Oh, those wacky senators. Zell Miller ("D"- Mars) has introduced S-2147, the "Broadcast Decency Responsibility and Enforcement Act of 2004." (BDREA? How much work would it have taken to get BREAST as an acronym? The Broadcast Responsibility Enforcement Act and Statutory Talibanism?)
The Act itself is short and to the point. First, it hikes the fine for over-the-air indecency or profanity to 25 cents per viewer. To put that figure in context, the Super Bowl had roughly 100 million viewers, so the fine would have been a cool $25 million. Personally, this isn't a nutty idea. If we're going to have a government in the business of censoring what goes out over the airwaves, having a sliding scale that slides based on viewership makes sense. Better that than a flat penalty large enough to make CBS say "ouch" and a individual radio station go bankrupt.
But then the act takes a striking turn: after paying for administrative costs, all such fines would be redirected to faith-based programs.
This is the part that makes my skin crawl; the BRDEA feels like compelled religious speech, which has to be some kind of First Amendment combo special.
The FCC would also be directed to appoint a Council of Decency: a nine-member board to advice it on "standards of decency as applied to broadcasts over which the Commission has jurisdiction." Three of these new Decency Nazgul would be ministers.
By way of explanation, Miller said, "Oh, many will yell. The hit dog always hollers."