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Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Brownback is a former broadcaster who has been active in trying to impose "decency" controls on various forms of media.
LEGISLATION
Sponsored: 2005 Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, which increased the penalties for broadcasting obscene, indecent, and profane language. A federal appeals court in June rejected the FCC's policy of fining broadcasters for "fleeting expletives."
-- A 2007 measure that would prohibit deceptive conduct in the rating of videogames and computer games, and a similar measure in 2006.
-- A 2005 resolution that called for an FTC investigation into the rating of the "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" videogame.
-- A 2003 bill that aimed to protect the rights of people who buy digital music and media products.
-- Two bills in 2001 that were designed to expand access to the high-speed Internet throughout the nation by 2007.
-- A 2001 measure that would have exempted from antitrust law agreements related to voluntary guidelines governing telecast material, movies, videogames, Internet content and music lyrics. He also introduced similar legislation in 2000, 2001 and 1997.
-- A 2001 bill to prohibit the FCC from applying spectrum aggregation limits to airwaves assigned by auction after 2000.
-- A 2000 measure that would have required the FCC to follow normal rulemaking procedures in establishing additional requirements for noncommercial educational television broadcasters.
In the current Congress, Brownback also has co-sponsored:
-- A bill and an amendment to prevent the FCC from reinstating the "fairness doctrine" guaranteeing equal time on the airwaves for controversial viewpoints.
-- Legislation to make permanent the moratorium on certain Internet-related taxes.
-- And a bill that would require the FCC to enforce its regulations concerning the broadcast of "indecent" programming to maintain a policy that a single word or image may be considered indecent.
Voted for: A 1998 amendment that would have allowed some states to require companies that do business solely by telephone, mail or the Internet to collect state sales taxes.
Voted against: A joint resolution that would have disapproved of the FCC's relaxed media-ownership rules. The Senate adopted the measure.
ON THE ISSUES
Immigration: Voted to implement an electronic employment-verification system and sees secure, fraud-resistant identification as the foundation of a worksite enforcement system. Additionally, Brownback has supported information-sharing among the Homeland Security Department and the Social Security Administration to enable law enforcement investigations against illegal immigrants.
Network neutrality: Opposes rules that require Internet network owners to treat all content providers equally. "So-called 'network neutrality' legislation would be anything but neutral, punishing broadband access providers for innovation and competition," he said. "Given the billions of dollars broadband access providers have invested in creating and maintaining Internet infrastructure, it is reasonable for them to request that content providers pay their fair share for the services they use."
Virtual border fence: Voted to deploy technology including cameras, sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the border for illegal border crossers.
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