WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to a letter from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL), the following statement can be attributed to NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Federal Communications Commission should hold its review of the proposed merger between Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in abeyance until it completes the long-delayed 2010 and 2014 quadrennial reviews of broadcast ownership rules, NAB said in a petition filed with the Commission today. If the Commission fails to reform broadcast ownership rules, some of which are over 70 years old, to better reflect current competitive realities, then the FCC should deny the proposed merger, said the petition.

WASHINGTON, DC -- A majority of the House of Representatives now supports the Local Radio Freedom Act, a resolution that opposes "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The resolution, which was introduced in Congress less than eight months ago, has 218 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 23 in the Senate.