[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1701-1712]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             DTV DELAY ACT

  Mr. BOUCHER. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 328) to postpone the DTV transition date, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``DTV Delay Act''.

     SEC. 2. POSTPONEMENT OF DTV TRANSITION DATE.

       (a) In General.--Section 3002(b) of the Digital Television 
     Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 (47 U.S.C. 309 note) 
     is amended--
       (1) by striking ``February 18, 2009;'' in paragraph (1) and 
     inserting ``June 13, 2009;''; and
       (2) by striking ``February 18, 2009,'' in paragraph (2) and 
     inserting ``that date''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Section 3008(a)(1) of that Act (47 U.S.C. 309 note) is 
     amended by striking ``February 17, 2009.'' and inserting 
     ``June 12, 2009.''.
       (2) Section 309(j)(14)(A) of the Communications Act of 1934 
     (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(14)(A)) is amended by striking ``February 
     17, 2009.'' and inserting ``June 12, 2009.''.
       (3) Section 337(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 337(e)(1)) is amended by striking ``February 17, 
     2009.'' and inserting ``June 12, 2009.''.
       (c) License Terms.--
       (1) Extension.--The Federal Communications Commission shall 
     extend the terms of the licenses for the recovered spectrum, 
     including the license period and construction requirements 
     associated with those licenses, for a 116-day period.
       (2) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``recovered 
     spectrum'' means--
       (A) the recovered analog spectrum, as such term is defined 
     in section 309(j)(15)(C)(vi) of the Communications Act of 
     1934; and
       (B) the spectrum excluded from the definition of recovered 
     analog spectrum by subclauses (I) and (II) of such section.

     SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER BOX 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Extension of Coupon Program.--Section 3005(c)(1)(A) of 
     the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 
     2005 (47 U.S.C. 309 note) is amended by striking ``March 31, 
     2009,'' and inserting ``July 31, 2009,''.
       (b) Treatment of Expired Coupons.--Section 3005(c)(1) of 
     the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 
     2005 (47 U.S.C. 309 note) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(D) Expired coupons.--The Assistant Secretary may issue 
     to a household, upon request by the household, one 
     replacement coupon for each coupon that was issued to such 
     household and that expired without being redeemed.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 3005(c)(1)(A) of the 
     Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 
     (47 U.S.C. 309 note) is amended by striking ``receives, via 
     the United States Postal Service,'' and inserting 
     ``redeems''.
       (d) Condition of Modifications.--The amendments made by 
     this section shall not take effect until the enactment of 
     additional budget authority after the date of enactment of 
     this Act to carry out the analog-to-digital converter box 
     program under section 3005 of the Digital Television 
     Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005.

     SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION.

       (a) Permissive Early Termination Under Existing 
     Requirements.--Nothing in this Act is intended to prevent a 
     licensee of a television broadcast station from terminating 
     the broadcasting of such station's analog television signal 
     (and continuing to broadcast exclusively in the digital 
     television service) prior to the date established by law 
     under section 3002(b) of the Digital Television Transition 
     and Public Safety Act of 2005 for termination of all licenses 
     for full-power television stations in the analog television 
     service (as amended by section 2 of this Act) so long as such 
     prior termination is conducted in accordance with the Federal 
     Communications Commission's requirements in effect on the 
     date of enactment of this Act, including the flexible 
     procedures established in the Matter of Third Periodic Review 
     of the Commission's Rules and Policies Affecting the 
     Conversion to Digital Television (FCC 07-228, MB Docket No. 
     07-91, released December 31, 2007).
       (b) Public Safety Radio Services.--Nothing in this Act, or 
     the amendments made by this Act, shall prevent a public 
     safety service licensee from commencing operations consistent 
     with the terms of its license on spectrum recovered as a 
     result of the voluntary cessation of broadcasting in the 
     analog or digital television service pursuant to subsection 
     (a). Any such public safety use shall be subject to the 
     relevant Federal Communications Commission rules and 
     regulations in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, 
     including section 90.545 of the Commission's rules (47 C.F.R. 
     Sec.  90.545).
       (c) Expedited Rulemaking.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the Federal Communications Commission and 
     the National Telecommunications and Information 
     Administration shall, not later than 30 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, each adopt or revise its rules, 
     regulations, or orders or take such other actions as may be 
     necessary or appropriate to implement the provisions, and 
     carry out the purposes, of this Act and the amendments made 
     by this Act.

     SEC. 5. EXTENSION OF COMMISSION AUCTION AUTHORITY.

       Section 309(j)(11) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 309(j)(11)) is amended by striking ``2011.'' and 
     inserting ``2012.''.


[[Page 1702]]


  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Boucher) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BOUCHER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
the legislation now pending.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, today we take a highly regrettable, but necessary, 
step and delay the date for the digital television transition from the 
currently scheduled February 17 until June 12. With this delay, and the 
additional funding for the program which the stimulus measure will 
provide, we can assure a smooth transition and avoid the disruption and 
the loss of television service by millions of American homes that 
otherwise would occur.
  Yesterday, the Nielsen service that surveys and reports on television 
viewing in America reported that more than 6 million American 
households that have over-the-air dependent analog television sets are 
completely unprepared for the transition. Those homes will lose service 
if analog broadcast ends on February 17. These 6 million homes do not 
have cable or satellite subscriptions, they depend on the use of rabbit 
ears or outdoor antennas in order to receive television service 
delivered over the air.
  More than 3 million applications for converter box coupons are 
currently pending at the NTIA, and the program is currently out of 
funds. These 3 million pending coupons, therefore, cannot be honored.
  It's truly unfortunate that the situation that we now confront was 
completely avoidable, but previous action to avoid it simply was not 
taken. Many of us warned years ago, when the legislation setting the 
February 17 DTV transition date passed, that the $1.34 billion set 
aside for the coupon program for converter boxes was not sufficient. We 
pointed out that there are 70 million analog television sets in service 
in the U.S. that are over-the-air dependent. These television sets 
receive their television signals through the use of rabbit ears or 
outdoor antennas. The $1.34 billion finances converter boxes for less 
than one half that number. It simply was not realistic to assume that 
more than one-half of these 70 million sets would simply be discarded.
  The decision was consciously made at the outset that only $1.34 
billion in revenues from the 700 megahertz auction--which itself 
derived more than $20 billion in revenues--would be expended in order 
to ease this transition and assure that people do have over-the-air 
dependent analog sets could get some assistance in purchasing converter 
boxes. At the time, we were requesting a higher number. We suggested 
that approximately $2.3 billion was what was needed. And we now know 
that that number is closer to the mark of what the actual need is.
  Beyond the problem of converter boxes and inadequate funding to 
finance the coupons for them, the call centers that the Federal 
Communications Commission is charged with operating under the statute 
in order to answer inquiries from people who have problems with the 
transition--connecting their converter boxes, or doing other things 
like adjusting their antenna in order to receive a digital signal--are 
today understaffed. These call centers do not have enough personnel to 
answer the many calls that are coming into the centers at the present 
time. And that call volume will only increase as the transition date 
approaches and occurs. They are understaffed today. They will be more 
understaffed unless additional resources are provided and time is 
provided for appropriate staffing.
  And so today we have no alternative but to delay the transition date 
and provide in the stimulus measure the funding that should have been 
allocated for this program years ago. I regret the disadvantage that 
this delay will cause for the first responders and the public service 
agencies across the country that are awaiting access to portions of the 
700 megahertz spectrum now occupied by analog broadcasting which will 
be vacated when analog broadcasting ends. These first responders have 
been counting on receiving that spectrum in order to have fully 
interoperable national communications first responder agency to first 
responder agency, and that is a clear need. Their portion of the 
spectrum now will not become available until June 12 under the terms of 
this bill.
  But I would suggest, Mr. Speaker, that a far greater public service 
concern is allowing this transition to go forward at a time when 6 
million households will be completely unprepared for it. People rely 
upon over-the-air television in order to receive vital safety 
information, information about natural disasters that can affect that 
individual in that home; and that information is vital to enable people 
to prepare. Yes, we are going to delay the arrival of this spectrum by 
4 months for public safety agencies. But the far greater public safety 
concern lies in not taking this step.
  And I would note that the legislation we are proposing tonight has 
been endorsed by a variety of public service agencies that are saying 
today that it is important that this delay occur, and specifically, 
that is the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the 
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials--and these are 
the individuals directly responsible within these first responder 
agencies for their communications equipment--and also the International 
Association of Fire Chiefs.
  I also, Mr. Speaker, regret the disadvantage of this delay for the 
commercial wireless service providers who bought their portion of the 
analog spectrum for approximately $20 billion. But I would note, Mr. 
Speaker, that AT&T and Verizon, the companies that purchased most of 
the spectrum and contributed most of that $20 billion, have endorsed 
the legislation that is pending tonight and have said that this delay 
is appropriate.
  I also regret the added cost that will be imposed on the TV 
broadcasters who had planned to turn off their analog transmitters on 
February 17 and now will incur higher than expected electricity and 
transmitter maintenance costs until June of this year, but at this 
juncture we simply have no choice.
  I rise in support of the bill before the House tonight and ask 
Members to give their approval. The measure before us was approved last 
night in the Senate, and that vote was unanimous. It actually passed by 
unanimous consent, meaning that every Member of the Senate had an 
opportunity to object, and not one Senator raised an objection to this 
measure.
  In addition to changing the transition date to June 12, the bill 
directs that coupons for converter boxes be sent by first class mail 
rather than the third class mail currently used by NTIA for delivery. 
The bill makes eligible for new coupons households whose previously 
issued coupons have expired. That's an important new provision. Many 
homes requested coupons some time ago and did not redeem them within 
their stated life.
  The bill allows television stations to turn off analog broadcasts 
before June 12 in markets deemed by the FCC to be transition ready. And 
we fully anticipate that the FCC will be very flexible in applying this 
provision and will actually allow the transition to occur in markets 
prior to the 30-day period that current FCC regulations suggest the 
applications must pend before they're acted upon. We think a shorter 
time period for this would be appropriate.

                              {time}  2030

  The bill also requires NTIA to provide a monthly report to the 
Congress from this time forward on the progress with the coupon 
program.
  One final word, Mr. Speaker, before I reserve the balance of my time. 
Another delay in the digital transition beyond the one contained in 
this bill tonight will simply not occur. I will

[[Page 1703]]

strongly oppose any effort to delay the transition beyond June 12, and 
I strongly discourage anyone from requesting that another delay be 
provided. This delay is a one-time occurrence taking place for 
predictable but extraordinary reasons, and no additional delay will be 
considered in our committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, before I begin my remarks on the issue, I want to extend 
my personal heartfelt condolences to my good friend Mr. Boucher, the 
passing of his mother.
  We feel strongly for you in your loss, and our prayers are with you 
as you undergo that transition.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to Senate 328. It's a 
solution looking for a problem.
  We have had on the books since 1996 a requirement that at some point 
in time, the United States telecommunication network in terms of 
television broadcast transits from analog to digital. Under the old 
law, that transition was supposed to occur when 85 percent of the 
households in America had the ability to receive a digital signal.
  Three years ago in the Budget Reconciliation Act, we changed that to 
give a hard date of February 17, 2009. If we had not had changed the 
law, we would have already undergone the transition because 95 percent 
of America's households now can receive a digital television signal. 
But the legislation that we passed three years ago put a hard date to 
create certainty of February 17, 2009.
  Now, we know that there are some problems in the transition. Until 
several weeks ago, we were working collectively, collaboratively with 
our friends in the majority to move a bill that would tweak the 
accounting or provide an additional $250 million not in appropriations 
but in authorization for the coupon program that Mr. Boucher has spoken 
about. Then the Obama transition team, in their infinite wisdom, 
decided that they wanted a delay, and as far as I can tell, and I could 
be corrected on this, they didn't consult with any of our legislative 
experts on either side of the aisle in either body, the House or the 
Senate. They just sent up a letter or a message to the majority side 
that they wanted this delay, and those discussions that we had on a 
bipartisan basis broke down.
  We could do nothing worse than to delay this date. Now, I will admit 
that I am pleased to note that we now know that the perfect date is 
June 12. I wish I had known that 3 years ago when I was chairman of the 
committee working on this. If I had known that June 12 was the perfect 
date, we might have agreed with it. But we didn't know that. So we 
chose February 17, which was after the Super Bowl but before the 
Masters and before March Madness in NCAA. That's kind of where we 
picked this February 17 date.
  I respect totally my friend from Virginia and his facts and figures. 
He's one of the most well-informed Members of this body. But on the 
number of households that are not yet ready, the number of over-the-air 
households who don't have satellite and don't have cable is less than 1 
million. We think it's about 800,000. And all the other households are 
ready to go.
  And if you're a true conservative, you could argue that there 
shouldn't be any coupon redemption program, that people should pay out 
of their pockets.
  Now, I have a confession to make, Mr. Speaker. I'm one of those 
consumers who's not yet ready. It's not because I don't know the 
transition's not upon us. It's not because I don't want to be ready. 
It's because I just haven't got around to it. And I, quite frankly, 
have the means that if I need to, I can pay $40 out of my own pocket to 
buy a converter box.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Perriello). The time of the gentleman 
has expired.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 additional minute.
  But when we were negotiating this with our friends that were then in 
the minority, now in the majority 3 years ago, they felt like we should 
defray the cost of these converter boxes. They also felt like we 
shouldn't means test it so that a billionaire, if they wanted to, could 
get a coupon. So we've actually sent out 13\1/2\ million coupons for 14 
million over-the-air households that don't have satellite or cable. My 
guess is that most of the households that don't have these coupons are 
households like me, that for whatever reason they have chosen, they 
don't want to burden the government, they just don't feel like they 
want the hassle of asking for the coupon, whatever. I guarantee you no 
matter when you set the date, February 17, June 12, July the 4th, 
Valentine's Day, there are going to be some people that aren't ready.
  We need to keep this hard date. We need to defeat this bill under 
suspension. We need to let the February 17 date go forward, Mr. 
Speaker.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend from Texas, the ranking 
member of our Energy and Commerce Committee (Mr. Barton) for his kind 
remarks acknowledging the loss that my family has recently suffered. 
I've been away for 3 weeks. This is actually my first day back, and his 
kind remarks both here and in the markup session before our Energy and 
Commerce Committee are deeply appreciated.
  I would say, in response to the gentleman's suggestion, that the real 
number of households that would lose television service completely if 
this transition occurs on February 17 is 6 million. It is not the lower 
number that the gentleman suggested of somewhere between, I think he 
said, 750,000 and 1 million. And that 6 million number is not mine. 
That number comes from the Nielsen service. And the Nielsen company is 
perhaps, well, I don't want to say the most widely respected. I don't 
know that for a fact. But it is a widely respected national reporting 
service.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 additional minute.
  It is a widely respected national reporting service that surveys 
television viewing habits in America. And it is based on the surveys 
done by the Nielsen service that, for example, television commercial 
rates can be set. There's that level of confidence in the reporting 
that Nielsen does. And Nielsen has just reported that the number of 
homes that are unprepared constitute fully 5.7 percent of all U.S. 
households; yet the actual number is 6.5 million homes, and these are 
homes that do not have cable or satellite connections. These homes are 
completely dependent on rabbit ears or outdoor antennas and receive 
over the air only television. These are the number of families that 
would lose reception if the transition takes place as scheduled in 3 
weeks' time.
  I don't want to delay this transition any more than the gentleman 
from Texas, and the last thing I wanted to be doing this week was to be 
here on the floor advocating a delay, but we simply have no choice. We 
can't permit the level of dislocation that otherwise would occur to 
take place.
  So I do support the legislation. I think it is necessary. I think 
these are the best numbers that we're going to have available to us in 
determining how many households are truly unprepared.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to 
the ranking member of the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the Energy 
and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns).
  Mr. STEARNS. I thank my distinguished chairman, and I also give Mr. 
Boucher my condolences and sympathy on the death of his mother.
  I rise in strong opposition to this bill. And I want to tell my 
colleagues that I had the opportunity to ask President Barack Obama a 
question 3 hours ago on this very debate. And I asked him, I said, Mr. 
President, in light of the fact that you have a stimulus package that 
you're pushing and you want to create more jobs, then certainly 
broadband and digital television

[[Page 1704]]

and third and fourth generation wireless will do just that. And he 
agreed. And I said, Then why would you want to delay the transition 
when we have spent all this money, billions of dollars, to publicize 
the date? We're going to waste all this time and money, and it's going 
to create a hardship for the broadcasters and so many other people. We 
should go ahead with this transition.
  He said, Well, well.
  I said, Now, if it's a question of money, Secretary Gutierrez sent a 
letter last year indicating $250 million would take care of anything; 
so it's not a question of money.
  So the President said, Well, I agree with you, it's not a question of 
money, but it appears to be some kind of administrative or accounting 
problem that we need to fix.
  Well, I said to the President, I said, Mr. President, we had a 
demonstration project in Wilmington, North Carolina, in which we had a 
transition, and it turns out almost 99 percent of the people were 
satisfied. So the demonstration project in Wilmington, North Carolina, 
showed that we could transition back in September in Wilmington. 
Surely, we can transition February 17 in the United States.
  I liken this to a football stadium. Just bear we with me for this 
metaphor, this example. Let's say you have a large stadium with 90,000 
people in it, and it actually takes 92,000 people. Well, it turns out 
at the front door, the door is locked. By chance a nail is caught in 
the door, and there are 2,000 people, just 2,000 people out there that 
can't get into this championship game. And the coin is tossed, they're 
ready to go, the lights are there, the televisions are going, 
everybody's roaring, they're waiting for the kickoff; and suddenly they 
say we've got to stop the game because these very few people, maybe 1 
percent, maybe 1\1/2\ percent, can't get in the stadium; so we're going 
to stop the whole game because of those people. And that's what we have 
here. That is the analogy. We're delaying legislation on a very, very 
small amount. And, frankly, the demonstration in Wilmington, North 
Carolina, showed that we are ready to go.
  Mr. Obama has made it a priority to make the government work for the 
people. So now in his first decision in his administration and this 
Congress, we're saying delay, delay, delay. We're going to delay and 
put a placeholder on this, and then the consumer is going to have to 
hold off. And by delaying 115 days, we are sending, I think, the wrong 
message to the people who are trying to put this in place.
  So if you look at the players on the field, they're ready to go. All 
the stakeholders are ready to go. I urge you to defeat this.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a 
distinguished member of the full committee and the subcommittee, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).

                              {time}  2045

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I too want to congratulate Chairman Boucher 
on his ascension to the Telecommunications Subcommittee. We have had a 
great working relationship, I look forward to doing it again.
  But this is bad policy, and I am sad that you are the one who has to 
come and try to pawn it off on the American people.
  Chairman Dingell always used to talk about the takings clause, 
passing litigation and then the aspect of litigation. We have auctioned 
spectrum off. We have got small broadcasters who have people lined up 
to climb the towers, to do the transition, and we are saying, stop.
  I know what I have done in my district. I have been working for 8 
months with public service announcements, going to senior centers, 
newsletters, I have done about everything a Member can do to educate my 
individuals.
  What I did today was I asked when was income tax day enacted into 
law, 1955. Everyone knows April 15 is the day you pay your taxes. Guess 
how many people we had not pay their taxes on April 15 last year, 12 
million people, advertised, historic, annual.
  The reason why we have this provision is because of the 9/11 
Commission, the ability for the spectrum to be released for first-line 
responders to develop interoperability. Woe be it to us, Mr. Barton, 
woe be it to us, Chairman Boucher, and we have another national 
catastrophe in these next months and we have failed to enact 
interoperability and released the spectrum to first-line responders so 
they can communicate with each other.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to myself 2 minutes.
  I appreciate very much the always eloquently expressed thoughts of my 
friend from Illinois.
  Let me say in response that this legislation has been endorsed by 
some of the same groups that I have concern about and that the 
gentleman has also expressed concern about. Yes, it is true that the 
700 megahertz spectrum, large portions of it, were auctioned for 
commercial services and purchased. The two largest purchasers of that 
spectrum were AT&T and Verizon, and we have endorsements from both AT&T 
and Verizon for the legislation delaying this transition.
  It is true that other portions of the spectrum will eventually go to 
the first-responder community. And I am concerned about that community. 
We have a clear need to deploy fully interoperable telecommunications 
on a nationwide basis so that a fire department from one community can 
talk to a fire department or rescue squad or law enforcement agency 
from another community when they all converge on an event somewhere. 
Today we sadly don't have that capability, at least not fully deployed, 
and making the spectrum available will enable that to happen, and I am 
concerned about the delay.
  But I would note that this delay has been endorsed for necessary and 
sufficient reason by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 
by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, who are 
responsible for their telecommunications equipment, and by the 
International Association of Fire Chiefs. And so the very people about 
whom we are concerned have said this delay is okay.
  It is the last thing that I wanted to have to do, but we literally, 
at this point, have no choice.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
  I would like to include this report from the Nielsen Company 
indicating that 6.5 million American households will lose television 
service completely because they don't have cable or satellite service 
and are simply not ready if the transition occurs on February 17.

                 [From nielsenmedia.com, Jan. 22, 2009]

  5.7% of U.S. Households Still Unprepared for the Switch to Digital 
                               Television

       New York, NY.--More than 6.5 million U.S. households--or 
     5.7 percent of all homes--are not ready for the upcoming 
     transition to all-digital broadcasting and would be unable to 
     receive any television programming at all if the transition 
     occurred today, The Nielsen Company reported today. This is 
     an improvement of more than 1.3 million homes since Nielsen 
     reported readiness status at the end of December.

            TABLE 1.--PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE COMPLETELY UNREADY FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSITION
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                African-                         Under     Over
         Preparedness as of:             Overall      White     American    Hispanic    Asian    age 35   age 55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan. 18, 2009........................         5.7         4.6         9.9         9.7      6.9      8.8      4.0
Dec. 21, 2008........................         6.8         5.6        10.8        11.5      8.1      9.9     5.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: The Nielsen Company.


[[Page 1705]]

       Under government-mandated action, all television stations 
     are required to switch to digital programming by February 17, 
     2009, which will leave viewers without a television signal 
     unless they purchase digital television sets, connect to 
     cable, satellite, and alternate delivery systems or purchase 
     a converter box.
       Nielsen is making these estimates available as a public 
     service to the television industry, government policy-makers 
     and local communities. This information is based on the same 
     national and local television ratings samples that are used 
     to generate national and local television ratings. To conduct 
     the survey, Nielsen representatives observed and tabulated 
     the actual televisions used in its samples. Because Nielsen 
     has developed samples that reflect the total U.S. population 
     including African American and Hispanic populations, these 
     household characteristics in the samples can be projected to 
     the whole country.
       ``Nielsen has been preparing for the transition to digital 
     television for more than two years,'' said Nielsen Vice Chair 
     Susan Whiting. ``Because we recognize that accurate and 
     reliable information on consumer behavior is essential to 
     this transition, we've been sharing our data with clients, 
     government leaders and the public so they could track 
     progress to digital readiness.''
       ``There are still millions of people who will be adversely 
     affected because they are not ready for the digital 
     transition. So it's critical that we provide them with the 
     information and resources they need to stay connected with 
     the world,'' said Ernest W. Bromley, Nielsen Hispanic/Latino 
     Advisory Council (HLAC).
       ``Nielsen has played a key role in reaching out to our 
     underserved communities and helping them understand what 
     needs to be done,'' said Nita Song, Nielsen Asian Pacific 
     American Advisory Council (APAAC).
       ``It is imperative that we operate at an accelerated pace 
     to educate those who are at the greatest risk of losing their 
     television service--low-income households, large numbers of 
     senior, minority and disabled viewers. These viewers rely on 
     traditional television the most and can least afford to lose 
     their television lifelines. We have a responsibility to make 
     sure that these groups whether in our families, churches or 
     communities are equipped and ready for this transition,'' 
     said Cynthia Perkins-Roberts, Nielsen African American 
     Advisory Council (AAAC).


                         Local Market Rankings

       Among the 56 local markets that Nielsen measures with 
     electronic meters, the one that is least ready is 
     Albuquerque-Santa Fe, with 12.4% of the households completely 
     unready. The most prepared market is Hartford & New Haven, 
     with only 1.8% of homes unready.

  TABLE 2.--LEAST PREPARED LOCAL METERED MARKETS BASED ON PERCENTAGE OF
         HOUSEHOLDS CURRENTLY UNPREPARED FOR DIGITAL CONVERSION
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Percent
                                  --------------------------------------
                                    Completely   Partially    Completely
                                      ready        ready       unready
------------------------------------------------------------------------
National people meter sample.....        85.08         9.24         5.68
Local metered samples............        82.31        12.36         5.33
Albuquerque-Santa Fe.............        81.29         6.47        12.24
Dallas-Ft. Worth.................        77.39        12.40        10.21
Houston..........................        72.63        17.42         9.95
Tulsa............................        76.50        13.97         9.53
Portland, OR.....................        80.85        10.08         9.08
Salt Lake City...................        81.58         9.85         8.58
Memphis..........................        73.31        18.16         8.53
Austin...........................        80.73        10.82         8.45
Los Angeles......................        82.54         9.80         7.66
Sacramento-Stkton-Modesto........        77.04        15.63         7.33
Phoenix (Prescott)...............        77.82        14.87         7.31
Jacksonville.....................        80.89        12.09         7.02
Dayton...........................        75.14        17.98         6.88
Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-And.......        84.94         8.37         6.69
Indianapolis.....................        72.71        20.76         6.53
Milwaukee........................        73.94        19.63         6.43
San Antonio......................        77.19        16.61         6.20
Richmond-Petersburg..............        77.04        16.83         6.13
San Diego........................        84.42         9.64         5.94
Cleveland-Akron (Canton).........        81.86        12.22         5.91
Minneapolis-St. Paul.............        78.21        15.94         5.85
Kansas City......................        75.88        18.37         5.75
Seattle-Tacoma...................        85.18         9.16         5.67
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale.............        83.11        11.41         5.47
St. Louis........................        79.72        15.02         5.26
Cincinnati.......................        72.62        22.17         5.21
San Francisco-Oak-San Jose.......        89.45         5.35         5.20
Chicago..........................        82.00        12.82         5.18
Las Vegas........................        81.79        13.04         5.17
Birmingham (Ann and Tusc)........        82.91        12.23         4.86
Charlotte........................        85.50         9.72         4.79
Denver...........................        81.24        14.01         4.75
Louisville.......................        80.66        14.75         4.59
Nashville........................        81.58        14.01         4.41
Detroit..........................        83.18        12.42         4.40
Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle).......        80.47        15.15         4.38
New Orleans......................        84.14        11.51         4.35
Columbus, OH.....................        79.64        16.08         4.29
Buffalo..........................        86.04         9.69         4.27
Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota)........        89.47         6.39         4.14
Washington, DC (Hagrstwn)........        81.76        14.16         4.08
Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn.......        86.30         9.79         3.91
Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws.......        79.97        16.25         3.78
Baltimore........................        79.91        16.34         3.75
Greensboro-H.Point-W.Salem.......        85.20        11.38         3.42
Knoxville........................        84.78        12.02         3.20
Providence-New Bedford...........        83.25        13.56         3.20
Oklahoma City....................        85.62        11.31         3.07
Pittsburgh.......................        88.89         8.07         3.05
Ft. Myers-Naples.................        89.55         7.48         2.98
West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce.......        90.86         6.47         2.67
New York.........................        92.51         4.93         2.57
Boston (Manchester)..............        84.05        13.70         2.25
Philadelphia.....................        87.37        10.53         2.10
Atlanta..........................        89.66         8.31         2.02
Hartford & New Haven.............        87.91        10.34        1.76
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: The Nielsen Company.

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Would the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BOUCHER. I will be happy to yield. But to keep this absolutely 
proper, let me yield to myself an additional minute, and I am happy to 
yield to the gentleman from Illinois.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Thank you for yielding the time. I appreciate that.
  You know, I chair the E-911 Caucus, and I have worked across in a 
bipartisan basis with now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was 
on the Senate side.
  I would ask if the National Emergency Number Association, NENA, which 
is the premier association that supports first-time responders, if they 
provided a recommendation on this legislation--I see staff saying yes.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Will the gentleman permit me just one moment, please. 
The answer is the association the gentleman identified has sent a 
communication to us endorsing this delay.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Would the gentleman include that for the record?
  Mr. BOUCHER. I will be happy to include that for the record. We will 
collect whatever is appropriate and be happy to do so.
  Mr. Speaker, at this time I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to include for the 
Record a letter from the Fraternal Order of Police opposing this 
legislation.
                                                          National


                                    Fraternal Order of Police,

                                  Washington, DC, January 23, 2009
     Hon. Nancy P. Pelosi,
     Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington, 
         DC.
     Hon. John A. Boehner,
     Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Speaker Pelosi and Representative Boehner, I am 
     writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of 
     Police to express our concerns regarding S. 328, the ``DTV 
     Delay Act,'' as it relates to public safety access to 
     spectrum.
       Many of the arguments being made in favor of delaying this 
     transition were made during the consideration of the Digital 
     Transition and Public Safety Act in 2005. This is not a new 
     issue, and was first recognized in a public safety report 
     issued in September 1996. In 1997, Congress granted public 
     safety access to this portion of spectrum under Title III, 
     Section 3004 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which 
     directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to 
     authorize broadcasters currently occupying the spectrum to 
     remain there until 2006. Public safety access to this area of 
     spectrum was repeatedly pushed back until the enactment of 
     the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act in 2005, which 
     set a hard deadline of 17 February for analog broadcasters to 
     allow public safety access to 24 MHZ of spectrum on the 
     700MHz band. We are concerned that the staggered transition 
     which would result if S. 328 is signed into law may 
     jeopardize the channels that Congress promised to law 
     enforcement and other public safety officers more than a 
     decade ago.
       For public safety to use the spectrum they have been 
     promised, broadcast stations must stop analog broadcasts on 
     those channels. Broadcast stations on the adjacent channels 
     must also stop analog broadcasts to avoid interfering with 
     the public safety communications we are trying to enable. For 
     all those broadcast stations to have somewhere to go, 
     additional broadcast stations must stop their analog 
     transmission. It is this chain of events that makes the hard 
     deadline of 17 February 2009 the most realistic and 
     responsible option for clearing the spectrum for public 
     safety's use.
       While S. 328 would still allow broadcasters to voluntarily 
     transition by 17 February, subject to current FCC 
     regulations, and allow public safety to occupy this vacated 
     spectrum, unless all the surrounding broadcast stations also 
     voluntarily transition, it is unlikely anyone can move. 
     Moreover, under current FCC regulations, broadcasters 
     generally would not be permitted to transition even 
     voluntarily until three months before the delayed transition 
     date, and even then the FCC has the discretion to refuse them 
     authorization.
       The American public has asked broadcasters to take 
     difficult, time consuming, and costly steps to enable better 
     public safety communications. These broadcasters have 
     admirably risen to the call and say they are ready for 17 
     February. If this delay goes into effect, it opens the door 
     for future delays. More than a decade of work has gone by 
     since Congress authorized public safety communications to 
     expand on the spectrum, and we are very close to achieving 
     our goal. I urge you not to bring all of this progress to a 
     halt less than thirty days from the finish line.
       Thank you in advance for your consideration of the views of 
     the more than 327,000

[[Page 1706]]

     members of the Fraternal Order of Police. Our communications 
     are our lifeline and we need to know that they will function 
     properly at all times. If I can provide any additional 
     information on this matter, please do not hesitate to contact 
     me or Executive Director Jim Pasco in my Washington office.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Chuck Canterbury,
                                               National President.

  I want to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished former chairman of the 
Agriculture Committee and the current ranking member, Mr. Goodlatte.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to welcome my good friend and neighbor back to 
the House and offer my condolences as well regarding the passing of his 
mother, who I never had the opportunity to meet, but who I heard much 
about from my good friend, who is rightfully proud of her record as an 
attorney and a public office holder in his hometown of Abingdon, 
Virginia.
  I rise, however, in opposition to the legislation that is offered 
today. This is of great concern to me and to the television 
broadcasters and emergency services personnel and others in my 
district. Since the decision to switch from analog to digital 
television, there has been a massive public awareness campaign that has 
been very successful in identifying February 17 as the day of 
transition.
  This legislation, S. 328, will delay the switch, would undermine this 
transition and require another massive public outreach campaign to make 
the public aware. The American public has had almost 3 years to prepare 
for this transition for which entire industries have had to adapt, and 
the American public is ready. Forcing them to do so for what will 
essentially prove to be an arbitrary deadline will set a dangerous 
precedent that could easily lead to more delays and would likely result 
in an onslaught of lawsuits.
  Delaying access to the 700 megahertz spectrum will unfairly prevent 
those entities that have been awarded access to this bandwidth from 
having immediate access, again, something that has been planned for 
several years. This is particularly troubling when considering our 
first responders, the very individuals that we sought to aid with this 
initiative in response to the communications blunder that occurred 
during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
  Some claim that this delay will not prevent first responders from 
accessing this bandwidth, but that is simply not true. Television 
stations will have to stop broadcasting on channels that are sought for 
communications.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. I would simply ask that the remainder of my statement 
be made a part of the Record and urge my colleagues to oppose this 
legislation.
  Since the decision to switch from analog to digital television, there 
has been a massive public awareness campaign that has been very 
successful in identifying February 17 as the day of transition. This 
legislation, S. 328 will delay the switch, would undermine this 
recognition and require another massive outreach campaign to make the 
public aware.
  The American public has had almost 3 years to prepare for this 
transition, for which entire industries have had to adapt. Forcing them 
to do so for what will essentially prove to be an arbitrary deadline 
will set a dangerous precedent that could easily lead to more delays, 
and will likely result in an onslaught of lawsuits.
  Delaying access to the 700 MHz spectrum will unfairly prevent those 
entities that have been awarded access to this bandwidth from having 
immediate access--again something that has been planned for several 
years. This is particularly troubling when considering our first 
responders, the very individuals that we sought to aid with this 
initiative in response to the communications blunder that occurred 
during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Some claim that 
this delay will not prevent first responders from accessing this 
bandwidth, but that is simply not true. Television stations will have 
to stop broadcasting on channels that are sought for communications and 
neighboring channels will also have to be cleared to avoid 
interference.
  Delaying the transition will also hinder the deployment of broadband, 
something that has also been planned for years, and will unfairly limit 
the companies and consumers that plan on utilizing this type of 
broadband access.
  Furthermore, this proposed delay is being used to justify $650 
million in new spending in the proposed new economic stimulus bill. In 
a time of economic distress and budgetary disarray, increasing the debt 
to American taxpayers by hundreds of millions of dollars hardly seems 
prudent. In fact, this legislation will work against any effort to 
stimulate the economy because the economic activity and growth that 
comes with deploying new broadband technology and new emergency 
communication will be delayed.
  There are some reports that nearly 93 percent of households affected 
by this switch are already prepared, deeming this legislation excessive 
and overly burdensome.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Oregon (Mr. Walden).
  Mr. WALDEN. I thank my ranking subcommittee chairman for the time.
  Let me get right at it. The 1996 law that this law replaced said that 
when the marketplace had 85 percent of households with one television 
that could receive digital, this transition could occur.
  The law that we passed a couple of years ago said, no, we are going 
to work this a little differently. We will set a hard date, we will 
make coupons available to do all of this. Currently, 94.3 percent of 
American households have a television that receives digital or that has 
the ability to receive digital signal.
  So remember the old law that we updated said 85 percent could make 
this change today, or 94 percent. Only exclusively over-the-air homes 
without a digital division or converter box are at risk of losing all 
television service. Now, again, Nielsen, the rating service, says there 
are 3.4 million exclusively over-the-air homes, and already we have 
sent 13.5 million coupons to 13.5 million of those homes, leaving 
800,000 exclusively over-the-air households that have not yet received 
the coupons.
  Approximately 600,000 of them, however, are on the waiting list. This 
all gets down to a couple hundred thousand people. This could simple 
easily be solved by simply changing the accounting rules and allowing 
NTIA to go ahead and send out those coupons.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to include for the Record letters from 
television stations in Oregon who point out that this delay will cost 
them upwards of $1 million in added energy costs at a time when they 
are having to lay off staff who do news coverage and other things 
because now they are going to get saddled with this burden, $500,000 to 
$1 million.
                                                  January 8, 2009.
     Hon. Greg Walden,
     Longworth House Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Greg, I hope this note finds you well. This letter is 
     in reference to the possible delay of the DTV transition date 
     for broadcasters from the scheduled date of February 17, 
     2009. Changing the date at this time would unravel a 
     tremendous amount of work done by broadcasters to educate 
     consumers about DTV, and most likely do more harm than good.
       Attached find a list of issues from our Director of 
     Engineering, Karl Sargent, related to the possible change of 
     dates.
       We hope you have success in keeping the date we have all 
     been working towards, and please do not hesitate to let me 
     know if you have any questions.
           Sincerely,

                                                     Bob Wise,

                                   Vice President/General Manager,
                                                  KOBI-TV/KOTI-TV.


                      DELAY OF DIGITAL TRANSITION

       We feel the delay of the digital transition is not in the 
     best interests of the viewer, broadcaster, or country in 
     general.
       Delaying the transition will place doubt and uncertainty in 
     the mind of the public. We have been diligently informing 
     them of the positive benefits of the transition and it will 
     now place doubt in their mind that technologically, it is not 
     ready or up to its promises of improved TV performance.
       Stations have spent a lot of money in their digital 
     facilities, allowing the analog facilities to deteriorate. It 
     would be more cost to the broadcasters to now have to invest 
     money into keeping the analog transmitters operating in 
     parallel with the digital transmitters or they have to invest 
     in short-term capital to keep the transmitters running (i.e. 
     KOTI driver tube failure).
       Delaying the transition for months will not rectify the 
     public not being ready for the

[[Page 1707]]

     transition. In fact, it may make it worse. The public will 
     feel that they now have time to back off their efforts to 
     prepare. No matter when the transition takes place there are 
     going to be viewers who are not prepared.
       We need to make this transition now and get on to other 
     critical items the stations have to do. In our case it is the 
     capital improvement we still need to do to our station 
     infrastructure to convert it to full digital and HD and to 
     complete the Sprint-Nextel project.
       We don't see any positives to the transition being delayed. 
     We have been preparing for it for 5 years.
       We are very concerned that the incoming administration will 
     change the baseline rules and specifications of the digital 
     transition. That would be a disaster in both money and time 
     for both the viewers and broadcasters.
                                  ____

                                                  January 9, 2009.
     To: Congressman Greg Walden, Second District, Oregon.
     Fr: Jerry Upham, General Manager, KOHD Bend.

       Dear Congressman, I was both shocked and disappointed to 
     hear that Congress is considering delaying the implementation 
     of the digital transition for television stations. With so 
     much publicity and planning for this ``hard date,'' any 
     change would result in huge consumer confusion, and give the 
     indication that there really is no hard deadline. In 
     addition, millions of consumers will feel like they were 
     incorrectly advised--in a tough economic time--to spend money 
     now to be able to receive their television signals.
       At Chambers Communications, we've spent millions of dollars 
     for this digital transition, and, in the case of KOHD, 
     launched the station in 2006 with an exclusively digital 
     signal. The decision to launch without a full power analog 
     signal was made due to this upcoming deadline. KOHD has gone 
     without an analog signal, and has sacrificed analog viewers 
     during this time. If the deadline is pushed back, this will 
     only extend the station's analog deficiency. Had we had an 
     indication that this deadline would be extended, the company 
     may have made a different decision with regard to an analog 
     signal.
       Please urge Congress not to extend this deadline, as both 
     the private television sector and the public will be severely 
     negatively affected by this decision.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Jerry Upham,
     KOHD General Manager.
                                  ____

                                                  January 9, 2009.
       Congressman Walden, thanks for including local 
     broadcasters.
       (1.) Tower lease agreements will have to be extended to 
     continue to provide some outlying areas with analog.
       (2.) We'll have to continue to operate two transmitters. 
     (a.) Increase cost (b.) More energy consumption.
       (3.) February ratings moved to March, making March non-
     useable.
       (4.) People not ready today won't be ready in 3, 6 or 9 
     months unless forced to change because of the end of analog 
     service.
       (5.) All our efforts to inform the public for nothing and 
     more confusion. If we change the date once, what's to say we 
     don't change it again?
       (6.) No credibility with the public.
       (7.) Angry people who have already purchased new TVs, 
     converter boxes or subscribed to cable or satellite adding 
     extra expense.
       I get the political road the new administration is 
     following, but to change would only prolong the pain.
           Thank you,

                                         Christopher T. Gallu,

                                                  General Manager,
     NPG of Oregon, Inc.
                                  ____

                                                  January 9, 2009.
     Hon. Greg Walden,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Walden: I strongly urge Congress to resist 
     changing the digital transition date of February 17, 2009. 
     Broadcasters around the country have been mandated by the FCC 
     to provide unprecedented promotion and news coverage of this 
     important date. Millions of Americans have responded with 
     obtaining coupons, calling broadcasters for information and 
     preparing for this important milestone in the broadcasting 
     industry. To delay implementation at this late juncture will 
     most certainly confuse the American public even further. In 
     addition, millions of consumers will feel they were misled 
     and incorrectly advised, during these tough economic times, 
     to spend money now to be able to receive their television 
     signals. In addition, this will put an extra burden on 
     broadcasters in the form of additional power usage for 
     transmitters and man power.
       Chambers Communications has invested millions of dollars 
     for the digital transition and countless man-hours in its 
     implementation and preparation for the Feb. 17 cut-off. I 
     urge you to rebuff attempts to extend the deadline at this 
     late date.
           Sincerely,

                                             Renard N. Maiuri,

                                                  General Manager,
     KDRV/KDKF TV.
                                  ____

                                                  January 8, 2009.
     Congressman Greg Walden,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Walden, I am writing to implore you to 
     retain the digital transition date of February 17, 2009, for 
     which we have been planning and preparing.
       At the beginning of the transition, I was not in favor of a 
     hard shut-off deadline, preferring that the market decide 
     when analog was no longer needed. However, now that we have 
     committed hundreds of hours of time to prepare for this 
     change, invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to enable 
     us to change, and literally broadcast thousands of 
     announcements, all focused on this date, I believe that 
     changing would be a mistake.
       The key to successful implementation of any change, 
     including a historic change such as this one, is 
     communication. The efforts of local broadcasters to inform 
     the viewers have reached beyond news stories, announcements, 
     and crawls over programming, to in-person demonstrations, 
     community talks, and talking to callers to walk through the 
     unique needs for their location in their individual 
     situation.
       Broadcast television is my livelihood, so I don't take this 
     position lightly. If this transition fails, and viewers lose 
     access to free-over-the-air-TV, it will damage our ability to 
     broadcast to the communities we are licensed to serve. Our 
     best chance to succeed is to stick with this heavily promoted 
     date, and trust that we will do whatever it takes to insure 
     that all of our viewers are not left behind in the digital 
     age.
           Sincerely,

                                              Kingsley Kelley,

                                                  General Manager,
     KTLV-TV.
                                  ____

                                                 February 8, 2009.
     Hon. Greg Walden,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Walden: I am deeply concerned and shocked 
     that some in the Congress are considering delaying the 
     nationwide DTV transition that is scheduled for February 17, 
     2009. I understand the concern given that the distribution of 
     coupons has been suspended and those still wishing to receive 
     a coupon have been put on a waiting list pending the 
     authorization of additional funds. I urge you and other 
     members of Congress to push for legislation that would 
     immediately provide the necessary funds to fulfill the 
     additional requested coupons.
       This station has been planning for this DTV transition for 
     over a year and along with my fellow broadcasters has been 
     educating the public on this transition. Collectively the 
     Medford market broadcast stations have run thousands of 
     announcements regarding the transition and have also engaged 
     in educating the public through numerous outreach activities. 
     There will always be people that wait to the last moment or 
     have not prepared themselves for the transition even though 
     they know it is coming, and no delay is going to mitigate 
     that problem.
       Procedures are in place for helping the public with any 
     problems they may incur during this transition and our 
     engineers are ready to make the transition on February 17, 
     2009.
       Given the amount of time we have spent educating the public 
     that February 17, 2009 is the firm date, I believe that 
     changing that date will cause an enormous amount of confusion 
     and do great harm to an orderly transition.
       Even if the date was changed for the transition we will not 
     change our plans to transition on February 17, 2009.
           Sincerely,

                                                Gary D. Jones,

                                                  General Manager,
                                                          KMVU-TV.

  Some of these stations, one of them is brand new, KOHD in Bend, went 
on air as digital only in anticipation of this date. And now this 
Congress apparently is going to move the date.
  And then in the so-called stimulus bill we are going to borrow maybe 
$600 million, maybe from the Chinese, I don't know, that the next 
generation will get to pay back whenever that occurs so we can send out 
more coupons. This is a solution looking for a problem.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, can I ask how much time is left on both 
sides?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida has 6 minutes and 
the gentleman from Virginia has 5\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Well, I would like to yield myself 30 seconds, Mr. 
Speaker.
  I will submit for the Record a letter from the National Emergency 
Number Association, which I believe is the association that the 
gentleman from Illinois was referring to, and the chief executive 
officer of this association indicates support for the delay that is 
proposed in the legislation tonight.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to give time to the gentleman 
from Nebraska (Mr. Terry) 2 minutes.

[[Page 1708]]


  Mr. TERRY. Thank you. The ostensible goal of this legislation is to 
give consumers more time to prepare for the transition. But, 
unfortunately, this bill will only confuse customers by changing the 
date, cost more money and hurt public safety.
  It will not give a single television viewer the coupon off the coupon 
waiting list. It will jeopardize the spectrum that police and 
firefighters say they need. Since 9/11 we have been hearing this, as 
our good friend from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) has already stated. And I 
don't know under what circumstances the national police chiefs and fire 
chiefs have written, but my local people are saying exactly the 
opposite.
  And, also, this will jeopardize the spectrum that the original DTV 
legislation clears for advance wireless services, perhaps our Nation's 
quickest and most realistic way to improve broadband deployment, 
stimulate the economy and create jobs.
  Now, if we are going to move this date to tornado season in Nebraska, 
let me use this Nebraska analogy about waiting so that we are at 100 
percent of people already hooked up, which seems to be our new standard 
here.
  Let me give you this story about Tom Osborne, three-time national 
championship coach of the Huskers. When he decided to run for Congress 
after being coach for, I think, almost 30 years, and three national 
championships, he polled and found out that he had name ID in Nebraska 
of 95 percent, meaning 5 percent of the Nebraskans had never heard of 
Tom Osborne. Yet, we are holding up this legislation here today because 
5 percent of our Nation, although they may have the coupons in hand, 
have not hooked up yet.
  If we are going to wait till 100 percent, we are going to come back 
and delay this again.
  Mr. Speaker, we are ready. Nebraska is ready because of broadcasters 
and community groups in my district who have been preparing the 
population with educational efforts about this transition to digital 
television that have been on going for over a year now. They have 
worked very hard and I would like to recognize them for their efforts 
here on the floor.
  The Nebraska Digital Television Conversion Coalition is comprised of 
not-for-profit organizations that have recognized the digital 
television conversion could be problematic for some in our society, 
including elderly and low income individuals. Members of this coalition 
include: Nebraska Educational Television, United Way of the Midlands, 
Nebraska Broadcasters Association, Little Brothers & Friends of the 
Elderly, the Nebraska Retail Federation, the Nebraska Office on Aging 
and my congressional office.
  Mr. Speaker, please allow me to briefly describe one example of the 
problems my constituents will encounter if this bill becomes law. 
Nebraska Educational Television tells me that they will suffer both 
financially and technically because they will not be allowed to 
increase power at the six sites they have already converted to digital. 
At these six sites they have decommissioned the analog service and are 
digital only, this was done with permission from the FCC, which results 
in many of their viewers unable to receive the NETV signal until the 
power is strengthened.
  My Nebraska Broadcasters Association is also opposed and I quote, 
``We plead with you Congressman Terry to oppose any effort to extend 
this date. Any change now would create an urgent need for a campaign 
far greater than the first to reverse the message indelibly affixed in 
the minds of Americans.''
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, the ostensible goal of the legislation is to 
give consumers more time to prepare for the transition, but 
unfortunately, this bill will confuse consumers, cost more money, and 
hurt public safety:
  It will not move a single television viewer off the coupon waiting 
list.
  It will jeopardize the spectrum that police and firefighters said 
they needed 5 years to the day before September 11, 2001. The most 
important telecommunications-related recommendation of the 9/11 
Commission was to make spectrum available for public safety by 
completing the digital television transition.
  And it will jeopardize the spectrum that the original DTV legislation 
clears for advanced wireless services, perhaps our Nation's quickest 
and most realistic way to improve broadband deployment, stimulate the 
economy, and create jobs.
  The DTV coupon program is not out of money; only half of the $1.5 
billion in the coupon program has been spent on redeemed coupons. 
Instead of delaying the transition and spending hundreds of millions of 
dollars more, Congress has the opportunity to simple do what former 
Commerce Secretary Gutierrez suggested and modify the coupon program to 
allow all of those who have requested a coupon to get one.
  I urge a ``no'' vote.

                              {time}  2100

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman continue to 
reserve his time?
  Mr. BOUCHER. I continue to reserve.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I yield 2 minutes to one of our new members of 
the Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Gingrey).
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to 
Senate bill 328, the DTV Delay Act. Due to the very rushed nature by 
which the legislation is being considered this evening, I have a number 
of concerns about both the policy and procedure represented within S. 
328.
  Basically, we are asked to vote on legislation that will have a 
significant impact on the telecommunications industry and our first 
responders without giving it proper consideration.
  Mr. Speaker, the Nielsen Company estimated this past November that 93 
percent of homes in the United States already had one or more TVs ready 
for the digital television transition. This same study indicates that 
83 percent of households across the country are completely prepared for 
this transition.
  Despite the fact that the vast majority of households across the 
country have taken the necessary steps to be ready for DTV transition, 
the DTV Delay Act would sacrifice the preparation of the masses as a 
means to assist the very few. Delay in this transition will only cost 
the taxpayers, needlessly, $750 million, at a time when we are facing a 
$1.2 trillion budget.
  Mr. Speaker, the 9/11 Commission stated in its report that this 
transition should have occurred years ago to free up the lower 
frequency analog signals for police, firefighters, emergency personnel, 
and public officials. Because this transition has been years in the 
making, for the benefit of our brave first responders, I believe that 
we need to move forward in this transition as scheduled, instead of 
delaying it until June.
  Mr. Speaker, delaying the digital television will only create more of 
a financial burden for American taxpayers and create further confusion 
among the public. For these reasons, I urge all my colleagues oppose 
the DTV Delay Act.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. I yield 1 minute to our very newest member of 
the Energy and Commerce Committee on the Republican side, the gentleman 
from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).
  Mr. SCALISE. I'd like to thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding, 
and I rise in opposition to this bill to delay the transfer to digital. 
I think if we look at what this could do for our economy, number one, 
we are talking about the problems that we are having in our economy 
right now, and we want to create good jobs. There are billions of 
dollars of investment that are sitting on the sidelines right now, 
waiting to move, waiting to create new technologies, and create good 
new jobs in our economy, that this delay will further hamper.
  In addition to that, I think we need to be very concerned about what 
this means to our first responders. It was just read into the Record 
from the president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, but also 
what this would mean for our firefighters as they try to implement 
interoperable capabilities, something that we experienced after 
Katrina, we saw after September 11, something we need to get to. 
Something, again, this delay will only hurt their ability to make those 
changes that they want so desperately to make for the safety of our 
people all throughout the country.
  So there are many strong reasons why we are ready to get this 
implementation to take place and why we should oppose any delay.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want the American people to know that the Republicans 
want to solve this problem. If we defeat this bill tomorrow under 
suspension, then hopefully we can reach across the

[[Page 1709]]

aisle and work with our friends in the new Democrat majority to do 
things that actually solve the problem.
  We can actually say that money that is in the Treasury that hasn't 
been spent on redemptions of coupons can be used to issue new coupons. 
We could even eliminate the coupon requirement. We could provide a 
small amount of additional funding.
  I have a bill that I introduced this week that does most of those 
things. But if we need to do something differently, I pledge to the 
American people and my friends on the majority side that once we defeat 
this delay bill tomorrow, we still have time to work together on a 
bipartisan basis to put together a bill that does solve the problem, 
without delaying the hard date of February 17.
  So, with all due respect, I would ask that we defeat S. 328, vote 
tomorrow not to suspend the rules, and then let's work together the 
rest of this week and next week to solve the problem. Vote ``no'' on S. 
328.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I want to compliment my friend from Texas, the ranking Republican 
member of our Commerce Committee, Mr. Barton; Mr. Stearns, the ranking 
member on our Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the 
Internet, with whom I very much look forward to working over the course 
of the coming 2 years, for the very cordial way in which they have 
handled their opposition to this measure here today. That reflects the 
best traditions of our committee. We sometimes disagree, but we always 
do so in a very agreeable manner.
  That certainly has been the situation here tonight. We all have the 
same objective, and that is to make sure that we have a smooth digital 
television transition and that American households are not dislocated 
when the analog television broadcast ends and all of the broadcasting 
from that time forward is in digital.
  We have one formula for doing that and my friends on the other side 
of the aisle have another formula for doing that. I respectfully 
suggest that our formula is the better way.
  I did not want to be here tonight advocating a delay in this 
transition. The gentleman from Texas is right. That date for the 
transition has been a feature of our law now for a number of years. A 
lot of advertising has gone behind publicizing that date. Many people 
have been relying on that date as the date upon which the 700 megahertz 
spectrum that analog broadcasting will, when it stops, will make 
available and be delivered. There have been plans made on this. And so 
this is not a step we take lightly or frivolously, but when in which we 
think we have no choice.
  There are 6.5 million households in the United States, as revealed by 
the best numbers we have available coming from a highly reputable and 
well-regarded television reporting service, that will completely lose 
television coverage if this transition happens on February 17. These 
households are unprepared. They do not have a cable or satellite 
connection. They rely on over-the-air television reception only.
  That dislocation simply must be avoided. These homes depend upon 
television service for vital information. Not just entertainment, but 
news and information about community emergencies that typically would 
only reach the home by means of the broadcast media.
  We have talked about the public safety community and the fact that we 
do not want to see a delay in their receipt of the spectrum that they 
intend to use for fully interoperable communication equipment. But the 
greater public safety concern is turning off that analog broadcast at a 
time when 6.5 million homes are not prepared for the transition. 
Denying vital public safety information to those 6.5 million homes is 
the greater threat.
  And so the delay for that reason is necessary. That has been 
acknowledged by the leading associations representing the public safety 
community. The National Association of Chiefs of Police, the 
Association of Public Safety Communications officials, the 
International Association of Fire Chiefs, all of whom have endorsed 
this delay. It has been endorsed by the major recipients on the 
commercial side of the 700 megahertz spectrum; by AT&T, by Verizon. It 
has been endorsed by the networks; by ABC, NBC, and CBS.
  And so among all of those who will be disadvantaged by this delay, 
there is a recognition that the delay is unfortunately and regrettably 
necessary.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to emphasize that this is a one-time delay, 
and our committee simply will not entertain requests that a delay 
beyond the June 12 date be adopted. I would strongly oppose any further 
delay. The Chairman of our Energy and Commerce Committee, the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Waxman), has indicated his strong opposition to 
any delay beyond June 12, and we would strongly discourage anyone from 
suggesting that a delay beyond that date take place.
  So the step we take tonight is necessary. None of us want to take it. 
I think it is the only approach we have before us at this moment that 
truly will assure that when this digital transition occurs, and that it 
occurs in a way that does not result in disruption for television 
viewing in America. I urge the passage of the measure.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support S. 328, delaying the 
digital television transition. It has become clear in recent days and 
weeks that the country simply is not ready for the transition.
  For years, I have been saying that we are not providing enough 
resources or enough education for the public. That is why for the past 
two Congresses, I have introduced my Digital Television Consumer 
Education Act. This legislation would provide far more education about 
the transition, and would add $200 million to the converter box coupon 
program to get coupons to the 2 million people on the waiting list.
  I do want to ensure that this delay is only a one-time event. If we 
keep delaying and delaying, we will never see the benefit of the 
transition. Television viewers will not get to see crystal clear images 
of their favorite programs, we will not enjoy the technological 
advances that will be rolled out by wireless companies, and most 
importantly, our first responders will not get the interoperable 
communication devices they so desperately need. But with the condition 
that this will be a one-time delay, I will support S. 328.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 328, the DTV Delay 
Act, which passed the Senate yesterday by unanimous consent. This 
legislation extends the digital television transition date and makes 
improvements to the converter box coupon program.
  In 2005, Congress mandated that as of February 17, 2009, all 
television stations shut off their analog broadcasts and transmit in 
digital only. The transition from analog to digital will offer better 
pictures and sound, more programming choices, and interactive 
capabilities. It will also serve an important public safety purpose by 
freeing up spectrum for first responders for nationwide interoperable 
communications. Finally, it will provide consumers with new and 
innovative commercial wireless services.
  Unfortunately, we are not prepared for this transition. The prior 
administration assured the Committee on Energy and Commerce repeatedly 
that the transition effort was on track. But on December 24, 2008, the 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTIA, 
notified Congress that the converter box coupon program would run out 
of funding the first week of January and that it would need an 
additional $250 to $350 million to meet projected demand.
  The President's Transition Team asked Congress to extend the deadline 
for a brief period. This is not a step that anyone wants to take. But 
we have no good alternative. Without a short, one-time extension, 
millions of households will lose all television reception.
  The DTV converter box coupon program is supposed to ease the 
financial burden of the transition. But it has ground to a halt. There 
are currently over 1.7 million households on the waiting list. In 
addition, the FCC has not adequately planned for call centers and other 
assistance for consumers who will face technical problems after the 
transition has occurred.
  The measure before us extends the date of the transition to June 12 
and extends the coupon program date until July 31, 2009. It will also 
allow those who hold expired coupons--or never received their coupons 
because of problems with third class mail--to reapply.
  Moreover, the economic recovery package that the House is considering 
includes $650 million to fix the coupon program and intensify consumer 
education and support.

