WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Broadcaster associations representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have unanimously approved a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings" on local broadcast radio stations.
The resolution urges members of Congress to cosponsor the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which affirms policymakers’ support for their hometown radio stations on this issue. The state associations adopted the resolution in preparation for the National Association of Broadcasters' annual State Leadership Conference on February 27-March 1, which will bring more than 550 broadcasters from across the country to Washington, D.C. to advocate on broadcast industry issues.
Reps. Steve Womack (R-AR-3) and Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) led a bipartisan coalition of 119 members of Congress introducing LRFA in the House of Representatives earlier this month. Similar resolutions were introduced in previous Congresses and garnered widespread, bipartisan support, including more than 250 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives and Senate in the last Congress.
Since the introduction of the Local Radio Freedom Act in the 118th Congress, 11 members of Congress have joined as cosponsors. Adding their support for the LRFA in the House are Reps. Rick Allen (R-GA-12), Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2), Troy Carter (D-LA-2), Kevin Hern (R-OK-1), Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL), Chris Pappas (D-NH-1), Donald Payne (D-NJ-10), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5), Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21), Bryan Steil (R-WI-1) and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-3).
The 130 House cosponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act are (new cosponsors in bold):
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Rick Allen (R-GA-12) Mark Amodei (R-NV-2) Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19) Don Bacon (R-NE-2) Troy Balderson (R-OH-12) Andy Barr (R-KY-6) Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3) Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12) Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2) Mike Bost (R-IL-12) Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2) Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16) Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8) Julia Budzinski (D-IL-13) Ken Calvert (R-CA-41) Mike Carey (R-OH-15) Jerry Carl (R-AL-1) Andre Carson (D-IN-7) John Carter (R-TX-31) Troy Carter (D-LA-2) Kathy Castor (D-FL-14) Andrew Clyde (R-GA-9) Tom Cole (R-OK-4) James Comer (R-KY-1) Jim Costa (D-CA-21) Joe Courtney (D-CT-2) Rick Crawford (R-AR-1) Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) Sharice Davids (D-KS-3) Warren Davidson (R-OH-8) Monica De La Cruz (R-TX-15) Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6) Byron Donalds (R-FL-19) Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3) Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6) Tom Emmer (R-MN-6) Dwight Evans (D-PA-3) Mike Ezell (R-MS-4) Pat Fallon (R-TX-4) Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4) Brad Finstad (R-MN-1) Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1) Mike Flood (R-NE-1) Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5) Scott Franklin (R-FL-18) Russell Fry (R-SC-7) Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8) Mike Garcia (R-CA-27) Jared Golden (D-ME-2) Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-34) Kay Granger (R-TX-12) Sam Graves (R-MO-6) Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6) Michael Guest (R-MS-3) Harriet Hageman (R-WY-AL) Kevin Hern (R-OK-1) French Hill (R-AR-2) Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6) Richard Hudson (R-NC-9) Bill Huizenga (R-MI-4) Wesley Hunt (R-TX-38) Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13) Bill Johnson (R-OH-6) Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL) |
Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) John Joyce (R-PA-13) Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9) Tom Kean (R-NJ-7) Bill Keating (D-MA-9) Mike Kelly (R-PA-16) Trent Kelly (R-MS-1) Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6) Andy Kim (D-NJ-3) Annie Kuster (D-NH-2) Darin LaHood (R-IL-16) Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1) John Larson (D-CT-1) Bob Latta (R-OH-5) Jake LaTurner (R-KS-2) Julia Letlow (R-LA-5) Stephen Lynch (D-MA-8) Nancy Mace (R-SC-1) Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) Dan Meuser (R-PA-9) John Moolenaar (R-MI-2) Seth Moulton (D-MA-6) Frank Mrvan (D-IN-1) Greg Murphy (R-NC-3) Troy Nehls (R-TX-22) Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4) Ralph Norman (R-SC-5) Chris Pappas (D-NH-1) Donald Payne (D-NJ-10) Greg Pence (R-IN-6) August Pfluger (R-TX-11) Dean Phillips (D-MN-3) Bill Posey (R-FL-8) Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS-DL) Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5) Hal Rogers (R-KY-5) Matt Rosendale (R-MT-2) Gregorio Sablan (D-MP-DL) Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) David Scott (D-GA-13) Pete Sessions (R-TX-17) Terri Sewell (D-AL-7) Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11) Mike Simpson (R-ID-2) Adrian Smith (R-NE-3) Chris Smith (R-NJ-4) Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-1) Pete Stauber (R-MN-8) Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) Bryan Steil (R-WI-1) Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) Tom Tiffany (R-WI-7) William Timmons (R-SC-4) David Valadao (R-CA-22) Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24) Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-3) Marc Veasey (D-TX-33) Ann Wagner (R-MO-2) Tim Walberg (R-MI-5) Randy Weber (R-TX-14) Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-2) Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4) Rob Wittman (R-VA-1) Steve Womack (R-AR-3) Ryan Zinke (R-MT-1) |
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America's broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.