Senate OKs CAMRA

This fall, US Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is facing a tough election to hang on to his seat. Now, it appears the junior Senator from Pennsylvania may lose the support of gamers wary of federal intervention.

Santorum recently issued a press release announcing that the Senate has approved the Children Media Research and Advancement Act (CAMRA). If made law, the act, which is cosponsored by Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Hillary Clinton (D-NY), will task the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with examining "the impact of electronic media on children."

The study will focus on the psychological effect of video games on American teenagers. It was passed at the end of last week at the same time the games press was dominated by news of the Nintendo Wii's price, release date, and multimedia functionality.

"As the father of six children, I am very pleased that the CAMRA Act has passed the Senate," Santorum said in a statement. "This legislation will authorize new research that will provide a better understanding of the power of media--both positive and negative--on our nation's youth. Parents and policymakers will be able to use this information to make healthy and productive choices for our children."

The CAMRA act was first introduced in May 2004, nearly a year prior to the so-called "Hot Coffee" Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sex-minigame scandal. A revised version was resubmitted to the Senate in 2005. It must still be passed by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives to become law.