the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004, it was to be determined by the Commissioner that any violator was subject to fines up to $275,000 for the first violation, $375,000 for the second violation, and $500,000 for the third and any subsequent violations. The incremental increase of fines seemed appropriate, but the Houses continuously amended the bill and ultimately it never passed. A strong resistance within the creative community rose in conjunction with the fine appropriation. Radio host Dave Ross noted that "The concern, of course, is that if Congress has the power to outlaw one word, it has the power to outlaw another word.... And the fact that it was indecency and not politics doesn't make that much difference, because if you give the government the power to decide what you can hear, you've given them power over discourse." With responses like these, the legislation eventually lost the momentum behind it. The last action on the bill occurred as it was placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 464 on March 24, 2004. The bill resurfaced again, a year later, still under the sponsorship of Sen. Brownback. This time, it also received disapproval from a fellow state official, who reprised the concern of the creative community as an offense to the United States Constitution. Congressman Gary Ackerman of the 5th District of New York expressed that "We need to defend our Constitution. We need to defend freedom of speech, and that is really what is at stake here. Passing this bill is a huge mistake and this vote will mark a very dark day in American history. We are going down a slippery slope and no one can honestly say where it will stop. A vote for this bill is a frontal assault on our Constitution and the protections that it gives to the American people." On June 7, 2006 the House of Representatives proposed a roll call of 230 on a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill. There were 379 yeas, 35 nays, and 18 withheld votes. Text The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 reads as follows: One Hundred Ninth Congress of the United States of America AT THE SECOND SESSION Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, the third day of January, two thousand and six An Act To increase the penalties for violations by television and