Local Community Radio Act of 2009

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1147) to implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material into the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before the House is the Local Community Radio Act of 2009. It was introduced by Representatives Doyle and Terry, and it will provide additional opportunities to create new low-power FM radio stations by allowing their operation on third adjacent channels to the full-power radio stations.

Low-power stations, which are community-based nonprofits which operate at 100 watts or less of power and which have a broadcast reach, typically, of only a few miles, play a unique role in our media. They are far more likely than their full-power counterparts to be owned by women or minorities, and they are an important forum for local clergy, for educational institutions, and for a wide array of community leaders to have a say on important local issues.

I want to commend the cooperative work of our colleagues Mr. Doyle and Mr. Terry and of radio broadcasters who are significant stakeholders in this matter, as we have resolved the concerns of local public broadcasting stations that have a special need to protect the numerous translator stations that they operate from any local channel interference. Amendments that we adopted in the subcommittee consideration of the bill achieve that protection.

Among other provisions, the bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to allow the operation of low-power FM stations on third channel adjacencies to the full-power FM stations and FM translator and booster stations. It retains the FCC's existing minimum distance separation requirements for FM stations that provide radio reading services for the visually impaired.

At the same time, the bill provides for remediation of interference complaints between low-power FM stations and full-power stations as well as FM translator and booster stations. The measure directs the FCC to conduct an economic study of the effect of low-power FM stations on full service commercial stations and to submit those findings to the Congress within 1 year.

I want to thank Mr. Doyle for his tireless work on this measure. He has introduced this bill several times, and this is the first Congress in which it has been brought to the House floor. I tremendously appreciate his work and the work of Mr. Terry, his partner in this exercise. With the various stakeholders and with members of our subcommittee, collectively, their work has resulted in our being able to present this bill to the House today.

I also want to commend the bipartisan approach that we have taken in our subcommittee and full committee in processing this measure. I commend Chairman Waxman and Ranking Members Barton and Stearns for the highly cooperative manner in which we have altogether advanced this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the sponsor of the bill, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Doyle).

MR. DOYLE. I want to thank Chairman Boucher and Chairman Waxman for strongly supporting my bill, which will give local communities across this country access to their airwaves. I am grateful for the support that this bill has from both sides of the aisle, including from the bill's lead cosponsor, my good friend Lee Terry from Omaha.

When the Federal Communications Commission created the low-power FM

radio service, they sought to create opportunities for new voices on the airwaves and to allow local schools, churches and other community- based organizations to provide programming that would be responsive to local community needs and interests.

Congress, however, passed the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act in 2000, and many of those organizations were prevented from communicating to their members, supporters, and residents on the FM radio dial. That bill called for a field study performed by the MITRE Corporation and for the FCC to recommend to Congress what we should do.

In 2004, on a unanimous, bipartisan basis and for a second time in November 2007 and for a third time, once again, in September of 2009, all five FCC commissioners agreed that Congress should lift the restrictions on LPFM stations and should allow the FCC to license new stations in more communities. The bill we debate today, the Local Community Radio Act of 2009, does just that.

Where they are allowed to exist under current law, LPFM stations have proved to be a vital source of information during local or national emergencies. These stations promote the arts and education from religious organizations, community groups, organizations promoting literacy, and from many other civically oriented organizations.

Stations like KOCZ in Opelousas, Louisiana, which is operated by the Southern Development Foundation, is a group active in the African American community. This station broadcasts public affairs shows, religious programming, hip-hop, and zydeco music 24 hours a day. Zydeco music is central to the cultural heritage of the Acadiana region, but it has recently disappeared from the airwaves that have been dominated by commercial radio.

WQRZ, in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, remained on the air during Hurricane Katrina and served as the emergency operations center for Hancock County during the worst storm there in a century.

Congress has to act on the commission's recommendations; otherwise, similar stations will be prevented from operating in communities across America--in communities like mine, which are too large to have any slots for new LPFM stations at fourth adjacent, but could fit several at third adjacent.

Stations like Lightning Community Radio and WMKP's ``The Roar'' at Penn State's Greater Allegheny campus wanted to serve the McKeesport area in my district. The current law relegates them to Webcasting, but they want to simulcast on the air as well. We must pass this bill today to make sure that that can happen.

