The long-awaited vote on the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 (H.R. 310) seemed imminent late last Tuesday when Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) attempted to pass it through unanimous consent, but unnamed senators put a last-minute “hold” on the bill, thwarting its passage for now.
A recent report from the conservative organization Concerned Women for America (CWA) said the group heartily applauds Sen. Frist for hearing the pleas of the American people to help clean up what the group called “the offensive content that has been spilling into homes, particularly during the Family Hour of 8-9 p.m.”
The group reported that H.R. 310 would raise current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fines against violators from $32,500 to $500,000. It would also fine performers based on their premeditated efforts to commit decency violations and would require that networks with more than three violations go through a license renewal hearing.
CWA writer Amelia Wigton reported that the bill passed the House of Representatives more than 15 months ago in a 389-38 vote, but has since gathered dust in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, headed by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).
Stevens has held multiple hearings that have yielded no action on the bill. He has asserted that the networks should be allowed to work on decency issues on their own.
