[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 197 (Tuesday, December 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H9960-H9961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TELEVISION VIEWER PROTECTION ACT OF 2019

  Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5035) to amend the Communications Act 
of 1934 to extend expiring provisions relating to the retransmission of 
signals of television broadcast stations, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5035

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Television Viewer Protection 
     Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.

       Section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
     325(b)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``December 31, 2019'' 
     and inserting ``the expiration date, if any, described in 
     section 119(h) of title 17, United States Code''; and
       (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ``until January 1, 
     2020,'' each place it appears.

     SEC. 3. SATISFACTION OF GOOD FAITH NEGOTIATION REQUIREMENT BY 
                   MULTICHANNEL VIDEO PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTORS.

       (a) Satisfaction of Good Faith Negotiation Requirement.--
     Section 325(b)(3)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) is amended--
       (1) in clause (iv), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
     semicolon;
       (2) in clause (v), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(vi) not later than 90 days after the date of the 
     enactment of the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019, 
     specify that--
       ``(I) a multichannel video programming distributor may 
     satisfy its obligation to negotiate in good faith under 
     clause (iii) with respect to a negotiation for retransmission 
     consent under this section with a large station group by 
     designating a qualified MVPD buying group to negotiate on its 
     behalf, so long as the qualified MVPD buying group itself 
     negotiates in good faith in accordance with such clause;
       ``(II) it is a violation of the obligation to negotiate in 
     good faith under clause (iii) for the qualified MVPD buying 
     group to disclose the prices, terms, or conditions of an 
     ongoing negotiation or the final terms of a negotiation to a 
     member of the qualified MVPD buying group that is not 
     intending, or is unlikely, to enter into the final terms 
     negotiated by the qualified MVPD buying group; and
       ``(III) a large station group has an obligation to 
     negotiate in good faith under clause (ii) with respect to a 
     negotiation for retransmission consent under this section 
     with a qualified MVPD buying group.''.
       (b) Definitions.--Section 325(b)(7) of the Communications 
     Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(7)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; and'' and 
     inserting a semicolon;
       (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) `qualified MVPD buying group' means an entity that, 
     with respect to a negotiation with a large station group for 
     retransmission consent under this section--
       ``(i) negotiates on behalf of two or more multichannel 
     video programming distributors--
       ``(I) none of which is a multichannel video programming 
     distributor that serves more than 500,000 subscribers 
     nationally; and
       ``(II) that do not collectively serve more than 25 percent 
     of all households served by a multichannel video programming 
     distributor in any single local market in which the 
     applicable large station group operates; and
       ``(ii) negotiates agreements for such retransmission 
     consent--
       ``(I) that contain standardized contract provisions, 
     including billing structures and technical quality standards, 
     for each multichannel video programming distributor on behalf 
     of which the entity negotiates; and
       ``(II) under which the entity assumes liability to remit to 
     the applicable large station group all fees received from the 
     multichannel video programming distributors on behalf of 
     which the entity negotiates;
       ``(D) `large station group' means a group of television 
     broadcast stations that--
       ``(i) are directly or indirectly under common de jure 
     control permitted by the regulations of the Commission;
       ``(ii) generally negotiate agreements for retransmission 
     consent under this section as a single entity; and
       ``(iii) include only television broadcast stations that 
     have a national audience reach of more than 20 percent;
       ``(E) `local market' has the meaning given such term in 
     section 122(j) of title 17, United States Code; and
       ``(F) `multichannel video programming distributor' has the 
     meaning given such term in section 602.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 325(b) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by inserting ``and'' after ``1992,''; and
       (B) by striking ``, and the term `local market' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 122(j) of such title''; 
     and
       (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ``(as defined in 
     section 122(j) of title 17, United States Code)'' each place 
     it appears.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section, 
     and the regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications 
     Commission under such amendments, shall not take effect 
     before January 1 of the calendar year after the calendar year 
     in which this Act is enacted.

     SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CHARGES FOR COVERED 
                   SERVICES.

       (a) In General.--Part IV of title VI of the Communications 
     Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 551 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
     the end the following:

     ``SEC. 642. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CHARGES FOR COVERED 
                   SERVICES.

