Cite as: 512 U. S. 622 (1994)
Opinion of Kennedy, J.
nomic health of local broadcasting is in genuine jeopardy and in need of the protections afforded by must-carry. Assuming an affirmative answer to the foregoing question, the Government still bears the burden of showing that the remedy it has adopted does not "burden substantially more speech than is necessary to further the government's legitimate interests." Ward, 491 U. S., at 799. On the state of the record developed thus far, and in the absence of findings of fact from the District Court, we are unable to conclude that the Government has satisfied either inquiry.
In defending the factual necessity for must-carry, the Government relies in principal part on Congress' legislative finding that, absent mandatory carriage rules, the continued viability of local broadcast television would be "seriously jeopardized." § 2(a)(16). See Brief for Federal Appellees 31-32. The Government contends that this finding, though predictive in nature, must be accorded great weight in the First Amendment inquiry, especially when, as here, Congress has sought to "address the relationship between two technical, rapidly changing, and closely interdependent industries—broadcasting and cable." Id., at 30.
We agree that courts must accord substantial deference to the predictive judgments of Congress. See, e. g., Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee, 412 U. S., at 103 (The "judgment of the Legislative Branch" should not be ignored "simply because [appellants] cas[t] [their] claims under the umbrella of the First Amendment"). Sound policymaking often requires legislators to forecast future events and to anticipate the likely impact of these events based on deductions and inferences for which complete empirical support may be unavailable. See FCC v. National Citizens Comm. for Broadcasting, supra, at 814; FPC v. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp., 365 U. S. 1, 29 (1961). As an institution, moreover, Congress is far better equipped than the judiciary to "amass and evaluate the vast amounts of data" bearing upon an issue as complex and
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