I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2396
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require candidates for election
for Federal office who refer to other candidates in their television or
radio advertisements to include personal statements or images in the
advertisements as a condition for receiving the lowest unit charge avail-
able for advertisements broadcast immediately before the election.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 28, 2001
Mrs. MALONEY of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require can-
didates for election for Federal office who refer to other
candidates in their television or radio advertisements to
include personal statements or images in the advertise-
ments as a condition for receiving the lowest unit charge
available for advertisements broadcast immediately before
the election.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. REQUIRING CANDIDATES TO INCLUDE PER-
SONAL STATEMENTS OR IMAGES AS A CONDI-
TION OF RECEIVING LOWEST UNIT CHARGE
FOR BROADCAST ADVERTISEMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 315(b) of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(b)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B) and moving such sub-
paragraphs (as so redesignated) 2 ems to the right;
(2) by striking ‘‘(b) The charges’’ and inserting
the following:
‘‘(b) CHARGES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
the charges’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) CONTENT OF BROADCASTS.—
‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION
OF
CONTENTS.—In
the case of a candidate for Federal office, such
candidate shall not be entitled to receive the
rate under paragraph (1)(A) for the use of any
broadcasting station during the periods de-
scribed in such paragraph unless the candidate
provides written certification to the broadcast
station that the candidate (and any authorized
committee of the candidate) shall not make any
direct reference to another candidate for the
same office, in any broadcast using the rights
and conditions of access under this Act, unless
such broadcast meets the requirements of sub-
paragraph (C) or (D).
‘‘(B) VIOLATION.—If a candidate for Fed-
eral office (or any authorized committee of such
candidate) makes a reference described in sub-
paragraph (A) in any broadcast that does not
meet the requirements of subparagraph (C) or
(D), such candidate shall not be entitled to re-
ceive the rate under paragraph (1)(A) for such
broadcast or any other broadcast during any
portion of the 45-day and 60-day periods de-
scribed in such paragraph (1)(A) that occurs on
or after the date of such broadcast.
‘‘(C) TELEVISION
BROADCASTS.—A tele-
vision broadcast of a candidate meets the re-
quirements of this subparagraph if, at the end
of such broadcast there appears simultaneously,
for a period of not less than 4 seconds—
‘‘(i) a clearly identifiable photographic
or similar image of the candidate; and
‘‘(ii) a clearly readable printed state-
ment, identifying the candidate and stating
that the candidate has approved the broad-
cast and that the candidate’s authorized
committee paid for the broadcast.
‘‘(D) RADIO BROADCASTS.—A radio broad-
cast of a candidate meets the requirements of
this subparagraph if the broadcast includes a
personal audio statement by the candidate that
identifies the candidate, the office the candidate
is seeking, and indicates that the candidate has
approved the broadcast.
‘‘(E) 
CERTIFICATION.—Certifications
under this section shall be provided and cer-
tified as accurate by the candidate (or any au-
thorized committee of the candidate) at the
time of purchase.
‘‘(F) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this
paragraph, the terms ‘authorized committee’
and ‘Federal office’ have the meanings given
such terms by section 301 of the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431).’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to broadcasts made
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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