[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 1 (Thursday, January 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S125-S126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. ALLARD:
S. 124. A bill to provide certain counties with the ability to
receive television broadcast signals of their choice; to the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, another piece of legislation that I am
introducing today addresses an issue important to citizens of southern
Colorado.
[[Page S126]]
The problem is this: cable and satellite subscribers in two southern
Colorado counties are forced by current law to receive New Mexico
television stations. Lately, I hear almost every day from my
constituents that they would prefer to receive Colorado television over
New Mexico television.
The problem stems from the fact that these two Colorado counties are
located in the Albuquerque designated market area, as determined by
Nielsen Media Research. As a matter of fairness, citizens of Colorado
should be eligible to receive Colorado TV. Consumers should choose
which television stations they receive, especially since they are the
ones paying for it.
The bill I am introducing does just that. It makes a commonsense
change to the law that allows citizens of La Plata and Montezuma
Counties to receive television stations from Denver, not Albuquerque.
I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this bill that
is nearly identical to laws enacted in previous Congresses that
addressed similar problems in other States.
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