I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1292
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize the establishment
of a voluntary broadcasting code for alcohol advertising, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 10, 1997
Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. HANSEN, Mr. HINCHEY,
Mr. MORAN of Virginia, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize
the establishment of a voluntary broadcasting code for
alcohol advertising, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Voluntary Alcohol Ad-
vertising Standards for Children Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Television advertising influences children’s
perception of the values and behavior that are com-
mon and acceptable in society.
(2) Television station operators and cable tele-
vision system operators should follow practices in
connection with the advertising of alcoholic bev-
erages that take into consideration that television
broadcast and cable advertising have established a
uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of American
children.
(3) The average American child is exposed to
25 hours of television each week and some children
are exposed to as much as 11 hours of television a
day.
(4) In 1995, alcohol producers, led by brewers,
spent $682,600,000 advertising their products in the
broadcast media. Much of that advertising appeared
on sports programming, in prime time, or at other
times when substantial numbers of underage persons
were in the viewing and listening audience. Many of
the themes used in the ads—humor, parties, athletic
pursuits—have great appeal for young people. The
most popular beer ads use animated characters, ani-
mals, or music which also amuse and attract chil-
dren and teens.
(5) The current advertising codes of brewers
and distillers, even when observed by industry mem-
bers, provide inadequate standards to restrain most
of the current advertising messages that reach
young people and teach them to drink. These codes
are unenforceable, do not apply to all alcohol compa-
nies, and institutionalize, rather than restrict, adver-
tising practices that subject young people to mas-
sive, continuous, and persuasive inducements to
drink. Although individual broadcast networks and
independent stations have adopted standards govern-
ing the acceptance of advertising for alcoholic bev-
erages, those standards lack uniformity, do not
apply to all broadcasters, nor do they help shield
large audiences of underage persons from alcohol
promotions.
(6) Alcohol producers claim to have no interest
in attracting underage persons, for whom the pur-
chase and use of their products are illegal. The de-
velopment of voluntary broadcast industry alcohol
advertising standards to protect children would avoid
broader government restrictions on alcohol advertis-
ing and permit alcohol producers to continue to le-
gitimately promote their products to adult consum-
ers. Therefore, enforceable voluntary broadcast
standards provide a minimally restrictive, necessary
condition on alcohol producer marketing activities,
one that is consistent with their business missions
and social responsibility.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TELE-
VISION ADVERTISING CODES.
Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 337. ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
TELEVISION ADVERTISING CODES.
‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO PRESCRIBE STANDARDS.—Ex-
cept as otherwise provided by this section, the Commission
shall prescribe, on the basis of recommendations from an
advisory committee established by the Commission, a code
of conduct that limits the exposure and appeal to minors
of alcoholic beverage advertisements in video program-
ming, taking into consideration the content, frequency,
timing, and program placement of such ads, as well as
the role of public information messages about the risks
of alcohol use by minors.
‘‘(b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE REQUIREMENTS.—In es-
tablishing an advisory committee for purposes of sub-
section (a) of this section, the Commission shall—
‘‘(1) ensure that such committee is composed of
parents, television broadcasters, cable operators, ap-
propriate public interest groups, and other interested
individuals from the private sector and is fairly bal-
anced in terms of political affiliation, the points of
view represented, and the functions to be performed
by the committee;
‘‘(2) provide to the committee such staff and
resources as may be necessary to permit it to per-
form its functions efficiently and promptly; and
‘‘(3) require the committee to submit a final re-
port of its recommendations within one year after
the date of the appointment of the initial members.
‘‘(c) ANTITRUST EXEMPTION.—
‘‘(1) EXEMPTION.—The antitrust laws shall not
apply to any joint discussion, consideration, review,
action, or agreement by or among persons in the tel-
evision industry for the purpose of, and limited to,
developing and disseminating a voluntary code de-
signed to limit the exposure and appeal to minors of
alcoholic beverage advertisements in video program-
ming.
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—The exemption provided in
paragraph (1)—