Legislation Increasing Indecency Fines Dropped

The Washington Post reports that federal lawmakers have derailed legislation that would have substantially increased FCC fines for indecent material – apparently because it also included media ownership language.
A spokesman for Sen. Sam Brownback blamed a partisan struggle for the removal of the language Brownback had been pushing to increase the fines. The Senate and House have both voted to allow higher fines; but all media language now has been stripped out of the defense bill to which the Senate version was attached.
Brownback is expected to try to revive the indecency-fines legislation in another form as quickly as possible, the Post reported, but Congress is headed out for an election adjournment.