit to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report
summarizing the implementation of this section and associated
enforcement activities for the previous fiscal year, which
may include the efforts by the Commission to enlist the
cooperation of Federal, State, and local law enforcement
personnel (including United States attorneys and the United
States Marshals Service) for service of process, collection
of fines or forfeitures, seizures of equipment, and
enforcement of orders.
``(d) Enforcement Sweeps.--
``(1) Annual sweeps.--Not less than once each year, the
Commission shall assign appropriate enforcement personnel to
focus specific and sustained attention on the elimination of
pirate radio broadcasting within the top 5 radio markets
identified as prevalent for such broadcasts. Such effort
shall include identifying, locating, and taking enforcement
actions designed to terminate such operations.
``(2) Additional monitoring.--Within 6 months after
conducting the enforcement sweeps required by paragraph (1),
the Commission shall conduct monitoring sweeps to ascertain
whether the pirate radio broadcasting identified by
enforcement sweeps is continuing to broadcast and whether
additional pirate radio broadcasting is occurring.
``(3) No effect on remaining enforcement.--Notwithstanding
paragraph (1), the Commission shall not decrease or diminish
the regular enforcement efforts targeted to pirate radio
broadcast stations for other times of the year.
``(e) State and Local Government Authority.--The Commission
may not preempt any State or local law prohibiting pirate
radio broadcasting.
``(f) Revision of Commission Rules Required.--The
Commission shall revise its rules to require that, absent
good cause, in any case alleging a violation of subsection
(a) or (b), the Commission shall proceed directly to issue a
notice of apparent liability without first issuing a notice
of unlicensed operation.
``(g) Pirate Radio Broadcasting Database.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this section, and semi-annually thereafter,
the Commission shall publish a database in a clear and
legible format of all licensed radio stations operating in
the AM and FM bands. The database shall be easily accessible
from the Commission home page through a direct link. The
database shall include the following information:
``(A) Each licensed station, listed by the assigned
frequency, channel number, or Commission call letters.
``(B) All entities that have received a notice of
unlicensed operation, notice of apparent liability, or
forfeiture order issued by the Commission.
``(2) Clear identification.--The Commission shall clearly
identify in the database--
``(A) each licensed station as a station licensed by the
Commission; and
``(B) each entity described in paragraph (1)(B) as
operating without a Commission license or authorization.
``(h) Definition of Pirate Radio Broadcasting.--In this
section, the term `pirate radio broadcasting' means the
transmission of communications on spectrum frequencies
between 535 and 1705 kilohertz, inclusive, or 87.7 and 108
megahertz, inclusive, without a license issued by the
Commission, but does not include unlicensed operations in
compliance with part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations.''.
____________________