If provisions in the Senate version of the Sam Brownback (R-KS) Broadcast Decency Act survive conference committee, it could cost 325K to have a slip of the lip on the broadcast airwaves. That figure must be reconciled with the 500K the House is ready to levy. The Senate version passed, simple and unamended, late on Thursday by unanimous consent.

---

Here is the nitty-gritty.

If the FCC determines a licensee "to have broadcast obscene, indecent, or profane language, the amount of any forfeiture penalty determined under this subsection shall not exceed 325K for each violation or each day of a continuing violation, except that the amount assessed for any continuing violation shall not exceed a total of 3M for any single act or failure to act." The move was immediately hailed by two anti-indecency watchdogs. Daniel Weiss of Focus on the Family said, "American families have been waiting for more than two years for Congress to add some teeth to indecency fines. Today we have a hard-won victory over an entertainment industry intent on polluting the public airwaves." Added Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, "Today's media giants like Viacom, which owns CBS and MTV, view the current fines for indecency as an irrelevant cost of doing business. Passage of the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act goes a long way in raising that cost for the networks that violate decency standards in a quest for higher ratings. Keeping the fines relevant to the bottom-line says to broadcasters and performers -- Americans expect decency on the public airwaves."

NAB spokesperson Dennis Wharton responded by saying: "In issues related to programming content, NAB believes responsible self-regulation is preferable to government regulation. If there is regulation, it should be applied equally to include cable, satellite TV, and satellite radio." Brownback had 27 co-sponsors,

The co-sponsors

George Allen (R-VA)

Robert C. Byrd (D-WV)

Tom Coburn (R-OK)

Kent Conrad (D-ND)

Jim DeMint (R-SC)

Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)

Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND)

John Ensign (R-NV)

Michael B. Enzi (R-WY)

Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

Chuck Hagel (R-NE)

Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT)

James M. Inhofe (R-OK)

Tim Johnson (D-SD)

Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT)

Blanche L. Lincoln (D-AR)

Trent Lott (R-MS)

Mel Martinez (R-FL)

John McCain (R-AZ)

Mark L. Pryor (D-AR)

Pat Roberts (R-KS)

Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

Craig Thomas (R-WY)

John Thune (R-SD)