Congresswoman Watson described the bill as "a wrong-headed approach to media indecency" that fails to examine the impact of media consolidation on rising levels of inappropriate programming.  Watson also questioned the potentially adverse impact of the legislation on the creative content of programming and whether higher indecency fines would be applied by the FCC in a fair and equitable manner.

The full text of her statement follows:

"Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the third time in three years to speak out against a wrong-headed approach to media indecency—increasing FCC fines.  S. 193, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, represents a weak attempt at improving our media.

"Mr. Speaker, we all believe in the need to reduce indecency in media.  Parents should not have to worry about what they might encounter with their children when they sit down together to watch TV.  But indecency fines will never solve the problem, because they do not address the root cause—media concentration and lack of competition.

"When big media gets bigger, conglomerates move further away from quality programming and the principles of "diversity, localism, and competition" -- crucial to the service of the public interest.  Will monetary penalties encourage a return to these principles?  I seriously doubt it.

"Instead, we need a competitive media environment that provides viewers and listeners with real choices in their entertainment.  We need programming that respects the public and performers, rather than broadcasts that cater to the lowest common denominator and dumb down our culture.  A consolidated media market controlled by profit-driven conglomerates is bound to offer cheaply made, shocking entertainment for the sake of increasing viewership and making a spectacle of itself.

"Our artists need to be able to work in an environment where creativity is honored and rewarded.  This will never happen under a system of censorship.  Creators cannot read the FCC’s minds on their definition of "indecency."  We must work with our creative community to encourage quality media content, not simply offer vague guidelines with high consequences.  That is why I have supported the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine and making the fulfillment of public interest obligations an element of broadcast licensees’ renewal requirements.  It is why I encourage the FCC to think about the impact that media consolidation has on media content and our national character as it begins once again to rewrite its ownership rules—rules that have upset millions of Americans and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

"Mr. Speaker, the indecent media culture we witness today will not be modified by simply increasing fines. It must be transformed through less media consolidation and greater requirements to serve the public interest.  I am disappointed that both chambers of Congress have chosen the easy route of increasing fines, rather than making a serious attempt to curb indecency by addressing the major problems in our media.  I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill."