[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 164 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14772-S14773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SATELLITE TV ACCESS TO NETWORK PROGRAMMING

  Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I would like to make a few remarks about 
a serious problem for people in our country who do not live in our 
Nation's cities; that is, the loss of satellite TV access to network 
programming.
  We all know that modern technology has made it possible to broadcast 
TV programming directly from satellites. Nationwide, over 11 million 
households subscribe to satellite TV. That number increases by over 2 
million households every year.
  Rural areas have come to depend on network coverage that satellites 
provide.
  In my State, Montana, where over 35 percent of homes depend solely on 
satellite broadcasting for their TV reception, obviously this 
development has been a real boon.
  While satellite broadcasting has improved the quality of life for 
folks in rural America, it has not been perfect. Satellite systems have 
not been able to carry local broadcast stations. So local viewers have 
not always been able to get local broadcasting.
  This is not just a problem for satellite subscribers; it is a problem 
for local television broadcasters and for the fabric of local 
communities. Local

[[Page S14773]]

broadcasters play a key role in our communities. They provide local 
news, local weather, and public service programming.
  Viewers depend on these local broadcasts to find out what is going on 
in their community: When the school board, the PTA, and the city 
council are meeting, or when there is a parade or a fundraiser for 
their church or a civic group.
  Local broadcasters are vital to our communities. They provide jobs, 
and they allow local businesses to grow through advertising. In short, 
the importance of local broadcasting is evident in all parts of 
community life.
  Local broadcasters also provide network programming: NBC, ABC, CBS, 
and FOX. Nineteen of the 20 TV stations in Montana are affiliated with 
some of these networks or with PBS. These stations air national news, 
sports, and entertainment at times of the day when people with jobs and 
kids can watch them.
  Without local broadcasts, you might miss the evening network news 
because it comes on before you get home from work or because it airs 
late at night. People want local network coverage because it works in 
their own lives and in their local community.
  Until now, technology has not provided for rebroadcast of local 
signals by satellites. Many rural residents have not been able to get 
decent reception over the air.
  Of course, we in the Senate cannot change technology or geography, 
but what we can do is change the law. We can make local-into-local 
broadcasting a reality, and we should.

  Last spring, we passed H.R. 1554. At the time, we neglected an 
important responsibility. The language we passed would have required 
the turnoff of network programing to many rural satellite viewers. It 
would have done nothing to help the many local broadcasters in smaller 
cities and towns. It was an oversight.
  Following the vote, I wrote a letter to the conference asking they 
pay attention to the needs of the many viewers, communities, and 
stations that had been ignored. Twenty-three of my colleagues, from 
both sides of the aisle, signed the letter.
  As you know, Madam President, the conference on the satellite bill 
has paid little attention to our request. The language of the 
conference report, now titled the ``Intellectual Property and 
Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999,'' includes some important 
new provisions.
  It does allow satellite viewers in poor reception areas, the so-
called ``grade B contour'' viewers, to continue to get network 
programming from satellites. Without this, many satellite viewers will 
lose their network TV at the end of next month.
  It also includes a loan guarantee that will make it possible for all 
local stations to broadcast on satellite, not just those in the very 
largest cities and towns.
  Without this, the other local-into-local provisions of the act are an 
empty promise to rural and small town America that depends on 
satellites.
  Last week, the House passed the conference language by a near 
unanimous vote. But in the Senate, a few Members--and I might say, on 
the other side of the aisle--are blocking a vote on this conference 
report. They say: We promise to have more hearings. We should have 
another committee look at this.
  They might as well say: Let them watch the radio.
  The Senate should act now to ensure that the conference report 
language becomes law. It is clear the majority of the Senate is ready 
to vote to approve the measure, just as the House did. Instead, we are 
offered a weakened version attached to the omnibus appropriations bill, 
which we will get sometime soon, and a weak promise to do something 
next year.
  This is a no-brainer. There are many people in rural America who 
would like to add satellite TV, network programming from their local 
stations. It is that simple. We have it within our power today to very 
simply pass a provision and provide for the financing, a loan 
guarantee. We all know it is going to pass. We all know we are going to 
do it. But there is one Senator who wants it in his committee. And I 
say, that one Senator represents a State where there are a lot of 
people who I think want local-into-local broadcasting from the 
satellites.
  There are millions of Americans who depend on their satellites and 
want local network coverage--not national network coverage--or at least 
the option to get both local and national.
  This is a no-brainer. I get more mail on this subject than any other 
subject. I daresay, Madam President, you probably get a lot of mail on 
this subject, too. I know a lot of Senators probably get as much mail 
on this one subject as any other. And we can simply solve it today very 
easily. It makes no sense for us not to.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.

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