My bill has undergone some changes from the full committee, and the National Association of Broadcasters, as well as National Public Radio, have removed their objections and do not oppose the bill. This bill has broad support, and I will be adding into the Record these letters from almost a dozen leaders from Catholic and Protestant faiths, like the United Church of Christ and the National Association of Evangelicals; a letter from two dozen national and local public interest, civil rights and local groups; another letter from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; and, finally, a letter from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and the Prometheus Radio Project, all of whom strongly support the Local Community Radio Act.

Mr. Speaker, the time has come for Congress to rewrite the law. The time has come to make the airwaves available to the people they serve. The time has come to bring low-power to the people. I ask my colleagues to support the Local Community Radio Act.

My legislation makes a number of changes from the version reported out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Some of these changes clarified intent, others came at the request of large commercial broadcasters. Indeed, this version of the bill did not draw the opposition of the largest group of commercial broadcasters because they contributed several ideas that are included in this legislation. While I believe that the previous versions of the bill already provided strong protections for incumbent broadcasters, I accepted this compromise language because it will finally lay their objections to rest.

In exchange for dropping their opposition to my bill, incumbent broadcasters received a significant new form of protection for their signals. This compromise requires LPFM stations to fix any instance of interference to full power stations on the third adjacent channel, even outside an incumbent station's legally protected coverage area, also known as their contour.

I accepted this extremely unusual obligation to remediate interference outside of the broadcaster's legal coverage area, working with experts at the FCC, I know that harmful interference is extremely unlikely to occur in the real world.

I would not have accepted them if I believed they harmed the Low- Power FM radio service, and I will be sincerely disappointed if the Commission does so with mistaken interpretations.

Among the several changes, I'd like to explain two of them, I accepted a request that the FCC complete a study looking into the low- power FM radio service's financial impact on full-power commercial broadcasting. I know that the FCC has already looked into this issue and I understand that the Senate sponsor's intent is not to let this study delay implementation of the bill and licensing LPFM stations while this study is underway.

Second, in Section 5, I added the word ``new'' to make clear that that section applies to new licensing. While this refers to licensing new stations, I do not believe that this language should discourage the FCC from readdressing the relationship between LPFMs and translators should it conclude that it is in the public interest.

I have to thank the many people who have worked on this issue for over a decade. First, and foremost, this bill would not have happened without the work of Pete Tridish and Hannah Sassaman and Cory Fischer Hoffman of the Prometheus Radio Project, Cheryl Leanza now at the United Church of Christ, Office of Communications, Michael Bracy of the Future of Music Coalition, and Carol Pierson of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.

Additionally, I must also thank the dozens of dedicated people who have long cared about their community's ability to access their airwaves. That so many different groups support the bill is a testament to their dedication. Their hard work will hopefully reap true rewards. Thanks are due to Katherine Grincewich of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Amanda Huron, Diane Foglizzo, Sakura Saunders, Brandy Doyle, Jeanette Forman, Autumn Chacon, John Wenz, Sara Cederburg, Halimah Marcus, Ian Smith, Anthony Mazza, and Scott Pinkelman of the Prometheus Radio Project, artists Kendall Nordin and Nicole Atkins, and Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of The Indigo Girls, Gary Galloway, Director of the Newton County Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Tim Stone of Portsmouth Community Radio, Parul Desai, Kamilla Kovacs and Andy Schwartzman of the Media Access Project, Beth McConnell, Chance Williams and Hannah Miller of the Media and Democracy Coalition, Candace Clement, Ben Scott and Joe Torres at Free Press, Corrine Yu at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and all others who have worked so hard to get the Local Community Radio Act so far.

Low-Power FM Radio: Supporting Media Diversity 2009 Local Community

Radio Act (H.R. 1147)

Dear Colleague: We urge you to join us in support of media

diversity by supporting H.R. 1147, the Local Community Radio

Act of 2009. This bipartisan legislation will increase the

diversity of voices on our nation's radio airwaves by

creating hundreds of low-power, community radio stations in

cities, towns and suburbs across the United States.

