S.Amdt. 2020

SA 2020. Mr. COLEMAN (for himself, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Thune, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Allard, Mr. Craig, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Graham, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Hagel) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 1585, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. ____. FAIRNESS DOCTRINE PROHIBITED.

(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the “Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2007”.

(b) Fairness Doctrine Prohibited.--Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by inserting after section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303) the following new section:

“SEC. 303A. LIMITATION ON GENERAL POWERS: FAIRNESS DOCTRINE.

“Notwithstanding section 303 or any other provision of this Act or any other Act authorizing the Commission to prescribe rules, regulations, policies, doctrines, standards, or other requirements, the Commission shall not have the authority to prescribe any rule, regulation, policy, doctrine, standard, or other requirement that has the purpose or effect of reinstating or repromulgating (in whole or in part) the requirement that broadcasters present opposing viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance, commonly referred to as the ‘Fairness Doctrine', as repealed in General Fairness Doctrine Obligations of Broadcast Licensees, 50 Fed. Reg. 35418 (1985).”.