WASHINGTON - Disgusted by racy language, explicit scenes and skin-baring outfits, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed on Tuesday to fine radio and TV broadcasters and personalities as much as $3 million a day for airing indecent entertainment.
Faced with public uproar stoked by Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's "wardrobe malfunction" at this year's Super Bowl, the Senate rushed the bill through on a 99-1 vote without floor debate.
GOP Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas said the issue has been debated enough. Lawmakers have continually criticized broadcasters for airing what they say is increasingly coarse programming that can be seen or heard by children.
"People are tired of this indecent material on over-the-air public broadcast, particularly during prime time when people's families are watching," said Brownback, the bill's sponsor. "We're going to have to take action because the broadcasters won't police themselves."
Under the measure, the maximum fine for broadcasters and entertainers would increase to up to $275,000 per indecent incident, up from $27,500 for license holders and $11,000 for personalities. The fines would keep increasing for each incident until a maximum fine of $3 million a day is reached.
The House passed a similar bill that would set fines at $500,000.
The Senate moved the measure without debate as part of the massive defense bill expected to be approved later this week. The only senator to vote against the bill was Sen. John Breaux, D-La.
A call to Breaux's office for comment was not immediately returned.
Federal law and Federal Communications Commission rules prohibit over-the-air radio and TV stations from airing offensive material that refers to sexual and excretory functions between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., hours when children are more likely to be tuned in. No such restrictions exist for cable and satellite TV or satellite radio.
The FCC currently has no power to regulate those channels, which are available through subscription to the 85 percent of the 108.4 million U.S. households with TVs.
Introduced in January, after FCC Chairman Michael Powell demanded higher fines, the bill wound up on a fast track to passage after the Feb. 1 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Timberlake partially exposing Jackson's breast for an instant to 90 million viewers.
The incident generated more than 500,000 complaints to the FCC.
If the legislation isn't approved as part of the bill to authorize spending for the Defense Department, Brownback said he would try to find another way to get it through the Senate. "This is something the public wants," he said.
The Senate also approved a provision that would delay for one year the FCC's media ownership rules that allow, among other things, companies to own both newspapers and broadcasting stations in the same market.
