U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC-07) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin on May 6, expressing concern over recent FCC proposals that would dictate how broadcasters serve their local communities, placing additional regulatory burdens on local radio and television stations. To date, 28 senators and roughly 130 members of the House have sent letters to the FCC expressing concern over the proposed regulation.

"These processing guidelines are, in effect, programming quotas that give certain types of speech the government stamp of approval," wrote Rep. McIntyre. "The First Amendment was written to prevent this kind of action by our government, and it should prevent the Commission from pushing forward with these old and unnecessary rules."

McIntyre joins a chorus of lawmakers who have voiced concern over the FCC's proposed rulemaking. In addition to a letter authored by 23 senators on April 24, Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Ben Nelson (D-NE) and John Ensign (R-NV) have all written individual letters to the Commission expressing concern.

Recently, 123 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to the Commission voicing opposition to "radical re-regulation" that would "turn back the clock on decades of deregulatory progress by imposing a series of new and burdensome regulations on broadcasters." Texas Reps. Gene Green (D-29) and Charles Gonzalez (D-20), Maine Rep. Mike Michaud (D-02) and New York Rep. John McHugh (R-23) have also voiced their concerns in individual letters to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.