,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #afcb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bf1     
#bjag,mr4 ,moran 7for himself1 ,mr4     
,schatz1 ,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1
 ,mr4 ,young1 and ,mr4 ,udall7          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and  
,transportation  ,a ,,bill  ,to         
establish an additional fund in the     
,treasury to meet existing statutory    
obligations to reimburse costs          
reasonably incurred as a result of the  
reorganization of broadcast television  
spectrum1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,viewer and ,listener ,protection   
,act of #bjag4  #b4 ,definitions ,in    
this ,act--  7#a7 the term broadcast    
radio station means any entity that is  
licensed by the ,commission as an ,,am1 
,,fm1 noncommercial educational ,,fm1 or
 ,,fm ,translator radio broadcast       
station under the ,communications ,act  

of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #aea et seq472  
7#b7 the term broadcast television      
station means any-- 7,a7 full-power     
television broadcast station2 or  7,b7  
low-power television broadcast station  
that has been accorded primary status as
 a ,class ,a television licensee under  
section #gc4fjja7;a7 of title #dg1 ,code
 of ,federal ,regulations2  7#c7 the    
term ,commission means the ,federal     
,communications ,commission2 and  7#d7  
the term ,secretary means the ,secretary
 of the ,treasury4  #c4 ,viewer and     
listener protection fund  7a7           
,establishment ,there is established in 
the ,treasury of the ,united ,states a  
fund to be known as the ,viewer and     
,listener ,protection ,fund4  7b7       
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated to the
 ,viewer and ,listener ,protection ,fund
 such sums as may be necessary to carry 
out the purposes of the ,viewer and     
,listener ,protection ,fund4  7c7       
,purposes  7#a7 ,availability of funds  

,if the ,commission makes the           
certification described in paragraph    
7#b71 amounts in the ,viewer and        
,listener ,protection ,fund shall be    
available to the ,commission to make any
 payments--  7,a7 required under section
 #fdjc7;b77#d77;,a77ii7 of the ,middle  
,class ,tax ,relief and ,job ,creation  
,act of #bjab 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4            
#adeb7;b77#d77;,a77ii772 or  7,b7 to a  
broadcast television station or a       
broadcast radio station for costs that  
the station incurred during the         
reorganization of broadcast television  
spectrum4  7#b7 ,certification ,amounts 
in the ,viewer and ,listener ,protection
 ,fund shall be available to the        
,commission immediately upon            
certification by the ,commission to the 
,secretary that the amounts are         
necessary to provide a reimbursement to 
a broadcast television station or to a  
broadcast radio station1 as applicable1 
for a purpose described in paragraph    
7#a74  7d7 ,limitation ,amounts made    

available to the ,commission under      
subsection 7c7 shall be available until 
the end of fiscal year #bjbb4  7e7      
,unused funds returned to the general   
fund of the ,treasury ,if any amounts   
remain in the ,viewer and ,listener     
,protection ,fund after the end of      
fiscal year #bjbb1 the ,secretary shall 
transfer such amounts to the general    
fund of the ,treasury4  #d4 ,transition 
period for broadcast television stations
  7a7 ,in general ,the ,commission      
shall-- 7#a7 subject to subsection 7b71 
modify the transition period for the    
relocation of specific broadcast        
television stations in accordance with  
the reassignments of television channels
 made under section #fdjc7;b7 of the    
,middle ,class ,tax ,relief and ,job    
,creation ,act of #bjab 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4  
#adeb7;b77 to ensure that--  7,a7 no    
broadcast television station is forced  
to stop broadcasting or significantly   
reduce service for a significant period 
of time due to reasons outside of the   

control of the station2 and  7,b7 the   
relocation of broadcast television      
stations proceeds as efficiently and    
effectively as possible2 and  7#b7      
establish appropriate penalties for a   
broadcast television station that fails 
to meet any deadline adopted under      
paragraph 7#a71 unless the failure of   
the station to meet the deadline is for 
a reason that is outside of the control 
of the station4  7b7 ,modification      
requirements ,when making the           
modification required under subsection  
7a77#a71 the ,commission shall make all 
reasonable efforts to ensure that the   
modification does not delay the         
deployment of broadband services4  #e4  
,impact on radio listeners  ,the        
,commission shall make all reasonable   
efforts to preserve the coverage area   
and population served by any broadcast  
radio station that is impacted by the   
reorganization authorized under section 
#fdjc7;b7 of the ,middle ,class ,tax    
,relief and ,job ,creation ,act of #bjab

 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #adeb7;b774