Senate Panel Votes To Delay FCC Ownership Issue

Senate panel votes to delay FCC ownership issue; By Peter Kaplan; Reuters; 4 December 2007.

A Senate committee endorsed bipartisan legislation on Tuesday that would stop the U.S. Federal Communications Commission from easing restrictions on media ownership for six months.

The Senate Commerce Committee voted without opposition to approve a bill that would postpone an FCC vote scheduled for December 18 and force the agency to study the media ownership issue further.

"The last thing we need in the world is more concentration in the media," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, a Democrat from North Dakota who is one of the bill's chief sponsors.

The bill was co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Trent Lott, of Mississippi. After the vote, the committee's chairman, Sen. Daniel Inouye, a Democrat from Hawaii, said he hoped the bill would reach the Senate floor for a vote within the next two weeks.