Sen. Brownback (R-Kan.) is still pondering whether to attach fine...

Sen. Brownback (R-Kan.) is still pondering whether to attach fine increases for indecent broadcasts to Defense Dept. authorization legislation (S-2400) that’s being debated on the Senate floor this week. Senate sources said Brownback is concerned that Sen. Dorgan (D-N.D.) would introduce a 2nd- degree amendment that deals with media ownership. By considering attaching media decency provisions to the must- pass DoD bill, Brownback would be able to strip out the more controversial amendments added to S-2052, Brownback’s broadcast decency bill that’s already cleared the Senate Commerce Committee. The most controversial amendment is one that was forwarded by Dorgan, and supported by Sen. Lott (R- Miss.), which would prevent implementation of the FCC media ownership rules until the General Accounting Office (GAO) conduct a study about the correlation between indecent broadcasting and media consolidation. The measure is strongly opposed by several senators, including Sens. Allen (R-Va.), Sununu (R-N.H.) and Ensign (R-Nev.), sources said. One Senate source said Brownback knows he can’t push the measure if it winds up attracting the ownership amendment. A source said that it would be viewed as a win “on a silver platter” for Democrats.