,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #hfg  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #e1 #bjbe,mr4
 ,lujn 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,rosen1 and   
,mr4 ,markey7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,commerce1         
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to amend the ,communications ,act of 
#aicd to clarify that the ,federal      
,communications ,commission may not take
 action against a broadcast licensee or 
any other person on the basis of        
viewpoint1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,broadcast ,freedom and             
,independence ,act of #bjbe4  #b4       
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,the ,federal ,communications     
,commission 7in this section referred to
 as the ,,fcc7 was established as an    
independent agency by the               
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #aea et seq47 for the purpose 
of regulating interstate and foreign    

commerce in communication by wire and   
radio so as to make available1 so far as
 possible1 to all the people of the     
,united ,states1 without discrimination 
on the basis of race1 color1 religion1  
national origin1 or sex1 a rapid1       
efficient1 ,nation-wide1 and world-wide 
wire and radio communication service    
with adequate facilities at reasonable  
charges'''4  7#b7 ,commissioners at the 
,,fcc1 an independent agency1 are       
confirmed by ,congress for specified    
terms and the ,president does not have  
the power to remove them at will4  7#c7 
,the independence of the ,,fcc is       
paramount to the ,,fcc carrying out its 
mission without political pressure or   
intimidation4  7#d7 ,the ,,fcc's        
priorities and agenda must be set by the
 ,,fcc without undue influence from the 
,president or any advisors to the       
,president who do not work for the      
,,fcc4  7#e7 ,as established in section 
#cbf of the ,communications ,act of     
#aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cbf71 nothing in  

the ,,fcc's authority shall be          
understood or construed to give the     
,commission the power of censorship over
 the radio communications or signals    
transmitted by any radio station1 and no
 regulation or condition shall be       
promulgated or fixed by the ,commission 
which shall interfere with the right of 
free speech by means of radio           
communication4  7#f7 ,investigations and
 threats of ,commission action or       
inaction must not be used to suppress   
certain viewpoints or intimidate        
broadcast licensees into aligning with  
any political agenda4  #c4 ,viewpoint   
protection ,title ,i of the             
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #aea et seq47 is amended by   
adding at the end the following3  #ad4  
,viewpoint protection  7a7 ,prohibition 
against retaliation on basis of         
viewpoint ,the ,commission may not      
revoke any license or other             
authorization of1 or otherwise take     
action against1 any person on the basis1

 in whole or in part1 of viewpoints     
broadcast or otherwise disseminated by  
that person or any person affiliated    
with that person4  7b7 ,prohibition     
against conditions on viewpoint in      
transaction review ,the ,commission may 
not place on any approval under         
subsections 7a71 7b71 and 7c7 of section
 #bad or section #caj7;d7 any condition 
with respect to viewpoints broadcast or 
otherwise disseminated by the person    
seeking that approval1 any successor of 
that person1 or any person affiliated   
with that person or successor4  7c7 ,no 
effect on certain other authority of    
,commission ,nothing in this section    
shall be construed to affect the        
authority of the ,commission to take    
action on the basis of1 or to place a   
condition on an approval described in   
subsection 7b7 with respect to-- 7#a7 a 
violation of-- 7,a7 section #acjd of    
title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or    
conduct that would constitute a         
violation of that section if content    

disseminated by means other than radio  
or television broadcast were            
disseminated by means of radio or       
television broadcast2  7,b7 section     
#acdc of title #ah1 ,united ,states     
,code2 or  7,c7 section #adfd of title  
#ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or conduct  
that would constitute a violation of    
that section if content disseminated by 
means other than radio communication    
were disseminated by means of radio     
communication2 or  7#b7 the broadcast or
 other dissemination of content that    
constitutes incitement under the ,first 
,amendment to the ,constitution of the  
,united ,states4  4