Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on a decision by the Federal Communications Commission that will support diversity in media by continuing an application period for FM translators exclusively for AM radio stations. FM translators allow AM radio stations to expand their broadcast area.

Congresswoman Clarke, with eleven of her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, sent a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler on September 2, 2015 asking the agency to maintain  exclusive application periods for AM radio stations that want to obtain FM translators.

“AM radio stations, which have relatively low barriers to entry, have historically presented invaluable opportunities for African American and Latino entrepreneurs who want to become involved in media, as well as listeners in communities of color who have access to information and entertainment relevant to them. Access to FM translators provides a critical resource for AM radio stations that want to expand the size of their audience. We have a shared responsibility to increase diversity in our media, to which we will contribute by continuing to offer AM radio stations exclusive access to applications for some FM translators,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who as a member of both the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Small Business Committee has also worked to increase the participation of diverse small business owners in the market for broadcast spectrum.

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives, a member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as the Committee on Ethics and the Committee of Small Business. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.