[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14022]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     BROADCAST DECENCY ENFORCEMENT

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, it has been less than a month since President 
Bush signed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act into law, and it is 
already working. By increasing fines tenfold, this law seeks to deter 
broadcasters from breaking indecency laws.
  And yesterday, The Washington Post reported that this deterrent is 
working. Orders for electronic editing equipment used to filter on-air 
obscenities have spiked. Some radio stations are requiring their DJs to 
either clean up or pay fines out of their own pockets. Radio giant 
Clear Channel has adopted a zero-tolerance policy for their on-air 
personalities, allowing them to be fired for using offensive language.
  Some claim this is creating a chilling effect on free expression. Mr. 
Speaker, this is not a chilling effect, it is enforcing the law. 
Decency standards have not changed, but the incentive for obeying them 
has changed significantly, and that is exactly what the President and 
this Congress intended when we passed this important legislation.
  For the sake of parents and children across the Nation, I am glad to 
see this law having an impact on cleaning up the airwaves.

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