- Introduced Legislation to Raise Fines for Indecency on Our Airwaves
As the father of two, young children, Fred Upton shares the concerns of many parents over broadcast indecency. Due to the all too frequent floating of common decency over our public’s airwaves Upton introduced H.R. 3717, a bill that dramatically increases the fines which the FCC can impose on broadcasters who violate the broadcast indecency laws. Upton believes that certain broadcasters are pushing the indecency envelope in a “race to the bottom” as they try to distinguish themselves in an increasingly crowded entertainment industry. By increasing the fines for indecency to a maximum of $500,000, the fines will be at a level where they can no longer be ignored.
- Wrote Legislation to Improve Auto Safety Through the TREAD Act
In response to the horrendous automobile accidents involving defective Firestone tires that plagued families throughout the country, Upton, as Chairman of the House Commerce Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee, held hearings to try to get to the bottom of this issue and find a way to protect families from suffering similar fates in the future.
During these hearings it was discovered that enormous potholes in the motor vehicle safety laws needed to be fixed and a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that was asleep at the wheel and in desperate need of reform. To help solve these problems, Upton introduced bipartisan, auto-safety legislation, H.R. 5164, the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (T.R.E.A.D.) Act, which will among other things help to ensure that recalled and defective tires are not resold to consumers. Congress expediously passed this bill and President Clinton signed it into law on November 1, 2000.
- Continuing the Fight Against SPAM and Unsolicited E-mail
Fred Upton has been a leader in the House in the fight against “spam.” He helped write the new anti-spam law which allows consumers to be able to opt out of receiving any commercial e-mail that they do not want from any marketer. In addition, the bill makes it a crime to send an e-mail of sexually oriented material without including a warning label identifying it as such and also provides protections for wireless consumers.
- Created a “.kids” Domain on the Internet
In order to help bring safety to our children while on-line, Upton co-authored the “Dot” Kids plan, which establishes a place on the Internet that is free from materials that are deemed to be unsuitable for minors under 13 years of age.
By creating a “virtual playground” for young children on the Internet, .kids helps to alleviate many of the fears and worries parents face when children are exposed to the online world. This new Internet domain will be highly effective at providing additional protections for the youth of America in our changing world.
Dot Kids was formally launched on September 4, 2003, and today there are over 1700 names registered on Dot Kids and 13 live sites available for use.
- Voted to Protect Our Pledge of Allegiance
Fred Upton has a long record of supporting our freedom of religion and looks at it as one of our greatest rights. In the aftermath of the tragedies of September 11 th, Upton proudly joined President Bush in his call to the schools of our nation to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. Moreover, he was among the Members of Congress who stood together on the steps of the Capitol, Republican and Democrat alike, to sing that timely hymn, “God Bless America.”
As a cosponsor, Upton was pleased that on September 23, 2004, H.R. 2028 passed the House on a 247 – 173 vote. This legislation reserves to the state courts the authority to decide whether the Pledge of Allegiance is valid within each state’s boundaries. It will place final authority over a state’s Pledge policy in the hands of the states themselves. In other words, if states come to different decisions regarding the constitutionality of the Pledge, the effects of such decisions will be felt only within those states; which means that a few federal judges hundreds of miles away from your state will not be able to rewrite your state’s Pledge policy.
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