[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 126 (Monday, July 19, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H3644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1445
 MEASURING THE ECONOMICS DRIVING INVESTMENTS AND ACCESS FOR DIVERSITY 
                              ACT OF 2021

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1754) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the 
Federal Communications Commission to consider market entry barriers for 
socially disadvantaged individuals in the communications marketplace 
report under section 13 of such Act.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1754

       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 ``Measuring the Economics 
     Driving Investments and Access for Diversity Act of 2021'' or 
     the ``MEDIA Diversity Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. CONSIDERING MARKET ENTRY BARRIERS FOR SOCIALLY 
                   DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS.

       Section 13(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
     163(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(4) Considering socially disadvantaged individuals.--In 
     assessing the state of competition under subsection (b)(1) 
     and regulatory barriers under subsection (b)(3), the 
     Commission, with the input of the Office of Communications 
     Business Opportunities of the Commission, shall consider 
     market entry barriers for socially disadvantaged individuals 
     in the communications marketplace in accordance with the 
     national policy under section 257(b).''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. 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 on H.R. 1754.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1754, the Measuring the 
Economics Driving Investments and Access for Diversity Act of 2021, or 
the MEDIA Diversity Act of 2021.
  This bill promotes much-needed diversity in the communications 
marketplace. It does this by requiring the Federal Communications 
Commission, with the input of its Office of Communications Business 
Opportunities, to consider market entry barriers for socially 
disadvantaged individuals in the communications marketplace.
  Currently, there are vast inequities in the communications 
marketplace. While women and people of color make up over 50 percent of 
our population, broadcast ownership by them is only about 10 percent. 
That is extremely concerning, Mr. Speaker, when you think that media 
outlets can influence people's opinions and perceptions through the 
programming decisions that are made.
  Diversity in ownership of media outlets helps to ensure that 
programming offers different perspectives and that viewers have access 
to programming that is relevant to them. Experts have also found that 
ownership diversity can provide financial and competitive benefits. But 
in a concentrated communications marketplace, barriers for entry still 
exist, and the Federal Communications Commission is already tasked with 
studying what those barriers are. This bill asks the FCC to also 
consider market entry barriers for socially disadvantaged individuals.
  Creating ownership parity to reflect this country's diversity is a 
worthy goal, and this bipartisan effort is a step in identifying market 
entry barriers.
  To be clear, there is so much more that we need to do, Mr. Speaker. 
While incremental steps are critical, we must do more. I look forward 
to working with my colleagues to take additional steps to diversify our 
media market.
  I commend Representatives Long and Veasey for their bipartisan work 
on this legislation. I hope we can now come together in a bipartisan 
fashion to do the additional work that is needed to finally eliminate 
the barriers so that the owners of our media outlets begin to look more 
like the communities that they serve.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support the MEDIA Diversity 
Act of 2021, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1754, the MEDIA 
Diversity Act, introduced by my colleague from Missouri, Representative 
Long. This legislation represents another step forward to uplift 
minority voices and promote diversity in the media marketplace.
  I understand how important it is to serve communities with local 
programming that accurately reflects a community's population. I have 
also seen the media industry make great strides to promote diversity 
and create new content to appeal to the communities they serve by 
establishing programs and initiatives to promote opportunities for 
women, minorities, veterans, elderly, and other socially disadvantaged 
individuals to participate in the media marketplace.
  Of course, the media industry is only one small part of a vast 
communications marketplace that encompasses a large variety of 
organizations, including mobile wireless providers, online video 
distributors, fixed broadband providers, and so on.
  It is also important to keep in mind that there are new entrants in 
the tech industry who are providing additional opportunities for 
minorities, women, veterans, and underrepresented groups who might not 
have been heard before to make their voices heard.
  Nonetheless, there is still work to do to make sure that those 
previously unheard voices and underserved communities are represented 
in traditional media and all other areas of the large communications 
marketplace, and this legislation will help.
  I am glad to support this piece of bipartisan legislation that will 
allow the Federal Communications Commission to evaluate the market 
barriers socially disadvantaged individuals face in the communications 
marketplace as a whole.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, again, I urge all Members to support this 
piece of legislation. It is very important. It was introduced by our 
colleague, Mr. Long from Missouri.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1754.
  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. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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