Today's Quote 06.16.06

President Bush: "Unfortunately, in recent years, broadcast programming has too often pushed the bounds of decency. One study found that during the hours between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. -- that's the time when most families are watching television -- the use of profanity on television shows increased vulgar language by 95 percent, from '88 to -- from 1988 to 2002. In other words, the language is becoming coarser during the times when it's more likely children will be watching television. It's a bad trend, a bad sign. Since 2000, the number of indecency complaints received by the FCC has increased from just hundreds per year to hundreds of thousands. In other words, people are saying, we're tired of it, and we expect the government to do something about it.

"And so we believe we have a vital role to play. We must ensure that decency standards for broadcasters are effectively enforced. That's the duty of the FCC. That's why we've got the Chairman standing right here, which he understands. (Laughter.) It's the duty of the FCC to impose penalties on broadcasters and stations that air obscene or indecent programming. It's one of their responsibilities. People expect us to adhere to our responsibilities. He's a part of the executive branch. And since I'm the head of the executive branch, I take responsibility, as well, for putting people in place at the FCC who understand one of their jobs, and an important job, is to protect American families.

"The problem we have is that the maximum penalty that the FCC can impose under current law is just $32,500 per violation. And for some broadcasters, this amount is meaningless. It's relatively painless for them when they violate decency standards. And so the Congress decided to join the administration and do something about it.

"And so the bill I'm about to sign, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, increases tenfold the penalty that the FCC can impose, to $325,000. The Congress got serious. And I appreciate their hard work on this measure."