The election-year political no-brainer of raising fines for broadcast indecency sailed through the Senate Monday (June 21).

The bill, which raises the maximum fine the Federal Communications Commission can levy on broadcasters found guilty of airing indecent material to $275,000, passed by a 99-1 margin, the AP reports. Only Louisiana Sen. John Breaux, a Democrat who's retiring at the end of this year, voted against it.

Earlier this year, the House passed a bill raising the maximum fine to $500,000; the differences will be worked out in conference. The Senate version also delays implementation of the FCC's relaxed media-ownership rules, something the House bill does not do.

Both bills are an effort to give the FCC more muscle when it comes to enforcing indecency rules. The current maximum fine is only $32,500 per incident for broadcasters and $11,000 for performers. The new legislation would fine performers the same amount as the owners of broadcast licenses.

The passage of the Senate measure represents "a clear statement by the Senate that they are deeply troubled by the growing indecency over the airways," says Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican who sponsored the bill.

The bills were introduced in January at the behest of FCC Chairman Michael Powell and became a cause celebre soon thereafter, thanks to Janet Jackson's bared breast at the Super Bowl.