According to a report released by the non-partisan media

advocacy group Free Press, people of color own just 7.7

percent of all full-power AM and FM stations, yet they make

up 33 percent of the U.S. population. Currently, African

Americans own 3.4 percent; Latinos, 2.9 percent; Asian

Americans, 0.9 percent; and Native Americans, 0.3 percent of

all full-power stations. In addition, despite making up 51

percent of the U.S. population, women only own 6 percent of

all radio stations. The study found the more concentrated a

local market, the less likely there will be a minority or

female owner. In 2008, the Minority Media &

Telecommunications Council (MMTC) Road Map for

Telecommunications Policy found that minority employment at

non-minority owned, English language radio news operations is

about 0.4% or statistically zero, which is about where it

stood in 1950. As a uniquely local outlet, low-power FM

(LPFM) stations directly serve the needs of their communities

by making stations possible for churches, schools, civil

rights organizations and other community groups. LPFMs

provide a forum to discuss local issues and provide essential

emergency services during times of crisis. The following

LPFMs have shown their potential to bring vibrant, diverse

programming to the airwaves:

On WSBL-LP (98.1), in South Bend, Indiana the local League

of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) chapter broadcasts

Spanish-language programming and music, public

safety announcements, and English vocabulary lessons.

In Sacramento, KDEE-LP (97.7), licensed to the California

Black Chamber of Commerce, broadcasts extensive local news

and community affairs, providing an opportunity for local

community leaders to get on the air.

Marianne Knorzer, station manager at KRBS-LP in Oroville,

California coordinates 50 volunteers to offer local

programming to its rural community, including everything from

Hmong language programming to Reggae.

KAPU-LP (104.7), in Watsonville, CA, prides itself on being

the only radio station on the U.S. mainland that broadcasts

Hawaiian music 24 hours a day.

Additional examples include: Radio Sur Sangam, in Hayward,

CA south of Oakland, which broadcasts using shortwave radio

signals to South Asians. The community hoped for a LPFM but

Congress limited the service from densely populated areas

such as Hayward. The Society for the Preservation of Korean

Culture and Language wanted a LPFM in the Chicago area.

LPFM offers an important alternative to the narrow terms of

public debate that are all too often promoted by large

broadcasters. Given these trends, LPFM is an important means

of transmitting the views of historically underrepresented

voices. A recent report by the Leadership Conference on Civil

Rights titled, Low Power Radio: Lost Opportunity or Success

on the Dial, concluded that LPFM ``represents the best

opportunity in years for diversity in radio broadcasting and

ownership.''

In 2003, a congressionally authorized study by the FCC

determined that LPFM service could be expanded without

causing significant interference to full-power FM radio

stations. As a result, the FCC urged Congress to repeal the

restrictions it placed on licensing LPFM stations and

recently voted unanimously in support of this position.

Supporters of H.R. 1147 include: the National Association

of Evangelicals; United Church of Christ; U.S. Conference of

Catholic Bishops; NAACP; National Hispanic Media Coalition;

National Bar Association; AFL-CIO; and emergency management

agency directors.

We encourage you to support the Local Community Radio Act

(H.R. 1147) when it comes to the floor for a vote. By doing

so, you will support localism, choice, and diversity on the

radio. If you have any questions, please contact Kenneth

DeGraff with Rep. Mike Doyle at 5-2135 or Brad Schweer with

Rep. Lee Terry at 5-4155.

Nydia M. Velazquez.

Mr. Speaker, we also have no further requests for speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill

(H.R. 6533) to implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank Chairman Boucher, and to let Mr. Boucher know that it has been a privilege to work with him during our years together on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and especially during the 2 years he served as chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and of the Subcommittee on Communications Technology and the Internet. He has been a great colleague and partner in legislation and a great friend, and I want to wish Chairman Boucher only the best in his next steps.

I also want to thank Chairman Waxman for strongly supporting this bill that will give local communities across this country access to their airwaves. I am grateful for the support that this bill has from both sides of the aisle, from myself, the former vice chairman of the Communications Subcommittee, to the future vice chairman of the Communications Subcommittee, this bill's lead cosponsor and my good friend, Lee Terry from Omaha.

We have been working together to bring local community-oriented radio to more cities, counties, and neighborhoods across the country for 10 years now, and I would say to my friend that I think we are finally on the last leg of this journey.

This bill will allow churches, schools, neighborhood groups, and others to put community-oriented programming on the air, and it will help first responders provide those communities with critical information in times of natural disasters and other emergencies.

