If you don’t believe there’s pressure to reinstate the troubling Fairness Doctrine, consider comments made yesterday by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.  She admitted to not only a personal desire to see a return of the Fairness Doctrine, but also to leading the effort to block debate on the Broadcaster Freedom Act – the bill which would ban a return of the Fairness Doctrine.  The comments came in a news conference on Capitol Hill.

The Speaker was first asked if she would allow debate on the Broadcaster Freedom Act, to which she replied:  “No.  The interest of my caucus is in the reverse.”

When asked if she personally supported a return of the Fairness Doctrine, Pelosi simply responded:  “Yes.”

This is truly outrageous.  While it is Speaker Pelosi’s right to support the Fairness Doctrine, it’s also clear that she’s permitting her personal beliefs to override the majority of the entire House of Representatives.

You may recall that last year the House overwhelmingly approved a temporary halt to the return of the Fairness Doctrine by a vote of 309 to 115.  Here’s the problem, a permanent fix – the Broadcaster Freedom Act – has been tied up in the House – with leaders like Speaker Pelosi blocking debate on this issue.  So the 309 members who originally voted to temporarily ban the return of the Fairness Doctrine cannot debate this issue and vote on a permanent solution.

But as you also know, there’s a procedure mechanism that could force the House to consider the Broadcaster Freedom Act – in effect, breaking the obstructionist tactics used by Speaker Pelosi and others.

There’s a Discharge Petition, offered by Rep. Mike Pence, which would break the bottleneck and send the Broadcaster Freedom Act to the House floor for an up-or-down vote.  The problem:  the Discharge Petition still needs another 23 votes to carry the day.

That’s why we continue to push this issue and urge you to sign on to our Discharge Petition and to urge the 113 Democrat members of the House who oppose the return of the Fairness Doctrine to sign on to the Discharge Petition and get this issue to the floor for a vote.

We’re hopeful that at least 23 of those members will take a stand for freedom and reject the controlling tactics of Speaker Pelosi and others.

That’s why it’s important to act now!  The Broadcaster Freedom Act deserves consideration on the House floor and is necessary to permanently ensure that the Fairness Doctrine does not make a comeback.  Such a return would result in the government telling broadcasters – including Christian broadcasters – what they must air.  That is simply unacceptable.

Our Government Affairs team continues to push for this measure on Capitol Hill, and we will keep you updated on this very important issue.