JANUARY 28, 2009, 1:12 P.M. ET House GOP Blocks Bill to Delay Digital TV Transition
By FAWN JOHNSON Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123316590727524977.html WASHINGTON -- House Republicans on Wednesday derailed an effort to delay until June the date when television stations must broadcast in all-digital format. House Democratic leaders brought the bill to the floor under a procedure intended for noncontroversial bills, requiring a two-thirds majority to pass. With Republican opposition, the 258-168 vote didn't meet that threshold. Democratic leaders could bring the bill back to the floor under normal voting rules requiring a simple majority, which would ensure passage. The Senate passed the same measure on a unanimous vote Monday evening. It would delay the digital transition until June 12. Without the bill, all TV stations by law must stop broadcasting their programs in analog format Feb. 17. Once TV stations turn off their analog broadcasts, people who rely on over-the-air TV won't receive signals unless they buy a digital television, a converter box, or subscribe to a cable or satellite TV service. House Republican leaders sent their members a policy statement Tuesday evening saying they oppose postponing the digital TV transition. "It will create confusion among millions of consumers who have been told for the last two years that February 17th is the date for the change," the statement said. Reps. Joe Barton and Cliff Stearns on Tuesday sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, asking her to reconsider the vote. "This is panic on the way to becoming law," the letter said. The digital TV transition hit a snag at the beginning of the year when the U.S. Commerce Department was forced to set up a waiting list for people applying for $40 coupons to offset the cost of converter boxes. An economic stimulus bill moving swiftly through Congress includes $650 million in additional money for the converter box coupon program, which will allow the Commerce Department to immediately issue coupons to all who apply. Republicans say the extra money isn't necessary because the Commerce Department has only spent half of the $1.5 billion allotted for coupon program. They say the waiting list could be eliminated more easily by waiving an accounting rule barring Commerce from sending new coupons before older, unused ones have expired. ================================================= George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923 Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927 Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3011 *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
