Senate Rejects Second Attempt To Ban Fairness Doctrine

On Tuesday, the Senate rejected a proposal to bar the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the defunct "Fairness Doctrine" rule for broadcasters. The Fairness Doctrine, which the FCC eliminated in the late 1980s, required broadcasters to seek opposing points of view in their programming. The ban came up as an amendment, offered by Sen John Thune (R-SD), to a massive government spending bill for the current fiscal year. Sen John Thune's amendment would have withheld funding from the Federal Communications Commission for any enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine for the coming year. The Senate rejected Thune's amendment on a vote of 47-50.