Higher Indecency Fines on Horizon

The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to authorize federal regulators to sharply boost indecency fines for radio and television stations to as much as $500,000 per incident.

The action now awaits expected Senate approval of a less sweeping proposal.

Both chambers would then have to iron out any differences before sending a final bill to President Bush for signing. Last year, similar efforts died when Congress adjourned.

The measures, each of which would boost fines at least tenfold, from $32,500 today, are aimed at making the financial sting much more painful when broadcasters cross the line in airing sexual content and coarse language.

Under the House’s Broadcast Decency Act, which passed on a 389-38 vote, the Federal Communications Commission could boost fines to the $500,000 maximum. Performers also could be subjected to fines of the same amount.

By contrast, the milder Senate version would raise the penalty for broadcasters to $325,000. Performers would be subject to the same penalties as they are now: a first-time warning, followed by a fine of as much as $11,000 on the second violation.

Network affiliates would be protected from being fined if they were unaware that indecent programming was to be broadcast.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House telecommunications panel and author of the bill, predicted that if higher penalties become law, “broadcasters will think twice about pushing the envelope. And our kids will be better off for it.”

But opponents predicted the bill would stifle creativity. In a statement, NBC said it “raises very serious constitutional and free speech issues. This approach of increased government regulation and censorship is fundamentally misguided.”

Opponents pointed to last Veterans Day, when 66 ABC affiliates refused to air an uncut version of Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed World War II movie “Saving Private Ryan.”

Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) called the measure “a bad bill and

Nonetheless, both bills enjoy broad bipartisan support from legislators fed up with raunchy shock jocks and such incidents as Janet Jackson’s breast-baring dance routine at last year’s Super Bowl.

The White House, in a prepared statement, also gave its blessing, saying the proposal “will make broadcast television and radio more suitable for family viewing.”

Supporters of higher fines were galvanized last year when Jackson’s breast was exposed during a Super Bowl halftime show performance with singer Justin Timberlake. The FCC received 530,828 complaints and slapped CBS with a $550,000 fine for airing the incident on its 20 network-owned stations.

Although the House passed the measure by more than a 10-1 ratio, John Griffith Johnson Jr., a Washington lawyer who tracks the indecency debate, said the opposition could be close enough to give Senate negotiators more leverage to reshape the House bill more like the Senate’s before Congress sends its final version to the White House.