NRB TESTIFIES TO CONGRESS ON

CORNERSTONE DECISION

 

For immediate release

April 17, 2000

 

Manassas, VA – On Thursday April 13, 2000, the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications heard testimony from NRB president E. Brandt Gustavson in support of legislation offered in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s controversial Cornerstone decision restricting religious speech.

 

In his testimony Gustavson said, “In the end, the FCC vacated the additional guidance, a decision we are thankful for. But, Cornerstone decided not to move to channel 16 and has suffered an enormous financial loss because it was concerned that these restrictions will come back to life one day and severely inhibit their ability to broadcast the gospel.

 

Mr. Chairman, we must finish the job. Bad ideas in Washington never seem to go away; they are often resurrected a piece at a time. We must not allow this to happen with the Cornerstone decision. We fear that the underlying philosophy that allowed such a decision in the first place is still alive at the Commission. We are asking the Lord to give you and this committee the wisdom to provide a legislative solution that will prevent the FCC from taking this kind of unconstitutional action again.

 

We stand in full support of the Noncommercial Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act (HR 4201) recently introduced by Congressman Pickering. This bill takes a new approach to the problem while incorporating the best ideas of the other legislative ideas from Congressman Oxley and Senator Hutchinson. We respectfully ask for the committee to act swiftly and unanimously to pass the Pickering bill to the House floor for a vote. We believe that the freedom of religious expression is an issue that transcends party lines because it is the basis of our development as a nation. This is a time to set aside political divisions and join together to protect our liberty.

 

Once this bill is passed, we trust our freedom of religious speech will be protected from an activist government agency.”

 

The hearing was chaired by Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA). Mark Dreistadt of Cornerstone TeleVision, Don Wildmon of the American Family Association, and FCC commissioners Harold Furchtgott-Roth and Gloria Tristani also testified before the committee.

 

National Religious Broadcasters is an association representing more than 1250 Christian communicators. NRB exists to foster media access for the gospel, to promote standards of excellence and integrity, and to provide networking opportunities for its members. Click here for the full text of NRB’s testimony, or see the House Commerce Committee site  to read the legislation and  full statements from each panelist.

 

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