Friday, March 09, 2012YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17 Ohio, Thursday added his voice -- and proposed legislation -- to media firestorm over talk radio's Rush Limbaugh's verbal attack on Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke.
Ryan introduce legislation that would "ensure that the Pentagon avoids supporting programs that exhibit values contrary to the basic values of the Armed Forces and the United States," his office said in a news release.
“It is a disgrace that some programming on the Armed Forces Network harasses women to the point of slandering them as a ‘slut’ or a ‘prostitute’ simply for standing up for health issues,” said Ryan in his prepared statement. “The men and women of our Armed Forces should not be subjected to this type of hate as they bravely fight for American values at home and abroad. My bill does not censor any programming, but it does ask the Department of Defense to annually evaluate whether its programming is contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United States. This is a basic issue of common sense and decency, and it’s disappointing that the U.S. Congress has been forced to stand up as the last defense against bullies who don’t know when they’ve crossed a line. I hope the American Forces Radio and Television Service makes the decision to re-evaluate its relationship with Rush Limbaugh, but if they don’t, they should at least be forced to stand behind him and justify that decision.”
Rep. Ryan’s legislation would require the Pentagon to stand behind all its programming by annually certifying to the Congress “that all programming broadcast by the American Forces Radio and Television Service represents the best-faith efforts by the Department of Defense to provide programming that communicates the policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives of the Department while avoiding airing programming that exhibits values contrary to the values of the Armed Forces and the United States.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.