Obama, Kerry To Martin: Delay Cross-Ownership Vote Or Lose Funding

Obama

Now Sens. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL) and JOHN KERRY (D-MA) have joined the CAPITOL HILL crowd warning FCC Chairman KEVIN MARTIN not to put cross-ownership to a vote on DECEMBER 18, sending MARTIN a letter saying that if MARTIN goes ahead with the vote, they would ask the Appropriations Committee to withhold funding for implementation of the new rule.

BROADCASTING AND CABLE quotes the letter as saying, "We recognize the widespread animosity aimed at the direction of the commission regarding Tuesday’s scheduled vote. We understand that for a variety of reasons, you are being asked to postpone the vote to permit more time for the commission to fully understand how a relaxation in the cross-ownership rule will impact other important issues such as localism. It is our hope that the sum of these objections will convince you to delay this vote until a time following the commission’s consideration of other pressing matters. Specifically, we believe that moving forward with this change will have a direct and detrimental impact on the state of media diversity. Should you decide to move forward with this vote against the expressed bipartisan, bicameral intent of Congress, we will approach Appropriations chairman [ROBERT] BYRD (D-WV) with a request that funds be denied for the implementation of this rule."

...moving forward with this change will have a direct and detrimental impact on the state of media diversity.

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