WASHINGTON--A congressional panel has approved legislation to increase the maximum penalty for broadcast indecency from $27,500 to $275,000 per violation.

Baptist Press reports the House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet passed the new legislation, which was sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

A recent Gallup poll found 58 percent of Americans are offended by profanity or curse words, 58 percent are offended by sexual content and 52 percent are offended by homosexuality on television. Another 61 percent are offended by TV violence.

The infamous Super Bowl halftime show spurred the decency debate as the baring of Janet Jackson's breast on national TV released a deluge of criticism from many Americans and legislators and the Federal Communications Commission.

Upton called his proposal a "tough bill which, if enacted, would help clean up our airwaves, no doubt about it."

"It's just that, regrettably, the current ‘race to the bottom' in the entertainment industry has made it an all but impossible task for parents" to limit exposure children have to questionable material, Upton said in a written statement. "They should be able to rely on the fact that--at times when their children are likely to be tuning in--broadcast television and radio programming will be free of indecency, obscenity and profanity."

The Bush administration has endorsed Upton's bill.