Congress must act to increase minority broadcasters

Though women and minorities constitute an increasingly large portion of our country’s populace, ownership of broadcast media remains dominated by white males. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has long ignored its congressional mandate to ensure a diversity of media viewpoints and continues to disregard orders from federal courts to increase women and minority participation in media ownership. The time has long passed for Congress to act.

In order to level the playing field with respect to broadcast ownership, the FCC need only look at what it has done in the past to spur inclusion in the industry. In 1978, the FCC established the Minority Tax Certificate Program, providing a tax incentive to those who sold their majority interest in a broadcast station to minorities. Though repealed in 1995, the tax certificate boosted ownership significantly, raising the number of minority-owned stations from 40 to 323. This is why I introduced the Expanding Broadcast Opportunities Act of 2019 (HR 3957). My bill promotes diversity in broadcast ownership by reestablishing the Minority Tax Certificate Program at the FCC and will accelerate investment in minority and women owned broadcast stations by modifying the Commissions’ incubator program to consider race and gender for eligibility. These actions will empower historically disadvantaged groups and encourage new entrants into the broadcast industry.

Congress cannot sit idly as Commissioner Ajit Pai’s FCC continues to ignore and undermine the rule of law. To address problems as ubiquitous as racial and gender inequality, lawmakers must craft legislation that is tailored to assist racial minorities and women, specifically.