Despite pleas from local radio stations, listeners and civil rights leaders, the House Judiciary Committee passed on Wednesday a bill by a vote of 21 to nine that would levy a new fee on local radio stations for music aired free to listeners. If enacted, 50 percent of the new fee would go directly into the coffers of the major record label companies, three out of four of which reside outside the United States.

Voting against the RIAA-backed tax were House Judiciary Committee Members Maxine Waters (CA-35), Lamar Smith (TX-21), Howard Coble (NC-06), Dan Lungren (CA-03), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Jim Jordan (OH-04), Ted Poe (TX-02), Jason Chaffetz (UT-03) and Gregg Harper (MS-03).

Outside the Judiciary Committee, a bipartisan group of 200 House lawmakers are already on record in opposition to the legislation, which is being pushed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Commenting on the committee action, NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton issued the following statement:

"We were pleasantly surprised by the considerable bipartisan opposition to a performance tax, even in a committee where support for the record labels is strongest. NAB applauds these nine members for standing with America's hometown radio stations, their 235 million weekly listeners, and the yet-to-break artists who will lose their number one promotional platform if this bill is enacted.

"Nearly half the House of Representatives already opposes RIAA efforts to feather the nest of foreign record labels. Record label abuse of artists from Count Basie to Prince is well-documented, as evidenced by scores of lawsuits filed by musicians cheated out of royalties. Moving forward, the fundamental question is this: If the debate is about 'fairness to artists', why should the record labels get one penny from a performance tax on radio stations?"