SENATORS CONCERNED OVER LOCALISM MANDATES

Twenty-three senators have expressed their 'substantial concern' over recent proposals by the FCC that would dictate how broadcasters serve their local communities, placing additional regulatory burdens on local radio and television stations. In a letter dated April 24 to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and 22 Senate colleagues urged the commission to "heed the concerns of responsible licensees that would be unjustifiably penalized" by such regulations.

Additionally, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) authored her own letter to Chairman Martin asking the Commission to "craft policies that rightly encourage community engagement without inhibiting disaster communications or further burdening already-strained Louisiana business owners."

The Senate correspondence follows an April 15 letter from 123 members of the House of Representatives who expressed opposition to "radical re-regulation" that would "turn back the clock on decades of deregulatory progress by imposing a series of new and burdensome regulations on broadcasters."