Senate Majority Leader Hotlines Indecency Bill

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is seeking to fast-track a broadcast indecency bill for a Senate vote this week. The new bill, approved by a House vote in January, would increase fines for indecency violations by TV and radio stations to $500,000 for each offense. Under current laws, companies face maximum fines of $32,000.

At least one US senator has the power to postpone the vote. The Parent's Television Council and the Christian Coalition of America, both supporters of the federal legislation, are accusing Senate Commerce Committee Chairman, Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) of blocking the bill.

"The Senate needs to pass this bill today," said PTC president L. Brent Bozell. "We're calling on Senator Stevens to be the leader who makes this happen by the end of the congressional year. By using his authority, he can go from zero to hero in a matter of minutes."

Stevens has expressed concern that imposing indecency standards on the Cable TV and Radio industry will cave under Supreme Court scrutiny. Instead, he has spearheaded an effort that encourages the industry to address the issues of indecency on its own. Such self-regulation is already being explored by the industry such as major cable companies providing family tiers devoid of indecent content and the promotion of channel-blocking equipment.

Many media companies are opposed to the bill because it excludes cable and pay TV providers.

Under current Federal Communications Commission guidelines, "Material is indecent if, in context, it depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium."