[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 11, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TELEVISION VIEWER PROTECTION ACT OF 2019

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 10, 2019

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5035. I thank the 
leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee and Communications and 
Technology Subcommittee for reaching this bipartisan agreement.
  This bill includes important consumer protections based on my bill, 
the TRUE Fees Act, that will provide consumers with an ``all-in'' price 
before a consumer signs up for cable or satellite TV. This includes all 
fees and taxes. The bill also gives consumers 24 hours to cancel 
without penalty.
  The average consumer pays $450 a year in opaque and confusing 
company-imposed fees on their cable bill (excluding taxes), according 
to Consumer Reports. This is a game of bait and switch and this 
legislation ends it.
  As is the nature of a compromise, not all of the protections from my 
TRUE Fees Act were included, but the legislation takes an important 
step forward in providing consumers with transparency.
  Another provision of H.R. 5035 empowers groups of small cable 
operators to negotiate better prices for consumers and decreases the 
likelihood of broadcast blackouts. This is something Mr. Scalise and I 
championed in our bipartisan Modern Television Act. It is important 
because large broadcaster networks take advantage of small cable 
operators during negotiations, leading to increased costs for 
consumers. Worse, stalemates in negotiations cause broadcast blackouts.
  While I'm pleased we're taking this important step, I also hope our 
Committee will revisit the issue of broader reforms to the video 
marketplace soon. Specifically, we need to protect consumers from other 
harmful practices, such as broadcast blackouts, and modernize outdated 
laws and regulations that hurt consumers in their wallets. Mr. Scalise 
and I propose such reforms in our bill H.R. 3994, the Modern Television 
Act.
  So far this year, broadcasters have caused nearly 300 blackouts, 
which is a record and more than double the number from five years 
prior. Furthermore, cable and satellite companies paid over $11 billion 
in retransmission consent fees so far this year, which is also double 
from five years prior. Consumers are paying more than ever while 
blackouts are more frequent than ever. We must revisit these issues and 
protect consumers from blackouts and rising costs.
  I support this legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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