Is Congress going to introduce a bill calling for the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine? Dark predictions continue to emanate from various experts auguring an attempt to revive it. But according to the Library of Congress' Thomas guide on Congressional action, the only active Fairness Doctrine-related bills in the House and Senate would bar the FCC from ever bringing the policy back again.

Some lawmaker out there is obviously interested in the Doctrine, though, because the Congressional Research Service has recently published an analysis (PDF) of the regulation's history and prospects, one that recently showed up on Wikileaks. What does it conclude? Its main findings can't be encouraging to pro-Fairness Doctrine schemers lurking around the corridors of Capitol Hill.

"Any attempt to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine likely would be met with a constitutional challenge," the study warns. "Whether a newly instituted Fairness Doctrine would survive constitutional scrutiny remains an open question." One thing is for sure-wherever you stand on this controversial question, this report is one of the best summaries of the issue available on the Web.