The Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2009

On Wednesday, January 7, Senators DeMint and Thune and Congressmen Pence and Walden reintroduced the Broadcaster Freedom Act. The bill is identical to HR 2905 in the 110th Congress, which every member of the House Republican Conference cosponsored. The Broadcaster Freedom Act will prevent the FCC or any future President from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine.

You can read the text of the bill below:

A BILL
To prevent the Federal Communications Commission from repromulgating the fairness doctrine.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
¬2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadcaster Freedom
5 Act of 2009’’.
6 SEC. 2. FAIRNESS DOCTRINE PROHIBITED.
7 Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 is
8 amended by inserting after section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303)
9 the following new section:
1 ‘‘SEC. 303A. LIMITATION ON GENERAL POWERS: FAIRNESS
2 DOCTRINE.
3 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 303 or any other provision
4 of this Act or any other Act authorizing the Commission
5 to prescribe rules, regulations, policies, doctrines, stand¬-
6 ards, or other requirements, the Commission shall not
7 have the authority to prescribe any rule, regulation, policy,
8 doctrine, standard, or other requirement that has the pur¬-
9 pose or effect of reinstating or repromulgating (in whole
10 or in part) the requirement that broadcasters present op¬
11 posing viewpoints on controversial issues of public impor¬-
12 tance, commonly referred to as the ‘Fairness Doctrine’,
13 as repealed in General Fairness Doctrine Obligations of
14 Broadcast Licensees, 50 Fed. Reg. 35418 (1985).’’.