Crowded Legislative Calendar Delays Shield Vote

In mid-October, newspapers and other media companies and organizations were successful in getting a federal shield bill passed for the first time in either chamber of the Congress. The House of Representatives approved H.R. 2102 on an overwhelming vote of 398 to 21– a margin that would easily override a threatened presidential veto.

NAA and more than 50 media companies and organizations are now working to leverage the momentum on this issue to encourage action in the Senate on H.R. 2102 or S. 2035, a similar bill that was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 15-4 vote. The odds of passing a bill in the Senate in this session of the 110^th Congress are long since there is less than two weeks left in the legislative year. It is likely that a shield bill will not make it to the Senate floor until late February or early March.

First Published:
December 08, 2007