I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2036
To protect children.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 8, 1999
Mr. HYDE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To protect children.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children’s Defense Act
of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM EXPLICIT MATE-
RIAL.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 71 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘§ 1471. Protection of minors
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Whoever in interstate or foreign
commerce knowingly solicits, sells, loans, or exhibits to a
minor, any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, video
game, motion picture film, or similar visual representation
or image, book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter, or
sound recording, containing explicit sexual or violent ma-
terial or detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts
of explicit sexual or violent material which, taken as a
whole—
‘‘(1) predominantly appeals to the prurient,
shameful, or morbid interest of minors;
‘‘(2) is patently offensive to prevailing stand-
ards in the adult community as a whole with respect
to what is suitable material for minors; and
‘‘(3) is utterly without redeeming social impor-
tance for minors;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (c) of this sec-
tion.
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in subsection (a)—
‘‘(1) the term ‘knowingly’ means having general
knowledge of, or reason to know, or a belief or
ground for belief which warrants further inspection
or inquiry of—
‘‘(A) the character and content of any ma-
terial described in subsection (a) which is rea-
sonably susceptible of examination by the de-
fendant; and
‘‘(B) the age of the minor;
but an honest mistake is a defense against a pros-
ecution under this section if the defendant made a
reasonable bona fide attempt to ascertain the true
age of such minor;
‘‘(2) the term ‘minor’ means any person under
the age of 17 years; and
‘‘(3) the term ‘sexual or violent material’ means
the depiction of the human male or female genitals,
pubic area or buttocks with less than a full opaque
covering; the female breast with less than a fully
opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top
of the nipple; covered male genitals in a discernibly
turgid state; acts of masturbation, homosexuality, or
sexual intercourse; physical contact with a person’s
clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, buttocks,
or if such person be a female, breast; or sadistic or
masochistic activity, including flagellation or torture
by or upon a person, acts of mutilation of the
human body, or rape.
‘‘(c) PENALTIES.—The punishment for an offense
under this section is—
‘‘(1) a fine under this title or imprisonment for
not more than 5 years, or both, in the case of an
offense which does not occur after a conviction for
another offense under this section; and
‘‘(2) a fine under this title or imprisonment for
not more than 10 years, or both, in the case of an
offense which occurs after a conviction for another
offense under this section.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
at the beginning of chapter 71 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
item:
‘‘1471. Protection of minors.’’.
SEC. 3. PRE-PURCHASE DISCLOSURE OF LYRICS PACKAGED
WITH SOUND RECORDINGS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 121 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘§ 2712. Disclosure of lyrics packaged with sound re-
cordings
‘‘(a) PRE-PURCHASE RIGHT OF REVIEW.—Any retail
establishment engaged in the sale of sound recordings in
interstate or foreign commerce shall make available for on-
site review, upon the request of a person over the age of
18 years, the lyrics packaged with any sound recording
offered for sale by such retail establishment.
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—The term ‘retail establishment’
means any physical place of business which sells directly
to a consumer, but does not include mail order, catalog,
or on-line sales of sound recordings.
‘‘(c) PENALTIES.—If it is known that a retail estab-
lishment described in subsection (a) is knowingly not mak-
ing available for review lyrics in the manner required by
that subsection, such retail establishment shall be notified
by a lawfully authorized law enforcement officer or agent
of the United States and if thereafter such retail establish-
ment continues to knowingly not make available for review
such lyrics, such retail establishment shall be fined $1,000
for each day in which it knowingly fails to make available
for review such lyrics until such time as it comes into com-
pliance with subsection (a).’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters
at the beginning of chapter 121 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding after the item relating to sec-
tion 2711 the following:
‘‘2712. Disclosure of lyrics packaged with sound recordings.’’.
SEC. 4. STUDY OF EFFECTS OF ENTERTAINMENT ON CHIL-
DREN.
(a) REQUIREMENT.—The National Institutes of
Health shall conduct a study of the effects of video games
and music on child development and youth violence.
(b) ELEMENTS.—The study under subsection (a)
shall address—
(1) whether, and to what extent, video games
and music affect the emotional and psychological de-
velopment of juveniles; and
(2) whether violence in video games and music
contributes to juvenile delinquency and youth vio-
lence.
SEC. 5. TEMPORARY ANTITRUST IMMUNITY TO PERMIT
THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY TO SET
GUIDELINES TO HELP PROTECT CHILDREN
FROM HARMFUL MATERIAL.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings:
(1) Television is seen and heard in nearly every
United States home and is a uniquely pervasive
presence in the daily lives of Americans. The average
American home has 2.5 televisions, and a television
is turned on in the average American home 7 hours
every day.
