205 House members demand FCC media dereg vote

[Armstead]

(Press release)
http://bernie.house.gov/documents/releases/20031105175717.asp


For Immediate Release, 11/5/2003

Bipartisan Coalition of House Members Demand Vote on FCC Media Regulations


Washington, DC - Today, the House's most outspoken opponents of media consolidation took a major step forward in their fight against the FCC’s new media regulations. A bipartisan group of House members delivered a letter to Speaker of the House, J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), signed by 205 House Members, including 11 Republicans demanding a House vote on the “resolution of disapproval” passed by the Senate on September 16th. This measure would nullify the Federal Communications Commission’s media ownership rule changes that (if allowed to stand) would permit dramatic economic consolidation in the media system. The Senate resolution was passed by a wide, bipartisan, 55-40 margin and was perceived as a fierce rebuke of Chairman Michael K. Powell’s FCC.

The letter to the Speaker, co-authored by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), Rep. David Price (D-NC), Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), and Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), has set a new highwater mark of support for media reform in the House. Under the rules of the CRA, the Senate resolution is not referred to a House committee, but sits at the Speaker’s desk until he brings it to the floor.

Rep. Sanders said, “There is simply no defense for allowing fewer and fewer massive corporations to control more and more of our media channels. If the FCC decision stands, we can expect lower standards, less attention to local interests and talent, and a general decline in the variety of public voices we hear, see, and read. We believe we have the votes to pass this resolution. This letter demonstrates that the conventional wisdom that the House would function as a roadblock for this popular measure has been utterly shattered. It’s a simple message here, give us a vote. Anything less would be an unconscionable betrayal of public opinion and the democratic process.”

Rep. Hinchey said, "Newspapers and radio and television stations are the main vehicles for public discussion of important issues. When a handful of corporations control the great majority of those media outlets, we lose a fundamental component of our democracy and cripple the public's ability to make informed decisions on matters that affect their everyday lives. I believe that the FCC rule changes lead us further down this treacherous path. Judging by the number of my colleagues who have signed this letter to Speaker Hastert asking for a vote on the Senate resolution, it's clear I'm not the only one. I earnestly hope the speaker will recognize the wishes of so many members of the House and give us the opportunity to vote on this vital issue."

Rep. Leach said, "American history, indeed American political philosophy, is rooted in the encouragement of disparate expression and competition of ideas. Diversity of views are stifled if diversity of information sources is concentrated."

[Wwagsthedog]

1. Is 205 enough to force a vote?

What can tom delay do to keep a vote from occurring?

[Hawkeye-X]

2. If he ignores it

He's dead meat in Sugarland, TX.

Hawkeye-X

[Armstead]

3. Not officially but with enough pressure...

especially since it includes a number of Repuglicans