[[Page 1710]]

  S. 328 also takes steps to lessen the impact on other affected 
parties, including public safety, broadcasters, and wireless licensees.
  I am pleased that this bill now has broad support in the public 
safety community, including the Association of Public-Safety 
Communications Officials-International, APCO, the International 
Association of Chiefs of Police, IACP, the International Association of 
Fire Chiefs of Police, IAFC, and the National Emergency Number 
Association, NENA. It has the support of the two biggest winners of 
spectrum that will be vacated as a result of the DTV transition--AT&T 
and Verizon. And, it has the support of a number of public interest 
groups.
  S. 328 gives the new administration the resources it has told us it 
needs to fix the coupon program and better prepare consumers for the 
transition.
  Unfortunately, our time to act on the legislation is short. If we do 
not pass this measure, it is likely that there will be no extension of 
the February 17 transition. Time will have run out for the 
administration to implement the changes necessary to fix the problems.
  I urge Members to support this bill.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this 
legislation to address the urgent problems occurring with the digital 
television transition.
  After participating in numerous oversight hearings by the 
Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee on the DTV transition in 
the 110th Congress, and seeing the mismanagement of the transition by 
the previous administration, we need time to get this right and correct 
the problems left for the Obama administration.
  I am supporting this legislation, not because I think moving the 
transition date back is a good idea, but because when the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration notified the 
Committee late last year that they would run out of money in the coupon 
program, postponing the date to get every household the coupons they 
need became necessary.
  Our office sent out the coupon application in our constituent 
newsletters, handed them out at our townhall meetings, and took them to 
other events in our district to distribute. For their part, 
broadcasters, cable, and satellite television spent millions in 
advertising to educate the public about the upcoming transition.
  The primary reason we have to delay this transition is due to the 
mismanagement of the program by the NTIA--after months of asking 
questions in hearings and letters to the administration, members of the 
Telcom Subcommittee were assured there was plenty of money to finance 
the program and provide every household that needed one a converter box 
coupon. On December 24, however, the Energy and Commerce Committee 
finally received word from NTIA that the program would run out of 
money, much too late for Congress to address the problem, and now there 
are over 2 million households on the coupon waiting list.
  As expected, more problems are also surfacing as we have gotten 
closer to the transition. Last week the Washington Post ran an article 
about problems people are experiencing with their antennas, and in my 
hometown of Houston, we have continually raised the issue of there 
being limited options and availability of battery-powered converter 
boxes for households to purchase in the event of a hurricane like we 
experienced last September with Hurricane Ike. Currently, households 
must buy a separate battery-pack for a converter, and the coupon 
program does not cover the battery-pack.
  I understand getting the coupon program rolling again is the most 
pressing matter, but I hope between now and June 13 we can address 
these other issues and create a program that will assist households who 
need to do more than just hook up a converter box to acquire the 
equipment they need to make the transition.
  Again, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation 
so we can get the households the coupons they need to purchase 
converter boxes to keep their analog televisions from going black, and 
to address other issues that are arising with the digital transition.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 328, DTV 
Delay Act. With the deadline of February 17, 2009 for DTV transition 
quickly approaching, it is very important that we recognize and address 
the reality that consumers are still confused by this transition and in 
many jurisdictions are not prepared for the transition to digital 
television. Unfortunately, the number of people who stand to lose their 
access to TV programming in the DTV transition is considerable. 
Approximately 30 to 40 million people still rely on over-the-air 
television, most of who are senior citizens, poor or non-English 
speakers and underserved communities. Although there has been a 
considerable amount of outreach, it has still been haphazard. There are 
still issues that may make the impending deadline unrealistic.
  For example, in my district--the U.S. Virgin Islands--I have heard 
numerous complaints about the receipt of the vouchers via U.S. Postal 
Service, which in my district takes much longer than most areas in the 
U.S. mainland. Unfortunately, S. 328 did not include the House 
provision to require first class mail service for the delivery of 
coupons via the U.S. Postal Service. This provision would have made a 
big a difference in expediting the mail delivery time to the U.S. 
territories. I hope that NTIA will work on resolving this issue, 
although it is not a provision in the bill.
  There are other components of the bill that can potentially make it a 
smooth transition. Although an extension will cause delays, it is 
important that we protect our Nation's consumers and ensure that no one 
is left behind in this transition. The DTV transition is not something 
that is easily understood by all consumers and it has become evident 
that it will take more time to bring everyone on board. We must work to 
ensure that this important transition does not leave millions of 
consumers in the dark.
  In the interest of time, I urge passage of this legislation but 
encourage the NTIA to continue work with Congress on resolving the 
program's deficiencies.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I speak in strong 
support of S. 328, and I also want to thank my colleague Senator Jay 
Rockefeller for authoring this insightful resolution.
  The digital television transition is an unnecessary burden to be 
passed onto the American people at a time when the pressures of day to 
day life are heavy and growing.
  To assist consumers through the conversion, the Department of 
Commerce through its National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration, NTIA, division handled requests from households for up 
to two $40 coupons for digital-to-analog converter boxes beginning 
January 1, 2008 via a toll free number or a Web site.
  However, the Commerce Department has run out of funds to cover the 
cost of coupons and there are millions of Americans who have yet to 
receive the boxes. These Americans should not be expected to purchase 
the converter box without the aid of the government, seeing as the 
entire Nation is under extraordinary economic pressure caused by the 
recession.
  Last week, President Obama's team joined a chorus of concerned voices 
requesting a delay because the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration, NTIA, which is to provide education and $40 
vouchers for people to buy digital TV converter boxes, ran out of money 
on January 4. There is also concern that many people, especially poorer 
and more rural areas, have not yet heard that they will need a 
converter and a larger antenna.
  Older homes can not be easily wired for cable. The house walls might 
be made of concrete, brick, or stone that is difficult to wire through. 
This has caused some local residents to opt for analog over-the-air TV 
instead of cable or FIOS. Other people have decided to only wire their 
living room, and still use analog over-the-air in other rooms. The old 
construction can also cause problems running an antenna to a window, 
roof, or attic. These older homes are generally owned by lower income 
families that are being hit particularly hard by the current economic 
recession.
  On January 22, the Nielsen Company said 6.5 million Americans had not 
prepared for the switch, a startling number considering the Commerce 
Department's inability to assist these Americans in the purchase of the 
converter boxes. TV stations would face extra expenses, which is a 
burden that they also cannot be expected to take on in times like 
these.
   Mr. Speaker, I understand that the long-term effects of this 
transition will benefit the American people and support the eventual 
transition. Mr. Speaker we are in a recession at best. Our seniors can 
barely afford their prescriptions and we are asking them to pay another 
40-50 dollars for a convertor box? To some of us that may not seem like 
much but for many it is a small fortune. Especially for our senior 
population who may have only the television as company.
  I ask that my colleagues support this legislation and give Americans 
more time to properly prepare for the conversion.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, it infuriates me that thanks largely to the 
incompetence of the Bush Administration during the past three years, we 
are presently confronted by the need to delay the transition from 
analog to digital television. That we are today voting on

[[Page 1711]]

