Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this legislation. H.R. 4201 purports to correct a particularly unwise decision made by the Federal Communications Commission last year. As many Members are aware, I am not generally known to be a great fan of the FCC. It is an agency that often blunders badly, and this mistake was certainly no exception. However, what makes this FCC foul-up unusual is that the Commission admitted its error and quickly corrected it.

So why is this bill before us? The sponsors say that legislation is needed to make sure the FCC does not make the same mistake again down the road. Ordinarily, I would agree. A prophylactic measure often is called for when dealing with an agency – like the FCC – that seems to take great sport in pushing the limits of its authority on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, the bill before us is not a simple prophylactic measure. It goes well beyond its stated purpose. In fact, it could not be clearer from the text that its drafters intend to fundamentally change the character of public broadcasting in this country.

For nearly 50 years the government has set aside specially reserved radio and television channels for public, noncommercial use. These channels are available to qualified organizations free of charge, with a catch. The catch is that these groups must have an educational mission, and must broadcast some educational programming.

This bill would change all that. It would actually abolish the educational requirement for public television programs. The bill’s sponsors seem to think that promoting education is too much to ask of groups that receive this special license.

The fact is that the majority of Americans support public broadcasting as we know it today. An even greater number believe that education should be among the nation’s top priorities. This bill manages to eviscerate not one, but both of these important American values in one fell swoop.

The bill suffers additional infirmities. It contains no definition of "nonprofit organization" or "religious broadcasting" to help determine who is eligible to receive this special license. As a result, any religious extremist or cult group would be eligible for a noncommercial license – at the expense of the American taxpayer – and program anything it sees fit, whether educational or not.

Hate speech, religious bigotry, and doomsday prophesies are all fair game, so long as the group asserts a "religious purpose." Parents who today rely on public television as a safe haven for their children may have nowhere to turn if this bill is enacted. Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood could be displaced by programming produced by cult leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh – each of whom would have been eligible to receive a specially reserved television channel under this bill.

The Markey amendment, which will be offered later, an extremely simple, but significant, improvement to this legislation. I would note a particular oddity in the underlying bill. While it eliminates the educational requirement for public broadcasting, the drafters still use the term "noncommercial educational license" throughout the text. The Markey amendment would simply restore proper meaning to this term by requiring an educational commitment of all public broadcasters – religious or secular – who hold this special license.