At our deadline, debate continued on the Defense Dept. (DoD) auth...

At our deadline, debate continued on the Defense Dept. (DoD) authorization bill (S-2499) that could be used as a vehicle for media decency legislation. Sen. Brownback’s (R- Kan.) spokesman said Brownback is considering attaching a pared-down version of the media decency bill to the DoD bill, which sources said is often used as a vehicle for non-germane amendments. But sources also said Brownback was weighing the decision and talking with Senate leadership, which could object to addressing media issues in the defense bill. Brownback hadn’t decided whether he would introduce the [media decency] amendment on DoD, but he “intends to find any legislative vehicle that will pass the underlying decency bill,” his spokesman said. Brownback intends to introduce legislation that will raise FCC fines for indecent broadcast content. But the amendment would strip out some of the controversial provisions added to Brownback’s decency bill (S-2056), which passed the Senate Commerce Committee, but not before amendments on media ownership, violent content and other controversial topics -- such as applying fines to on- air talent -- were added. Sources said efforts by Brownback to move the raise in fines without the other provisions would only invite them to be reintroduced as 2nd-degree amendments. Specifically, Sens. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Lott (R-Miss.) pushed an amendment that would require a General Accounting Office (GAO) study of media consolidation and how it affects content. It also prevented the FCC from implementing its new media ownership rules until that GAO study was complete, which drew objections from other senators. Also, Senate Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Hollings (S.C.) would likely push for a provision on media violence that would require the FCC to apply to broadcasters’ standards on violence that are similar to the standards on indecency. The Senate is expected to spend most of this week working on the DoD bill, which has nearly 100 proposed amendments.