You see, when the Federal Communications Commission created the Low Power FM radio service, they sought to create opportunities for new voices on the airwaves and to allow local schools, churches, and other community-based organizations to provide programming that is responsive to local community needs and interests. Congress, however, passed the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act in 2000, and many of those organizations were prevented from communicating to their members, supporters, and residents on the FM radio dial. That bill called for a field study performed by the MITRE Corporation, and for the FCC to recommend to us what we should do.

In 2004, on a unanimous bipartisan basis, the Federal Communications Commission issued a report to Congress which stated that, ``Congress should readdress this issue and modify the statute to eliminate the third adjacent channel distant separation requirements for LPFM stations.''

For a second time, in November of 2007, and for a third time, again, in September 2009, all five FCC Commissioners agreed that Congress should lift the restriction on LPFM stations and allow them to license new stations in more communities. The bill we have under debate today, the Local Community Radio Act of 2009, does just that.

When they are allowed to exist under current law, LPFM stations have proven to be a vital source of information during local or national emergencies. And these stations promote the arts and education from religious organizations, community groups, organizations promoting literacy, and many other civically oriented organizations; stations like:

KOCZ in Opelousas, Louisiana, which is operated by the Southern Development Foundation, a group active in the African American community. The station broadcasts public affairs shows, religious programing, hip-hop and zydeco music 24 hours a day. Zydeco music is central to the cultural heritage of the Acadiana region but had mostly disappeared from the airwaves dominated by commercial radio; or

WRFR in Rockland, Maine, which broadcasts talk and call-in shows on issues important to the community on a variety of things. Though six other stations have their transmitters in the station's home in Knox County, WRFR is the only station that originates its programming there; and

WQRZ in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which remained on the air during Hurricane Katrina and served as the Emergency Operations Center for Hancock County during the worst storm there in a century.

But Congress has to act on the Commission's recommendations; otherwise, similar stations are prevented from operating in communities across America, communities like mine, which are too large to have any slots for any LPFM stations at 4th adjacent, but could fit several at 3rd.

But you don't have to take my word for it--every FCC Commissioner since 2003 has vouched for this--or the MITRE Corporation's outside study's word for it either. We all know this is going to work because it already works.

Currently, large commercial and noncommercial FM stations duplicate and extend their signals on these same 3rd adjacent channels that the FCC wants to also make available to new noncommercial stations.

This bill has broad support, as evidenced in these letters from almost a dozen leaders, from Catholic and Protestant faiths like the United Church of Christ and the National Association of Evangelicals; a letter from two dozen national and local public interests, civil rights, local groups; and another letter from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; and, finally, this letter from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and the Prometheus Radio Project, all of whom support this bill.

Exactly a year and a day ago, the House passed an earlier version of this legislation, H.R. 4711, a fine bill, but the broadcasters' concerns kept it bottled up in the Senate all year.

I am pleased to tell you that at the 11th hour, in the nick of time the various stakeholders were able to reach an agreement over the disputed language, and all of the Senate holds have been lifted.

This version of the bill was supported by everyone with a stake in broadcasting: Small noncommercial stations, big noncommercial stations like NPR, big commercial stations like the National Association of Broadcasters. This bill deserves my colleagues' support, unanimous support, as well.

The time has finally come for Congress to rewrite this law. The time has come to make the airwaves available to the people they serve. As I said a year ago, the time has come to bring low power to the people.

Mr. Chairman, thank you again for support of this legislation.

List of Organizations That Sent Letters of Support

Director--California Indian Heritage Council (No PDF),

Association of California Water Agencies, Wateruse

Association, American Water Works Association, Association of

Metropolitan Water Agencies, La Clinica de La Raza, A

Community Voice Louisiana, Nancy Skinner, Assemblywoman for

the 14th District, National Resource Defense Council,

California Safe Schools (no PDF).

Planning and Conservation League, Council of the District

of Columbia, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission,

California Public Health Association, Environmental Defense

Fund, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Environmental

Justice Coalition for Water, California Rural Legal

Assistance Foundation, Community Water Center, Southern

California Watershed Alliance.

Clean Water Action, Urban Semillas, Friends of the River,

Institute for Socio-Economic Justice, Planning and

Conservation League, North Richmond Shoreline Open Space

Alliance, California League of Conservation Voters,

California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health,

San Jerardo Co-Op Inc, Karuk Tribe.

