*Pages 1--1 from  Microsoft Word - 42591*
 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  04-  175 
 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS 


 Re:  Violent  Video  Programming 
 I  am  pleased  that  the  Commission  is  launching  this  proceeding  to  determine  ways  that  we  can  tackle  violence  on  the  airwaves.  It  is  only  unfortunate  that  it  took  a  request  from  Members  of  the  House 
 of  Representatives  for  us  to  consider  this  important  issue.  Hundreds  of  studies  over  decades  document  the  harmful  impact  that  exposure  to  graphic  and  excessive  media  violence  has  on  the  physical  and  mental 
 health  of  our  children.  The  US  Surgeon  General,  the  American  Academy  of  Pediatrics,  the  American  Psychological  Association,  the  American  Medical  Association,  and  virtually  every  other  leading  medical 
 and  scientific  organization  that  has  studied  this  issue  have  reached  the  same  conclusion  about  the  harmful  impact  of  media  violence.  Yet,  the  Commission  today  seems  to  ignore  this  wealth  of  scientific  data  even 
 going  so  far  as  to  ask  in  this  Notice  whether  there  are  benefits  of  exposure  to  televised  violence  by  our  children. 


 It  is  our  job  and  the  one  asked  of  us  by  the  House  Members  to  examine  how  best  to  address  this  most  pressing  problem.  I  look  forward  to  a  full  record  on  these  issues  and  to  an  expeditious  resolution  of 
 this  proceeding.  Wanton  violence  on  the  people’s  airwaves  has  gone  unaddressed  for  too  long.  That  is  why  Congress  is  moving  on  this  on  a  number  of  fronts. 
1