       ``(a) Consumer Rights in Sales.--
       ``(1) Right to transparency.--Before entering into a 
     contract with a consumer for the provision of a covered 
     service, a provider of a covered service shall provide the 
     consumer, by phone, in person, online, or by other reasonable 
     means, the total monthly charge for the covered service, 
     whether offered individually or as part of a bundled service, 
     selected by the consumer (explicitly noting the amount of any 
     applicable promotional discount reflected in such charge and 
     when such discount will expire), including any related 
     administrative fees, equipment fees, or other charges, a good 
     faith estimate of any tax, fee, or charge imposed by the 
     Federal Government or a State or local government (whether 
     imposed on the provider or imposed on the consumer but 
     collected by the provider), and a good faith estimate of any 
     fee or charge that is used to recover any other assessment 
     imposed on the provider by the Federal Government or a State 
     or local government.
       ``(2) Right to formal notice.--A provider of a covered 
     service that enters into a contract described in paragraph 
     (1) shall, not later than 24 hours after entering into the 
     contract, send the consumer, by email, online link, or other 
     reasonably comparable means, a copy of the information 
     described in such paragraph.
       ``(3) Right to cancel.--A provider of a covered service 
     that enters into a contract described in paragraph (1) shall 
     permit the consumer to cancel the contract, without paying 
     early cancellation fees or other disconnection fees or 
     penalties, during the 24-hour period beginning when the 
     provider of the covered service sends the copy required by 
     paragraph (2).
       ``(b) Consumer Rights in e-billing.--If a provider of a 
     covered service provides a bill to a consumer in an 
     electronic format, the provider shall include in the bill--
       ``(1) an itemized statement that breaks down the total 
     amount charged for or relating to the provision of the 
     covered service by the amount charged for the provision of 
     the service itself and the amount of all related taxes, 
     administrative fees, equipment fees, or other charges;
       ``(2) the termination date of the contract for the 
     provision of the covered service entered into between the 
     consumer and the provider; and
       ``(3) the termination date of any applicable promotional 
     discount.
       ``(c) Consumer Rights to Accurate Equipment Charges.--A 
     provider of a covered service or fixed broadband internet 
     access service may not charge a consumer for--
       ``(1) using covered equipment provided by the consumer; or
       ``(2) renting, leasing, or otherwise providing to the 
     consumer covered equipment if--
       ``(A) the provider has not provided the equipment to the 
     consumer; or
       ``(B) the consumer has returned the equipment to the 
     provider, except to the extent that the charge relates to the 
     period beginning on the date when the provider provided the 
     equipment to the consumer and ending on the date when the 
     consumer returned the equipment to the provider.
       ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
     `broadband internet access service' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, or any successor regulation.
       ``(2) Covered equipment.--The term `covered equipment' 
     means equipment (such as a router) employed on the premises 
     of a person (other than a provider of a covered service or 
     fixed broadband internet access service) to provide a

[[Page H9961]]

     covered service or to provide fixed broadband internet access 
     service.
       ``(3) Covered service.--The term `covered service' means 
     service provided by a multichannel video programming 
     distributer, to the extent such distributor is acting as a 
     multichannel video programming distributor.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--Section 642 of the Communications Act 
     of 1934, as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall 
     apply beginning on the date that is 6 months after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act. The Federal Communications 
     Commission may grant an additional 6-month extension if the 
     Commission finds that good cause exists for such an 
     additional extension.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Michael F. Doyle) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. 
Walden) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise 
and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5035.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Television Viewer Protection Act will help ensure 
that millions of Americans, including nearly 1 million satellite 
television customers, will not lose access to broadcast television 
content.
  It is important we get this legislation passed and to the President's 
desk before the end of the year. I urge our colleagues in the Senate to 
take this bill up and move it through their Chamber as quickly as 
possible.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 5035, the Television 
Viewer Protection Act, and I commend my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle for the bipartisan work we have done on this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I urge all our 
colleagues to support this very important bill. I thank my friend for 
his cooperation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Michael F. Doyle) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5035, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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