Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District

Issues

Media Ownership

Inslee Encouraged by FCC Decision to Drop Media Ownership Appeal

28 January 2005

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee expressed support today for the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) decision not to appeal a court ruling that stayed the agency's new deregulatory media ownership rules.

"American consumers won a huge victory today when the FCC backed down from asking the Supreme Court to uphold the agency's controversial media rules," said Inslee. "The FCC's proposed rules would limit competition and stifle free discourse by consolidating media ownership. The game is not over though, and my colleagues and I will remain vigilant in making sure that our policies do not slip backwards as the FCC reviews these rules."

In addition to pushing a variety of legislative proposals, Inslee worked with U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and David Price (D-NC) to introduce an amendment to a spending bill last Congress that would have suspended the FCC's recent decision to weaken media ownership rules for cross-ownership and local TV ownership. Bolstered by today's decision, Inslee and his colleagues will continue to advocate for increased public and Congressional input into the FCC's decision-making process, which the lawmakers believe would result in media ownership rules that are more in tune with America's desire for diversity in the media market.