Sierra Club, Consumer Union, Contra Costa Water District,

Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Environmental Defense Fund,

Ellen Corbett, 10th Senate District, Planning and

Conservation League (second one), PMI, Vermont PRIG, and

Action Now.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.

I want to thank my friend for his support of the bill. I know he is looking forward to being able to listen to his favorite hip hop music on his favorite low power FM station in Florida.

This has been a long journey. We have tried earnestly to address all of the concerns that the broadcasters have, and there were many at times. But I think we finally reached a point where we all agree, broadcasters, commercial and noncommercial, that we now have a process in place that protects their interests and their concerns and allows local communities now to have this valuable resource.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

I just want to share with my colleagues, we have been waiting. We were told this letter was en route, and it has arrived. Just for the record, this is the letter from the National Association of Broadcasters which was addressed to myself and Mr. Terry informing us both that they are now in support of this bill, that they appreciate the work that our staffs have done with them, along with the Senate cosponsor, and that they support the bill.

Another piece of good news. CBO has scored this bill. It has no budgetary impact. The CBO score is zero. Another piece of good news for my colleagues who are concerned about cost.

Last, I think it is only fair that we recognize that a lot of people have worked very, very hard on this bill. I would be remiss personally if I didn't thank Kenneth DeGraff, who staffs me on the Telecom Subcommittee, who has put his heart and soul into this legislation and is more responsible than anybody in my office for seeing this day come today.

Also from the Prometheus Radio Project, Pete Tridish; Cheryl Leanza from the United Church of Christ; Michael Daum with Senator Cantwell's office; Lee Dunn with Senator McCain's office. There have been many, many people who have worked hard. I know that Lee Terry, his staff too has worked very hard on this issue, and that all of our staffs deserve credit. They are the unsung heroes behind the scenes that do all the work. Brad Schweer with Lee Terry's office has been just great on this too.

So I want to thank my colleagues.

I reserve the balance of my time.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, this bill passed unanimously in the House of Representatives when it was H.R. 1147. This bill has broad bipartisan support.

I want to thank all of my colleagues for their work, and I would hope that we could have a unanimous vote today on the House floor when the bill is brought up.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself of such time as I may consume.

I think the gentleman did an excellent job. I obviously support this bill. We support it on this side. I think the gentleman said everything, but we are going to also hear from the principal cosponsor, Lee Terry from Nebraska, who has worked with you. I am told you folks have worked together for almost 8 years. So this is a very significant accomplishment.

I would defend the National Association of Broadcasters because during this process they did have some very technical concerns. I understand now they are supporting it. The new concessions that they brought out I think were helpful, although I am sorry it took so long to bring it together.

It permits any citizen to complain to the FCC that a low power radio station is causing interference to any full power radio station and requires the FCC to shut down the station within 1 business day.

It requires a low power FM station to seek a waiver from the FCC to use the most modern and efficient engineering methods to find spectrum for their station.

It mandates that a full power station that wants to relocate will be able to knock a low power radio station off the air, but permits the FCC to use waivers and other means to find spectrum for displaced low power FM stations.

I say that only because there are businesses that have in place broadcast spectrum that are operating, have operated for many years, and their concern was that the churches, the community centers, the schools and universities and their low power stations might interfere. I think that that was a legitimate concern. I am glad that the National Association of Broadcasters has now conceded these and worked them out.

Obviously, I think any of us in this body would agree that it is a very important part of democracy to have some of these, shall we say, eclectic type of stations that offer, as you say, church music and church services and hip-hop music. They are tailored in a special way, plus they are available for emergency services. So I commend you and Mr. Lee Terry, who is going to speak shortly, on this.

Basically the legislation expands the opportunity for, as we say, all of these groups to the 116 million Americans in the top 50 radio markets in the country who thus far have been excluded. It accomplishes this by returning the authority to the FCC for licensing decisions related to low power FM stations.

Major features of the bill, which is very similar to the bill that passed the House last year, are that it fully protects full power stations from interference by new low power radio stations. It responds to the concerns of the NPR and the NAB and protects reading for the blind services. The Senate bill added a requirement that the FCC conduct a study on the economic impact of low power FM stations. So this is all part of the process.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to yield to the distinguished gentleman from Nebraska, who also has been the principal author of this bill and worked again tirelessly for 8 years. I would say to my friend on the other side, AKOZ, is that the station that I should listen to for this?

