Feingold said he was honored to meet with the PAC Leadership Council and said that as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he was in a position to address several of the issues that are important to the Guild and its members. Feingold said the Committee, which has jurisdiction in such areas as copyright protection and content control, has been so focused on the fight against terrorism that other priorities have not received the attention they need and he is seeking to change that. "Directors don't, in my mind, get the attention they used to," Feingold said. "I think what you do is very important for not only our culture but our economy and there's no doubt in my mind that anybody who pays attention to what drives Americans and their interests knows it as well."

In his Senate career, Senator Feingold is an independent voice for Wisconsin, a defender of privacy and personal freedoms, and an advocate for fiscal discipline in Congress and campaign finance reform. Senator Feingold served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1982 until 1992, when he won his Senate seat. Senator Feingold serves on four Senate committees, including Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Budget and Intelligence.

Senator Feingold said he opposes unnecessary tax cuts which contribute to budget deficits. At the same time, he acknowledged that legislation such as the American Jobs Creation Act, federal tax legislation passed in 2004, which included a DGA supported tax incentive for film and television producers, is necessary to prevent the economic erosion of the industry. "I've always felt that a tax incentive or a tax break that actually encourages jobs to stay here, as opposed to being moved overseas, is a wise move." Feingold said he would be supportive of more legislation along those lines, and noted that Wisconsin passed a production incentive bill this year.

Media consolidation remains another top concern to the Senator who noted that the FCC recently announced that it would launch a new review of media ownership limits, potentially allowing further consolidation through deregulation. Senator Feingold said he continued to worry that any decline in independent outlets and voices posed a threat not only to the media as a business but to American culture and democracy. "I understand you have similar concerns and you can see me as a friend and someone who would be concerned about too much concentration in few hands in a way that would be detrimental both to the economy of your business and to diversity and creativity," said Feingold. "I believe there is a real chance to ask tough questions and prevent, legislatively, further consolidation."

As for piracy protection, Senator Feingold said he was "open to the possibility" of enacting legislation to require a "broadcast flag" to protect copyrighted works when they are digitally broadcast. Feingold said he was considering the matter, as well as the broader issue of piracy's impact on artists' economic future. "The possibility that creativity could be stifled because someone doesn't have any assurance at all that they're going to be protected is a very real concern that worries me a lot," he said. Feingold separately stressed his track record as a defender of First Amendment rights and his general opposition to governmental restrictions on content in film, television and other media. Feingold said, "I don't like the idea of Washington deciding what people should hear or what they shouldn't hear."

Feingold also took a few minutes to express his belief that directors are helping the nation deal with the horrors of the Sept. 11 attacks by tackling the issue through film and television projects. "How does a culture come to grips - emotionally, psychologically, intellectually - with such a monumental event as 9/11 without having directors and moviemakers and others help us grasp it?"