    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 24 (Monday, June 19, 2006)]
    [Pages 1144-1146]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks on Signing the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005

    June 15, 2006

        Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you all for coming. In a few
    moments, I will sign the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act. This is a
    good bipartisan bill. It's going to help American parents by making
    broadcast television and radio more family-friendly.
        I appreciate the many citizens groups who are here, and I want to
    thank the Members of Congress who worked hard to get this bill

    [[Page 1145]]

    passed. And I'm looking forward to signing it into law.
        I want to thank Kevin Martin, who's the Chairman of the Federal
    Communications Commission, and I want to thank the other Commissioners
    who are here today.
        I appreciate Senator Bill Frist joining us. He's the Majority Leader
    of the United States Senate. I want to thank Senator Ted Stevens for
    joining us as well. I thank Senator Sam Brownback, Senator George Allen.
    I want to thank the House Majority Leader, John Boehner, for being here.
    I want to thank Joe Barton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce
    Committee.
        The bill sponsor is with us, Fred Upton from the State of Michigan.
    Thank you for coming, Fred. I appreciate Congressman Bobby Rush from the
    State of Illinois, Chip Pickering from Mississippi, and Joe Pitts from
    Pennsylvania.
        Everyday, our Nation's parents strive to raise their children in a
    culture that too often produces coarse, vulgar, and obscene
    entertainment. In our free society, parents have the final
    responsibility over the television shows that their children watch or
    the web sites they visit or the music they listen to. That's a
    responsibility of moms and dads all across the country, to make sure
    their children are listening to or watching the right kind of
    programming.
        The best way to do that is for parents to be vigilant, pay attention
    to what their children are doing. One thing they can do if they're
    worried about people watching a bad program is turn off the TV. That's
    why they put the ``on/off'' button there. [Laughter] Parents are the
    first line of defense, but broadcasters and the electronics industry
    must play a valuable role in protecting our children from obscene and
    indecent programming.
        They provide the tools that empower parents to make good decisions,
    such as voluntary rating systems and the V-chip. And we applaud those.
    Broadcasters also have a duty to respect common decency, to take into
    account the public interest, and to keep the public airwaves free of
    indecent material, especially during the hours when children are most
    likely to be watching and listening.
        Unfortunately, in recent years, broadcast programming has too often
    pushed the bounds of decency. One study found that during the hours
    between 8 and 9 p.m.--that's the time when most families are watching
    television--the use of profanity on television shows increased vulgar
    language by 95 percent from '88 to--1988 to 2002. In other words, the
    language is becoming coarser during the times when it's more likely
    children will be watching television. It's a bad trend, a bad sign.
    Since 2000, the number of indecency complaints received by the FCC has
    increased from just hundreds per year to hundreds of thousands. In other
    words, people are saying, ``We're tired of it, and we expect the
    Government to do something about it.''
        And so we believe we have a vital role to play. We must ensure that
    decency standards for broadcasters are effectively enforced. That's the
    duty of the FCC. That's why we've got the Chairman standing right here,
    which he understands. [Laughter] It's the duty of the FCC to impose
    penalties on broadcasters and stations that air obscene or indecent
    programming. It's one of their responsibilities. People expect us to
    adhere to our responsibilities. He's a part of the executive branch. And
    since I'm the head of the executive branch, I take responsibility, as
    well, for putting people in place at the FCC who understand, one of
    their jobs, and an important job, is to protect American families.
        The problem we have is that the maximum penalty that the FCC can
    impose under current law is just $32,500 per violation. And for some
    broadcasters, this amount is meaningless. It's relatively painless for
    them when they violate decency standards. And so the Congress decided to
    join the administration and do something about it.
        And so the bill I'm about to sign, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement
    Act, increases tenfold the penalty that the FCC can impose, to $325,000.
    The Congress got serious, and I appreciate their hard work on this
    measure.
        The legislation does not change the broadcast decency standards that
    are already on the books. What the legislation does is, it gives the FCC
    the means to enforce them more effectively. By allowing the FCC to levy

    [[Page 1146]]

    stiffer and more meaningful fines on broadcasters who violate decency
    standards, this law will ensure that broadcasters take seriously their
    duty to keep the public airwaves free of obscene, profane, and indecent
    material. American families expect and deserve nothing less.
        And so I'm going to ask the Members of Congress who have worked hard
    on this piece of legislation to join me. I congratulate you for your
    good work. Thank you for coming. May God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:07 a.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building. S. 193, approved June 15, was
    assigned Public Law No. 109-235.