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llnitm~tatt5~cnatr
WASHINGTON. DC 20510
September 14, 2011
The Honorable Julius Genachowski, Chainnan
Federal Communications Commission
445 12
1h
Street, S.W., Room 8·B201
Washington, D.C., 20554
Dear Chainnan Genachowski,
Thank you for your efforts thus far to implement the Commercial Advertisement Loudness
Mitigation ("CALM") Act, which was enacted into law on December 15,2010 in order to end
the pervasive presence ofexcessively loud commercial advertisements on television. As you
know, consumers have long complained about loud commercials, and particularly commercials
that are dramatically louder than the programming that contains them.
We write to emphasize our agreement with certain findings in your Notice ofProposed
Rulemaking (NPRM") dated May 27,2011 with regard to the intent and scope ofthe statute. We
introduced the CALM Act in the Senate, and saw it signed into law, with complete confidence
that the Act would apply to all excessively loud commercials regardless ofwhat audio systems
certain TV broadcasters, cable operators and other multichannel video programming distributors
("MVPDs") used and whether certain commercials were or were not created or inserted into the
programming by the station or MVPD.
The NPRM correctly notes that "[t]he statute ... expressly applies to all stationsIMVPDs
regardless ofthe audio system they currently use," and goes on to say that "[n]ot only would
limiting the statute's scope to stationsIMVPDs that use AC-3 audio systems be inconsistent with
the express language of the statute, we think such a reading would undermine the statute's
purpose." The NPRM is also correct in noting that "[t]he statute expressly applies to
commercials transmitted by a stationIMVPD and makes no exception for commercials not
inserted by the stationIMVPD" and that "[n]othing in the statutory language or legislative history
distinguishes between different sources ofcommercial content or suggests any intent to limit a
stationIMVPD's responsibility only to those commercials 'inserted' by it."
We urge you to continue to proceed through the implementation process on the view that, as
stated in the NPRM, "[I]imiting regulations to only certain commercials would undennine the
statute's purpose."
Sincerely,
~~C__a
United States Senator
Sherrod Brown
United States Senator
15-Sep-2011 03:02 PM Whitehouse JUdiciary 202 228·0464
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~~~~
Claire McCaskill
United States Senator
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
Cc: Commissioner Michael J. Copps
Commissioner Robert M. McDowell
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn
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lS-Sep-2011 03:02 PM Whitehouse Judiciary 202 228-0464
Contact:
Ayo Griffin
Counsel
Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Chair
U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Phone: (202) 224-5168
Fax: (202) 228-0464
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