[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 125 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PREVENTING CUTOFFS OF SATELLITE TV SERVICE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I have heard from scores of Vermonters 
lately who are steaming mad. They have been told by their home 
satellite signal providers they are going to lose some of their home 
network satellite channels just as the new TV season starts. They have 
every right to be upset, because it is within the ability of Congress 
to unmuddle the mess that satellite viewers are facing. The public has 
every reason to expect Congress to get its act together to do that, and 
to do it quite promptly.
  Under a court order, thousands of viewers, many of them living in my 
home State of Vermont, are going to be cut off from receiving TV 
stations. These are TV stations, incidentally, that they are paying to 
receive. We have 65,000 home satellite dishes in Vermont. The court 
order directly affects only those subscribers who signed up for service 
after March 11, 1997, but most subscribers are being warned by the 
signal providers they are going to soon lose several of the network 
channels they now receive, several of the network channels they 
expected to receive, several of the network channels they are paying to 
receive.
  In a rural State like mine, there are many, many areas where the only 
way you can receive television is by satellite dish. This huge policy 
glitch is intruding right now into hundreds of thousands of homes 
throughout the country. It is a royal mess, and Congress and the FCC 
need to fix it.
  I introduced a bill in March of this year with Chairman Hatch of the 
Judiciary Committee so we could try to resolve this issue before it 
became a major problem. We have tried since then to push Congress to 
find a solution. But many viewers have lost their signals already. We 
are trying to get these bills passed in the next couple of weeks to 
restore service and to keep other households from losing their 
satellite TV signals, not just in Vermont but in every State in this 
country.
  I am pleased Senator Hatch and I have worked out arrangements with 
the chairman of the Commerce Committee and other Senators who have been 
active on this issue, including Senators DeWine and Kohl, and what we 
have worked out significantly raises the prospect that Congress can 
soon pass a bill to prevent the cutoff of thousands of viewers this 
month and in October. The good news is that we hope and believe that 
all Senators can support our approach.
  Our legislation would keep signals available to Vermonters and 
subscribers in other States until the FCC has a chance to address these 
issues by the end of next February. Our legislation will direct the FCC 
to address this problem for the future. In fact, our proposal 
ultimately will mean, as technology advances, that Vermonters will be 
able to receive satellite TV for all Vermont full-power TV stations, 
and viewers in other States will be similarly protected. Where this 
helps all of us is that this effort will eventually promote head-to-
head competition between cable and satellite TV providers.
  The goal is to provide satellite TV viewers at home in Vermont with 
more choices, more channel selections, and at lower rates. The evidence 
is so clear from our hearings: In the areas of the country where there 
is full competition between cable providers, rates to customers are 
considerably lower. The same is going to be true when there is greater 
effective competition between cable providers and satellite signal 
providers. Over time, the effort will permit satellite TV providers to 
offer a full selection of local TV channels to viewers--even those 
living near Burlington, VT, where local signals are now blocked.
  I live about 25 miles from Burlington. I get 1\1/2\ channels. There 
are three stations, three network stations, in Burlington. But because 
I am out on the side of a mountain, I get 1\1/2\ channels. Under the 
rules they are talking about, I would not be allowed to get satellite 
TV to have those same networks. It is ridiculous. It defies reality. 
But our legislation will cure that.
  Under current law, those families have to get their local TV systems 
over an antenna. If their situation is like mine, it does not give you 
a clear picture. These bills we now have before us will remove that 
legal limitation that prohibits satellite carriers from offering local 
TV signals to viewers.
  What we want is this: That over time, satellite carriers will have to 
follow the rules that cable providers have to follow, which means they 
will have to carry, in our case, all local Vermont TV stations--and the 
same in other States. In addition, Vermont stations will be available 
over satellite to many areas in Vermont like my own that today are 
unserved by satellite or by cable. And the second major improvement 
offered through our legislation is satellite carriers that offer local 
Vermont channels in their mix of programs will be able to reach 
Vermonters throughout our State.
  People who have spent money on satellite dishes do not know how this 
thing could become as fouled up as it is. Frankly, I do not either. But 
I do know that we can correct it, and our legislation will. It is time 
for this Congress to step up to the plate and solve this policy 
nightmare. It is now at the door of countless homes, not only in 
Vermont but throughout the country. Constituents should know they 
should not have to take, ``Well, not now,'' as an acceptable answer. We 
have plenty time left in this Congress to correct this.
  I commend Senators Hatch and McCain for the leadership they have 
shown in solving this problem. I am going to continue working with them 
and I think we are going to get somewhere. I certainly hope we are 
going to get somewhere, because I don't want to have to tell my 
neighbors that the Congress has so much time for so many other things 
but cannot take some time to fix something that directly affects so 
many hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country.

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