With that, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I think the gentleman has pointed out this is a bipartisan bill. It took awhile. The National Association of Broadcasters are now supporting this, it doesn't cost any money, so I urge its adoption.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As coauthor with Mr. Doyle, I too rise in support of H.R. 1147, and it was my pleasure to come to this floor to discuss legislation that is the product of great bipartisanship. Congressman Doyle and I teamed up in working on this low-power FM legislation, and the product that we have today here on the floor is a good one. We do believe this bill has the potential to revolutionize what Americans hear on their radios and that it will provide an exciting new platform for citizens to communicate with one another within their own local communities and neighborhoods.

Low-power FM radio offers people at the local community level the opportunity to broadcast when otherwise they may not afford to do so. This is extremely important for noncommercial groups like schools, churches, neighborhood organizations. The ability of those groups to broadcast their message contributes greatly to the overall betterment of our community and society as a whole.

Many local and statewide organizations are interested in obtaining low-power FM licenses, including the following two in my district in Omaha, Nebraska.

Wes Hall, who is the CEO of Suntaman Communications, says this legislation is a dream come true. ``You cannot build a community without a cohesive voice, and this will give a voice to the voiceless.'' He went on to say: ``Low-power FM is the beacon that lights up the future for us, and bravo to Lee for championing''--well, I don't have to read that part. But Wes Hall has been involved in the LPFM issue for years and believes this legislation is the light that allows communities to come together.

``This is very exciting news,'' said 100 Black Men of Omaha, Nebraska, President Tim Clark. ``Communities across the country will now have a real opportunity to increase the ability to effectively communicate issues, concerns, awareness campaigns, and to provide sensitive programming. North and South Omaha will benefit positively from this challenge to develop unified efforts for the betterment of their constituents.''

I appreciate both Wes' and Tim's work on this issue as well as other groups devoted to fulfilling the interests and needs of our community.

I do believe this legislation is about empowering individuals who are making a difference in Nebraska. As a Member who, back in 2000, voted in favor of legislation to require a minimum of four intervals between radio stations, I'm proud today to be able to stand by my friend from Pennsylvania as well as all LPFM advocates in a bipartisan way in support of this legislation.

The authorization of the MITRE study really was important, and now we definitively know that there will be no interference caused by reducing the required separation between new LPFM broadcasts and existing full- power broadcasts.

I encourage all of my colleagues to support this important community- based legislation, and I am looking forward to it being enacted into law.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

I appreciate your efforts, Mr. Doyle.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Doyle mentioned a variety of religious organizations that support this, and I found the same thing in my community.

I want to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) who, in fact, wants to speak on that aspect of our low-power community radio.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6533, the Local Community

Radio Act of 2010. I want to thank Chairman Boucher for his leadership in guiding this bipartisan bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee and the House last year. I also want to recognize and thank Mr. Doyle and Mr. Terry--the original sponsors of the bill--for their tireless leadership in pushing this legislation forward, and for their commitment to expanding diversity, localism, and competition in our media landscape. Mr. Doyle has been an energetic champion of local community radio, and I greatly appreciate his leadership, flexibility, and perseverance.

I have long-supported expanding Low Power FM radio services. This bill removes a statutory barrier to the creation of potentially thousands of new low power stations across the country. The creation of these stations will further the overriding national policy goals of promoting broadcast localism and diversity. At the same time, this legislation fully protects incumbent radio broadcasters from unreasonable interference, with a clear dispute resolution process to mitigate interference with station transmissions.

In December 2009, the House has approved the Local Community Radio Act by voice vote. Since that time, however, the bill has been held up in the Senate due to ongoing concerns from some broadcasters. To address these concerns, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Terry, Senator Cantwell, and Senator McCain have been working diligently to eliminate outstanding objections so we can finally pass this legislation and send it to President Obama for signature. It is my hope that the Senate will take up H.R. 6533 promptly and do just that.

Most notably, this revised version of the bill incorporates additional interference remediation procedures preferred by the broadcasters. I am pleased that H.R. 6533 now has the full support of the National Association of Broadcasters. I want to thank NAB for working with us cooperatively to move this legislation closer to passage. I also want to thank the Prometheus Radio Project, the United Church of Christ, and other long-time supporters of Low Power FM services for their input and support.

This is a good bipartisan bill that will promote localism and diversity over the airwaves. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6533.