"The FCC says this is a modest compromise, but make no mistake, this is a big deal. When nearly half of the people in this country are told that in their cities and towns the media will get the green light to consolidate, they will not be happy," Dorgan said. "The proposal would also create a greatly relaxed approval process for newspapers to buy T.V. stations in any U.S. media market and spur a new wave of media consolidation in both large and small media markets." Dorgan is introducing a "resolution of disapproval" in the Senate, which prevents the FCC from implementing new rules allowing companies to own and dominate the programming for both a community's newspaper and broadcast station. Despite the fact that the Senate Commerce Committee had unanimously reported out the Media Ownership Act of 2007, which said the FCC should delay this vote until the agency knew more about the effects on localism and diversity of station ownership, the FCC still moved forward with its vote.

(More info from December FCC-related blogs here and here.)

A legislative veto or "Congressional motion of disapproval" is a privileged motion (no amendments) which, must be passed within 60 legislative days, and can only be used against major rules. A similar motion passed the Senate but not the House after the FCC's 2003 weakening of the rules that was later overturned by the courts anyway. Since the legislative veto process became law as part of the Gingrich-era so-called "Contract with America," it has only been used successfully once, in a corporate campaign against OSHA rules to protect workers from ergonomics injuries. Maybe this time we can use it in teh public interest.