(Washington, D.C.)  The Council for Citizens Against Government waste (CCAGW) today objected to a provision in the Senate Commerce Committee’s bill approved yesterday that would invalidate the changes made by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC)’s decision to expand media ownership rules.

“It has been a long-standing tradition for the government to protect property legally obtained through existing laws,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “When those laws change, Congress and federal agencies include a grandfather clause, which allows companies that played by the rules to retain their property.  Yesterday, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to eliminate a grandfather clause included in the FCC’s decision.”

On June 2, the FCC voted in favor of allowing broadcasters to reach a larger share of the television market, upping the limit from 35 percent of the national audience to 45 percent.  Also, included in the new rules was a grandfather provision that allowed companies which had purchased radio stations under the old rules to keep these stations under the new, stricter market definitions.  S. 1046, marked-up in the Commerce Committee, would overturn this provision.

“Grandfathering is fairly common in lawmaking,” Schatz said.  “If the grandfather clause in the FCC’s new rules is not preserved, it would become illegal for companies to keep multiple media outlets purchased when it was legal under the previous rules, forcing them to sell or accept penalties.

“By eliminating the grandfather clause, the committee would destroy carefully set business plans, and hurt consumers by reducing the choices and diversity of media outlets available in the local community,” Schatz continued.  “The number of options in these communities will most probably shrink with the absence of national news services.”

While the prospects for passage of S. 1046 in the Senate are in doubt, there is no chance that similar legislation will be approved in the House of Representatives, where Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) is a staunch supporter of the FCC’s new rules and will not consider taking up a bill to overturn the FCC’s decision.

“Whenever Congress gets involved in the marketplace, it usually makes the wrong decision.  We urge the Senate to reject this provision of S. 1046 when the bill comes to the floor.  Otherwise, companies will not take risks to grow as what may be a legal transaction one day, may become illegal the next,” Schatz concluded.  “Such regulation will only hurt economic growth, federal revenue, and taxpayers who will be forced to foot the bill for these changes in the law.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.