(2) Television plays a particularly significant
role in the lives of children. Figures provided by
Nielsen Research show that children between the
ages of 2 years and 11 years spend an average of
21 hours in front of a television each week.
(3) Television has an enormous capability to in-
fluence perceptions, especially those of children, of
the values and behaviors that are common and ac-
ceptable in society.
(4) The influence of television is so great that
its images and messages often can be harmful to the
development of children. Social science research
amply documents a strong correlation between the
exposure of children to televised violence and a num-
ber of behavioral and psychological problems.
(5) Hundreds of studies have proven conclu-
sively that children who are consistently exposed to
violence on television have a higher tendency to ex-
hibit violent and aggressive behavior, both as chil-
dren and later in life.
(6) Such studies also show that repeated expo-
sure to violent programming causes children to be-
come desensitized to and more accepting of real-life
violence and to grow more fearful and less trusting
of their surroundings.
(7) A growing body of social science research
indicates that sexual content on television can also
have a significant influence on the attitudes and be-
haviors of young viewers. This research suggests
that heavy exposure to programming with strong
sexual content contributes to the early commence-
ment of sexual activity among teenagers.
(8) Members of the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) adhered for many years to a
comprehensive code of conduct that was based on an
understanding of the influence exerted by television
and on a widely held sense of responsibility for using
that influence carefully.
(9) This code of conduct, the Television Code of
the National Association of Broadcasters, articulated
this sense of responsibility as follows:
(A) ‘‘In selecting program subjects and
themes, great care must be exercised to be sure
that the treatment and presentation are made
in good faith and not for the purpose of sensa-
tionalism or to shock or exploit the audience or
appeal to prurient interests or morbid curi-
osity.’’.
(B) ‘‘Broadcasters have a special responsi-
bility toward children. Programs designed pri-
marily for children should take into account the
range of interests and needs of children, from
instructional and cultural material to a wide va-
riety of entertainment material. In their total-
ity, programs should contribute to the sound,
balanced development of children to help them
achieve a sense of the world at large and in-
formed adjustments to their society.’’.
(C) ‘‘Violence, physical, or psychological,
may only be projected in responsibly handled
contexts, not used exploitatively. Programs in-
volving violence present the consequences of it
to its victims and perpetrators. Presentation of
the details of violence should avoid the exces-
sive, the gratuitous and the instructional.’’.
(D) ‘‘The presentation of marriage, family,
and similarly important human relationships,
and material with sexual connotations, shall not
be treated exploitatively or irresponsibly, but
with sensitivity.’’.
(E) ‘‘Above and beyond the requirements
of the law, broadcasters must consider the fam-
ily atmosphere in which many of their programs
are viewed. There shall be no graphic portrayal
of sexual acts by sight or sound. The portrayal
of implied sexual acts must be essential to the
plot and presented in a responsible and tasteful
manner.’’.
(10) The National Association of Broadcasters
abandoned the code of conduct in 1983 after three
provisions of the code restricting the sale of adver-
tising were challenged by the Department of Justice
on antitrust grounds and a Federal district court
issued a summary judgment against the National
Association of Broadcasters regarding one of the
provisions on those grounds. However, none of the
programming standards of the code were challenged.
(11) While the code of conduct was in effect, its
programming standards were never found to have
violated any antitrust law.
(12) Since the National Association of Broad-
casters abandoned the code of conduct, program-
ming standards on broadcast and cable television
have deteriorated dramatically.
(13) In the absence of effective programming
standards, public concern about the impact of tele-
vision on children, and on society as a whole, has
risen substantially. Polls routinely show that more
than 80 percent of Americans are worried by the in-
creasingly graphic nature of sex, violence, and vul-
garity on television and by the amount of program-
ming that openly sanctions or glorifies criminal,
antisocial, and degrading behavior.
(14) At the urging of Congress, the television
industry has taken some steps to respond to public
concerns about programming standards and content.
The broadcast television industry agreed in 1992 to
adopt a set of voluntary guidelines designed to ‘‘pro-
scribe gratuitous or excessive portrayals of violence’’.
Shortly thereafter, both the broadcast and cable tele-
vision industries agreed to conduct independent
studies of the violent content in their programming
and make those reports public.
(15) In 1996, the television industry as a whole
made a commitment to develop a comprehensive rat-
ing system to label programming that may be harm-
ful or inappropriate for children. That system was
implemented at the beginning of 1999.
(16) Despite these efforts to respond to public
concern about the impact of television on children,
millions of Americans, especially parents with young
children, remain angry and frustrated at the sinking
standards of television programming, the reluctance
of the industry to police itself, and the harmful in-
fluence of television on the well-being of the children
and the values of the United States.
