Broadcast Bill OKd by House : Congress: The once-stalled $1.1-billion measure reauthorizes funds for public radio and TV for three years.

Ending months of controversy, the House Tuesday gave final congressional approval to a three-year, $1.1-billion reauthorization bill for public television and radio by a voice vote with no audible dissent.

The legislation, stalled while some Senate critics attempted to cut back funds and reshape the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), was sent to President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law.

While this bill would provide spending ceilings for fiscal years 1994-96, the amount of money allocated to CPB will depend on future appropriations by Congress.

The outcome was a ringing endorsement for the nation’s 25-year-old public broadcasting system despite complaints by some conservatives that it showed a liberal bias in its programs and choice of commentators.

In the end, the House accepted the Senate-approved bill, which included a provision designed to assure “objectivity and balance” in programming and a ban on “indecent” programs between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight for most public and commercial television stations.

During the brief House debate on the bill, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee, which has jurisdiction over television and radio, said he would have preferred the original House bill without the Senate amendments.

The ban on “indecent” programming, he contended, was probably unconstitutional but its Senate passage by a 93-3 vote indicated that it would have overwhelming approval in the House as well.

Another Senate-added provision dealing with “objectivity and balance” would change procedures for making sure that public broadcasters are accountable to the public and Congress but would not impose any policy changes, Dingell added.

By accepting the Senate changes to the CPB bill, the House avoided a Senate-House conference to reconcile differences and sent the measure directly to the President.