The Honorable Michael K. Powell
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554

Dear Chairman Powell:

Thank you for participating in the hearing on the "Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004," held on February 10, 2004, by the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

It is critical that the Committee has a full understanding of the processes used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when carrying out its statutory responsibility to enforce against indecency in television and radio broadcasts. Therefore, I request that the Commission provide the Committee with answers to the following questions. Each of the questions applies to the period between January 1, 1994, and the present.

1. How many complaints alleging that a broadcast contained indecent content has the Commission received during each year?

2. How many programs have been the subject of such complaints during each year? Please list each program and, in each instance, please provide the station, licensee, and corporate parent.

3. How many complaints have been dismissed or denied each year?

4. How many complaints have remained pending at the end of each year?

5. In its 2001 Policy Statement on Industry Guidance on the Commission's Case Law Interpreting 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1464 and Enforcement Policies Regarding Broadcast Indecency, the Commission states that in order for a complaint to be considered, "our practice is that it must generally include . . . a full or partial tape or transcript or significant excerpt . . ." If the complaint does not contain such information, the Commission states that the complaint "is usually dismissed." During each year, how many complaints has the Commission dismissed or denied for lack of a tape, transcript, or significant excerpt?

6. Is it the practice of the Commission to respond to each individual complainant once the Commission receives a complaint, informing the complainant that the complaint has been received?

7. Is it the practice of the Commission to notify each individual complainant if his or her complaint is dismissed or denied? If not, how would a complainant know of his or her right to appeal the dismissal or denial by filing an application for review with the Commission?

8. Has the FCC ever been unable to receive incoming e-mail complaints? If so, please provide the Committee with a list of the dates on which the Commission was unable to receive such complaints.

1. For each year in question, please provide the number of Notices of Apparent Liability (NALs) issued to enforce the Commission's policies with respect to broadcast indecency.

2. For each NAL, please provide (1) the amount of the proposed forfeiture; (2) the program, station, and corporate parent to which the NAL was issued; and (3) the length of time it took the Commission to issue each NAL, beginning from the date on which the complaint was filed.

3. Is there, by statute or regulation, a time period within which the Commission must issue an NAL? If yes, during each year in question, how many times has the FCC been forced to dismiss or deny a complaint for failure to respond in a timely manner?

4. Does the Enforcement Bureau routinely notify you and other commissioners prior to acting on a complaint (whether the action is issuing an NAL or dismissing the complaint)? Were you aware of the Enforcement Bureau's decision to not issue an NAL with respect to the NBC broadcast of the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, prior to the Enforcement Bureau releasing that decision?

5. Please list all instances in which the FCC issued an NAL against a licensee for broadcasting language that the Commission alleged was either obscene or profane.

1. For each year in question, please provide the number of forfeiture orders issued pursuant to Sec. 503(b) of the Communications Act for violations of the Commission's indecency policies.

2. For each forfeiture order, please provide (1) the amount of the final forfeiture; (2) the program, station, and corporate parent to which it was issued; (3) the amount paid by the licensee; and (4) in instances where the licensee refused to pay, whether the Department of Justice brought an action in federal court to collect the penalty.

3. Is there, by statute or regulation, a time period within which the Commission must issue a Section 503 forfeiture order after issuing an NAL? If yes, during each year in question, how many times has the FCC been forced to dismiss or deny an NAL for failure to render a final decision on a pending NAL in a timely manner? 

1. Please describe the process by which the Commission reviews and considers outstanding indecency-related complaints, NALs, and final forfeiture orders against a licensee prior to a renewal of such licensee's license.

As the Committee wishes to proceed expeditiously, I request that the Commission respond to this letter by no later than Tuesday, March 2, 2004.

Should you have any questions, please contact me or have your staff contact Gregg Rothschild or Peter Filon, minority counsels to the Committee, at (202) 226-3400.

Sincerely,

JOHN D. DINGELL
RANKING MEMBER
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE

cc:   The Honorable Fred Upton, Chairman
        Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet

        The Honorable Edward J. Markey, Ranking Member
        Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet

        The Honorable Kathleen Abernathy, Commissioner
        Federal Communications Commission

        The Honorable Kevin Martin, Commissioner
        Federal Communications Commission

        The Honorable Michael Copps, Commissioner
        Federal Communications Commission

        The Honorable Jonathan Adelstein, Commissioner
        Federal Communications Commission