(17) The Department of Justice issued a ruling
in 1993 indicating that additional efforts by the tele-
vision industry to develop and implement voluntary
programming guidelines would not violate the anti-
trust laws. The ruling states that ‘‘such activities
may be likened to traditional standard setting efforts
that do not necessarily restrain competition and may
have significant procompetitive benefits. . . . Such
guidelines could serve to disseminate valuable infor-
mation on program content to both advertisers and
television viewers. Accurate information can enhance
the demand for, and increase the output of, an in-
dustry’s products or services.’’.
(18) The Children’s Television Act of 1990
(Public Law 101–437) states that television broad-
casters in the United States have a clear obligation
to meet the educational and informational needs of
children.
(19) Several independent analyses have dem-
onstrated that the television broadcasters in the
United States have not fulfilled their obligations
under the Children’s Television Act of 1990 and
have not noticeably expanded the amount of edu-
cational and informational programming directed at
young viewers since the enactment of that Act.
(20) The popularity of video and personal com-
puter (PC) games is growing steadily among chil-
dren. Although most popular video and personal
computer games are educational or harmless in na-
ture, many of the most popular are extremely vio-
lent. One recent study by Strategic Record Research
found that 64 percent of teenagers played video or
personal computer games on a regular basis. Other
surveys of children as young as elementary school
age found that almost half of them list violent com-
puter games among their favorites.
(21) Violent video games often present violence
in a glamorized light. Game players are often cast
in the role of shooter, with points scored for each
‘‘kill’’. Similarly, advertising for such games often
touts violent content as a selling point—the more
graphic and extreme, the better.
(22) As the popularity and graphic nature of
such video games grows, so do their potential to neg-
atively influence impressionable children.
(23) Music is another extremely pervasive and
popular form of entertainment. American children
and teenagers listen to music more than any other
demographic group. The Journal of American Medi-
cine reported that between the 7th and 12th grades
the average teenager listens to 10,500 hours of rock
or rap music, just slightly less than the entire num-
ber of hours spent in the classroom from kinder-
garten through high school.
(24) Teens are among the heaviest purchasers
of music, and are most likely to favor music genres
that depict, and often appear to glamorize violence.
(25) Music has a powerful ability to influence
perceptions, attitudes, and emotional state. The use
of music as therapy indicates its potential to in-
crease emotional, psychological, and physical health.
That influence can be used for ill as well.
(b) PURPOSES; CONSTRUCTION.—
(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section
are to permit the entertainment industry—
(A) to work collaboratively to respond to
growing public concern about television pro-
gramming, movies, video games, Internet con-
tent, and music lyrics, and the harmful influ-
ence of such programming, movies, games, con-
tent, and lyrics on children;
(B) to develop a set of voluntary program-
ming guidelines similar to those contained in
the Television Code of the National Association
of Broadcasters; and
(C) to implement the guidelines in a man-
ner that alleviates the negative impact of tele-
vision programming, movies, video games,
Internet content, and music lyrics on the devel-
opment of children in the United States and
stimulates the development and broadcast of
educational and informational programming for
such children.
(2) CONSTRUCTION.—This section may not be
construed as—
(A) providing the Federal Government
with any authority to restrict television pro-
gramming, movies, video games, Internet con-
tent, or music lyrics that is in addition to the
authority to restrict such programming, movies,
games, content, or lyrics under law as of the
date of the enactment of this Act; or
(B) approving any action of the Federal
Government to restrict such programming,
movies, games, content, or lyrics that is in addi-
tion to any actions undertaken for that purpose
by the Federal Government under law as of
such date.
(c) EXEMPTION OF VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS ON
GUIDELINES FOR CERTAIN ENTERTAINMENT MATERIAL
FROM APPLICABILITY OF ANTITRUST LAWS.—
(1) EXEMPTION.—Subject to paragraph (2),
the antitrust laws shall not apply to any joint dis-
cussion, consideration, review, action, or agreement
by or among persons in the entertainment industry
for the purpose of developing and disseminating vol-
untary guidelines designed—
(A) to alleviate the negative impact of tele-
cast material, movies, video games, Internet
content, and music lyrics containing—
(i) violence, sexual content, criminal
behavior; or
(ii) other subjects that are not appro-
priate for children; or
(B) to promote telecast material, movies,
video games, Internet content, or music lyrics
that are educational, informational, or other-
wise beneficial to the development of children.
(2) LIMITATION.—The exemption provided in
paragraph (1) shall not apply to any joint discus-
sion, consideration, review, action, or agreement
that—
(A) results in a boycott of any person; or
(B) concerns the purchase or sale of adver-
tising, including restrictions on the number of
products that may be advertised in a commer-
cial, the number of times a program may be in-
terrupted for commercials, and the number of
consecutive commercials permitted within each
interruption.
