By By SPIROS GALLOS / Niles Daily Star
NILES - U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., thinks there needs to be a change in Washington if the country is to win the war on terrorism.
Upton said, after reading the 9-11 Commission's Report, he sees a definite need for a Cabinet agency to oversee the National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Upton was in Niles Tuesday to speak at a luncheon hosted by the Niles Optimists Club and to accept an award and flag from the Spirit of America Foundation. The foundation offers assitance to veterans and their families.
Upton said he will be in Michigan for about a month. Most members of Congress are using this break period to visit with constituents in the districts they represent, he said.
When Congress returns to work, Upton will also continue his mission to protect the American family from public broadcasts of indecent material with the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004.
A house bill to raise the maximum amount the Federal Communications Commission can fine a broadcaster for indecent broadcasts over television and radio passed almost unanimously through the House of Representatives.
The bill would raise the maximum amount the FCC can fine a broadcaster from $27,500 to $275,000 per violation.
Upton began working on the bill in November as chairman of the House Subcommitte on Telecommunications and the Interent, almost three months before Janet Jackson's Superbowl half time performance.
Another important part of the bill is the "shot clock" concept which requires the FCC to handle complaints in a timely manner.
Under the "shot clock" concept, the FCC must act on complaints within 180 days.
The Senate passed a similar bill that would raise the fines like the house bill, but would also alter the definition of what is decent and indecent.
Upton will act as a conferee when the house and senate go back into session to "iron out the differences in the bills," he said.
Upton thinks it is imperative to send President George Bush a bill that has the full backing of both the house and the senate.