Congress Is Moving Against LOUD Ads

Congress may be just days away from turning down the volume on ear-splitting TV.

The Commercial Advertising Loudness Mitigation, or CALM, Act follows rules set last year by a United Nations body in Switzerland on how to measure and clip broadcast volumes. The US bill, inspired by decades of consumer complaints, should finally ban TV ads that blare louder than the programs they interrupt. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), who sponsored the bill, says it is the most popular she has pushed in her 18 years in Congress. "If I'd saved 50 million children from some malady, people would not have the interest that they have in this," she says.

The CALM Act is slated for a final House vote this week, winning precious time in a December lame-duck session alongside issues including middle-class tax cuts and funding the federal government. In September the measure was addressed by the Senate, where dozens of bills have died this year amid partisan strife. It broke the political gridlock long enough to pass by unanimous consent.