(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
(A) ANTITRUST LAWS.—The term ‘‘anti-
trust laws’’—
(i) has the meaning given it in sub-
section (a) of the first section of the Clay-
ton Act (15 U.S.C. 12(a)), except that
such term includes section 5 of the Federal
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to
the extent such section 5 applies to unfair
methods of competition; and
(ii) includes any State law similar to
the laws referred to in subparagraph (A).
(B) INTERNET.—The term ‘‘Internet’’
means the combination of computer facilities
and electromagnetic transmission media, and
related equipment and software, comprising the
interconnected worldwide network of computer
networks that employ the Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol or any successor pro-
tocol to transmit information.
(C) MOVIES.—The term ‘‘movies’’ means
theatrical motion pictures.
(D) PERSON IN THE ENTERTAINMENT IN-
DUSTRY.—The term ‘‘person in the entertain-
ment industry’’ means a television network, any
person that produces or distributes television
programming (including theatrical motion pic-
tures), the National Cable Television Associa-
tion, the Association of Independent Television
Stations, Incorporated, the National Association
of Broadcasters, the Motion Picture Association
of America, each of the affiliate organizations
of the television networks, the Interactive Dig-
ital Software Association, any person that pro-
duces or distributes video games, the Recording
Industry Association of America, and any per-
son that produces or distributes music, and in-
cludes any individual acting on behalf of any of
the above.
(E) TELECAST.—The term ‘‘telecast mate-
rial’’ means any program broadcast by a tele-
vision broadcast station or transmitted by a
cable television system.
(d) SUNSET.—Subsection (d) shall apply only with
respect to conduct that occurs in the period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 3 years
after such date.
SEC. 6. PROMOTING GRASSROOTS SOLUTIONS TO YOUTH
VIOLENCE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL YOUTH CRIME
PREVENTION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—The Attorney
General shall, subject to appropriations, award a grant to
the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘National Center’’) to en-
able the National Center to award subgrants to grassroots
entities in the following 9 cities:
(1) Washington, District of Columbia.
(2) Detroit, Michigan.
(3) Hartford, Connecticut.
(4) Indianapolis, Indiana.
(5) Chicago (and surrounding metropolitan
area), Illinois.
(6) Dallas, Texas.
(7) Los Angeles, California.
(8) Norfolk, Virginia.
(9) Houston, Texas.
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a
subgrant under this section, a grassroots entity re-
ferred to in subsection (a) shall submit an applica-
tion to the National Center to fund intervention
models that establish violence-free zones.
(2) SELECTION
CRITERIA.—In awarding sub-
grants under this section, the National Center shall
consider—
(A) the track record of a grassroots entity
and key participating individuals in youth group
mediation and crime prevention;
(B) the engagement and participation of a
grassroots entity with other local organizations;
and
(C) the ability of a grassroots entity to
enter into partnerships with local housing au-
thorities, law enforcement agencies, and other
public entities.
(c) USES OF FUNDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds received under this
section shall be used for youth mediation, youth
mentoring, life skills training, job creation and en-
trepreneurship, 
organizational 
development 
and
training, development of long-term intervention
plans, collaboration with law enforcement, com-
prehensive support services and local agency part-
nerships, or other activities to further community
objectives in reducing youth crime and violence.
(2) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—The National
Center, in cooperation with the Attorney General,
shall also provide technical assistance for startup
projects in other cities.
(3) FISCAL CONTROLS.—The Attorney General
is authorized to establish and maintain all appro-
priate fiscal controls of sub-grantees under sub-
section (a).
(d) REPORTS.—The National Center shall submit a
report to the Attorney General evaluating the effectiveness
of grassroots agencies and other public entities involved
in the demonstration project.
(e) DEFINITIONS.—
For purposes of this section—
(1) the term ‘‘grassroots entity’’ means a not-
for-profit 
community 
organization 
with 
dem-
onstrated effectiveness in mediating and addressing
youth violence by empowering at-risk youth to be-
come agents of peace and community restoration;
and
(2) the term ‘‘National Center for Neighbor-
hood Enterprise’’ is a not-for-profit organization in-
corporated in the District of Columbia.
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section—
(A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
(B) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
(C) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
(D) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and
(E) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
(2) RESERVATION.—The National Center for
Neighborhood Enterprise may use not more than 20
percent of the amounts appropriated pursuant to
paragraph (1) in any fiscal year for administrative
costs, technical assistance and training, comprehen-
sive support services, and evaluation of participating
grassroots entities.
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