(Washington, D.C.) - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) Porker of the Month for August 2004 for sponsoring legislation that will waste taxpayer money on redundant studies.  Sen. Lieberman introduced S. 2447, the Children and Media Research Advancement Act (CAMRA), which will set up a $90 million program to research what countless other studies have already done the  effects of television viewing and other media on children.

CAMRA will fund six years of “energizing research into all types of print, digital and electronic media (including computer games, television, and the internet) on the cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and behavioral development of children from infancy through adolescence.”  To justify such an expensive and wide-ranging effort, Sen. Lieberman asserted that “no one is looking out, in a systematic way, for what our children are looking at” on television and video games. 

But lots of people are looking out for what our children are viewing.  A myriad of clean television advocacy groups scrutinize every hour of television, issue reports on new video games, boycott advertisers, and write editorials.  These groups, which include Children NOW, the Children’s Digital Media Center, and Common Sense Media, hardly need another study to convince them that there is violence and sex on television, and that it affects children.

And that is exactly what Lara Mahaney of the Parents Television Council said.  She remarked, “To spend $90 million on something we already know, is just a waste of money.”  Sen. Lieberman’s proposed study is just one expensive rerun.

In 2003, the Kaiser Family Foundation analyzed the effect of electronic media on infants, toddlers, and preschoolers finding that 81 percent of parents say they have seen their children imitate behaviors seen on television, and that 36 percent of children under six have a television set in their bedroom.  The American Academy of Pediatrics studied the effect of television on children under two, and recommended that they not watch it at all.  The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development also completed studies in the late 1990’s analyzing the effect of television and video games on society.  It is clear that there are no “gaps” in research, as scientists, doctors, Sen. Lieberman, and his colleagues already use existing research to make policy recommendations.

Sen. Lieberman ignores all of these previous studies and claims that “we need to have the federal government to tell us scientifically what impact [electronic media] is having on our kids, and therefore, our country.”  This assertion belittles the ability of parents to use common sense in deciding what entertainment is appropriate for their own child’s consumption.

Rather than spending money to watch television, Sen. Lieberman should be watching out for wasteful spending.  The $90 million program will contribute nothing new, will not solve any perceived problems, and is a prime example of government waste.  For his efforts to push a misguided and unnecessary attempt by the government to get involved in research already completed by the private sector, CAGW names Sen. Joseph Lieberman Porker of the Month for August 2004.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.

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