July 31, 2000

House approves bill to protect religious broadcasting
___WASHINGTON (BP)--A bill to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from restricting religious speech on non-commercial educational channels passed the House of Representatives by a 264-159 vote in June.
___Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., sponsor of the Non-commercial Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act, called the vote a victory for religious freedom.
___The bill makes sure "the FCC will never again try to regulate religious speech," Pickering said in reference to the FCC's controversial Cornerstone/WQED decision last December restricting religious speech on non-commercial educational TV stations.
___Strong public outcry against the FCC's Dec. 29 restrictions prompted the agency to rescind its action Jan. 28.
___The FCC's ill-fated restrictions required TV broadcasters with non-commercial educational licenses to devote at least half their programming hours to topics that serve the "educational, instructional or cultural needs of the community." The FCC said such programming could not be "primarily devoted to religious exhortation, proselytizing or statements of personally held religious views and beliefs." Church services "generally will not qualify" under the standard, the ruling stated.
___The House bill, which passed largely along party lines, will require the FCC to hold public hearings before changing the licensing rules for non-commercial religious broadcasters.
___Both Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, and Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., have introduced similar bills in the Senate, though a vote has not been scheduled on either.

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