DTV delay legislation underscores the utter folly of the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration's arrogant confidence 
in its management of programs to carry out the mandates of the Digital 
Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005.
  As the Obama-Biden Transition Team highlighted in its January 8, 
2009, letter to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the inadequacy of 
the existing converter box coupon program and other federal programs 
meant to support consumers necessitates a delay in the date of 
transition to digital television. During numerous hearings in the 110th 
Congress, I asked representatives of NTIA whether they had sufficient 
funding for the DTV converter box coupon program. These representatives 
consistently responded that they did, even in light of a GAO report 
last year that NTIA would be unprepared to cope with a surge in 
consumer demand for converter coupons. We now know that there are some 
1.5 million households on a waiting list to receive converter coupons 
and moreover that consumers, who apply for a coupon today, may not 
actually receive the coupon until after the DTV transition, as it is 
presently scheduled. I can only stress that had NTIA been more 
forthright with the Congress about the perilous reality of the coupon 
program, we would have been able to agree upon a solution well in 
advance of the consumer crisis that now looms before us.
  While I intend to vote in favor of S. 328, I wish to take this 
opportunity to mention three brief, but important, points. First, I am 
troubled that S. 328 does not contain a provision to require monthly 
reports by NTIA concerning its administration of the DTV converter box 
coupon program. Given NTIA's poor administration of this program in the 
past, I feel it only prudent that NTIA be subject to more rigorous 
oversight in the future. I would add that the House version of this 
bill, which was to have been considered today by the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, included such a reporting requirement.
  Second, I would caution my colleagues that this bill's extension of 
the Federal Communications Commission's ability to auction spectrum 
gives rise to the possibility of waste, fraud, and abuse in those 
proceedings. I intend to work with the Chairman of the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce to see that oversight hearings are held following 
the enactment of this bill to ensure that the FCC is adhering to the 
statutory requirements of section 309 of the Communications Act of 
1934, which specifies how the FCC shall grant licenses for the use of 
spectrum.
  Finally, I am concerned about the DTV transition's effect on the 
natural environment, specifically as millions of analog television sets 
are disposed of by consumers. These old television sets contain such 
hazardous materials as mercury, chromium, cadmium, and beryllium, which 
could leach into the ground after these sets are deposited in 
landfills. I hope also to work with the Chairman of the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce to examine the environmental repercussions of the 
DTV transition and take such steps as necessary to mitigate them.
  In closing, I remain committed to working with my colleagues in 
reaching a consensus-based solution to the problems associated with the 
DTV transition, especially to mitigate its impact on low-income, rural, 
and elderly Americans.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend you for 
quickly putting this Senate legislation (S. 328) before the House for 
immediate consideration. This is a bill that is responsive to the slate 
of digital television issues confronting consumers and the television 
industry.
  In several weeks, without immediate action, millions of Americans may 
remain unprepared for the digital television transition. Mr. Speaker, 
as you know, I have had a long interest in the digital television 
transition. I held the very first hearing on ``High Definition TV'' in 
October of 1987--more than 20 years ago. In 1990, I battled hard and 
successfully as then-Chairman of the House Telecommunications and 
Finance Subcommittee to get the Federal Communications Commission to 
switch from pursuing an ``analog'' HDTV standard to a ``digital'' 
standard. Moreover, I fought to build into the Telecomm Act in 1996 the 
appropriate way in which broadcasters could utilize ``spectrum 
flexibility'' to multiplex the digital signal into several video 
programming channels or offer wireless interactive television or 
information services. And I pushed unsuccessfully in the context of the 
1997 budget battles to prohibit the sale of ``analog-only'' televisions 
by the year 2000--an amendment that was opposed by every Republican in 
our Committee markup in 1997. The result was over a hundred million 
analog-only sets were sold into the marketplace even as the government 
was stipulating it intended to turn off the analog TV signal. The 
failure to mandate ``dual tuner'' TVs sooner has compounded the 
difficulty of this transition immeasurably by increasing the base of TV 
receivers that need converter boxes to receive digital TV signals.
  Most recently, for the last two years as the Telecommunications and 
Internet Subcommittee Chairman, I convened six DTV hearings, requested 
and received three Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports, and 
wrote numerous oversight letters to the FCC, to NTIA, and to industry 
and consumer representatives in headlong pursuit of ensuring a 
successful digital television transition on February 17th.
  At the last DTV hearing that we held the second week of September--
just after the Wilmington, North Carolina switch-over test--the GAO 
testified:

       ``NTIA is effectively implementing the converter box 
     subsidy program, but its plans to address the likely increase 
     in coupon demand as the transition nears remain unclear. . . 
     . With a spike in demand likely as the transition date nears, 
     NTIA has no specific plans to address an increase in demand; 
     therefore, consumers might incur significant wait time before 
     they receive coupons as the transition nears and might lose 
     television service during the time they are waiting for the 
     coupons.''

  In response, I asked the Acting NTIA Administrator to give the 
Subcommittee a contingency plan for dealing with the expected surge in 
coupons within 30 days. Now, that contingency plan did not arrive in 30 
days. Instead, it arrived to us on November 6th--just after Election 
Day. The NTIA's ``Final Phase'' plan did not echo the GAO's alarm 
bells, but rather stated the following:

       ``This Plan demonstrates that the Coupon Program has both 
     sufficient funds and system processing capabilities to 
     achieve this goal . . . . and to do so without the creation a 
     large backlog. Also, NTIA has built flexibility into the 
     Program to respond to various or unexpected events. Moreover, 
     based on actual, cumulative redemption data, NTIA would not 
     exhaust the authorized $1.34 billion in coupon funding 
     despite increased demand leading up to the analog shut-down 
     on February 17th, and, in fact, may return as much as $340 
     million to the U.S. Treasury.''

  That's from the NTIA just over two months ago. ``No problem,'' the 
agency is saying. In essence the agency is telling Congress, ``We have 
a plan to deal with the surge and we don't need any more money. No 
large backlog. And we'll have hundreds of millions of dollars left 
over.''
  Now, why is this important? It is important because we were actually 
in session in November. We could have acted during the ``lame duck'' 
session if the Bush Administration had said, ``yes, we will likely have 
a shortfall'', or ``please, Congress, let's err on the side of caution 
and budget a couple hundred million more just in case . . .''. Yet NTIA 
told us all just the opposite. The agency said everything was fine and 
they didn't need additional money for coupons.
  In late December, I asked for an urgent status update on the program. 
That's when NTIA wrote back to me--on December 24th--stating that a 
waiting list was going to begin in January of this year because the 
coupon program was hitting its funding ceiling. The agency indicated 
that to solve this issue and spend up to the $1.34 Billion in the 
underlying statute for coupons that another 250 million dollars at a 
minimum might be needed. And that amount would not necessarily reflect 
the actual demand for coupons the agency was newly projecting. The 
waiting list now represents approximately 3 million coupons.
  In an attempt to respond quickly, I reached out the first week we 
returned here in January to Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX) and said 
if we work together on an accounting fix we could start to address the 
waiting list issue and get the coupons flowing to consumers again and 
buy some time. I want to thank Rep. Barton for his willingness to 
proceed on such a bill.
  But that effort has simply become overtaken by events. If we passed 
it and also gave NTIA a couple hundred million dollars for additional 
coupons in a measure that passed through the House and through the 
Senate today, and arrived to the President's desk this evening, we 
simply wouldn't be able to address the backlog and get coupons out to 
people who have requested them by February 17th.
  Not every media market will be as unprepared as others on February 
17th. I know that in the Boston market, our local commercial and 
noncommercial broadcasters, as well as our local cable operators, have 
worked diligently to be ready on February 17th and I commend them for 
their model efforts. Yet even in Boston, it is important to note that a 
recent test brought a flood of calls to consumer call centers from 
citizens confused about or unprepared for the switchover. Many

[[Page 1712]]

other media markets, in part due to the demographic makeup of such 
markets, will have an even greater risk of significant dislocation 
without immediate action. The Bush Administration has simply left us 
with so little time to make the needed adjustments on a national basis 
absent a short, one-time delay.
  So, although this is the last place we all wanted to be, and in spite 
of the fact that we toiled mightily to make this effort work, it is my 
judgment that a short delay is in the public interest in order to 
protect consumers. I urge passage of this emergency DTV legislation.
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank Chairman Waxman for 
addressing problems with the transition to digital television which was 
due to happen next month.
  The simple fact is that millions of Americans are not prepared for 
the digital switch.
  In Salt Lake City, Nielsen Media Research reports that nearly 9 
percent of households are completely unprepared. Salt Lake ranks as the 
sixth least-ready out of 56 surveyed.
  The coupons authorized by Congress 4 years ago--to help families 
acquire the hardware they need to view programs once the digital change 
is made--aren't getting to the customers.
  Millions of Americans are currently waiting to receive the coupons. 
The agency charged with distributing them has fallen behind.
  My office has been attempting to assist constituents with the program 
for several months. I know of cases where coupons have expired before 
they even reach consumer mail boxes. That's ridiculous.
  I'd like to thank Chairman Waxman for working with the Senate to 
address concerns I raised about the coupon program. This is a Senate 
bill, but it is important to acknowledge the work of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee in trying to fix DTV problems.
  The last thing families need right now is the prospect of additional 
monthly bills in order to watch television.
  Finally, I am pleased to see that this bill allows for emergency 
services to begin using some analog space. It also provides flexibility 
by allowing broadcasters who are ready-to-go to switch to digital 
service earlier than June, which is a good idea.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to S. 328, the DTV 
Delay Act.
  Since 1996, our nation's first-responders have been calling for more 
broadcast spectrum to be made available for better and more effective 
communication among emergency services. Tragically, the lack of such 
spectrum was cited by experts as partially leading to many unnecessary 
deaths among those responding to the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York 
City. In fact, completing the digital television transition so that 
this spectrum may be used by police, firefighters, and emergency 
personnel was the main communications-related recommendation of the 9/
11 Commission.
  In 2005, after years of delay, Congress finally established February 
17, 2009 as the date when the country will switch to all-digital 
broadcasting and eliminate the disruptions to public safety 
communications. Unfortunately, after more than a decade of preparing 
for the transition, the bill before us today would delay the digital 
transition for another three months.
  Like many Delawareans, I am concerned about the management of the 
digital transition process and the shortfall in the number of converter 
box coupons available. It is critical that we act quickly to provide 
additional resources to address these complications and ensure our 
constituents are prepared for the transition date. Still, public safety 
services and broadcasters have spent millions of dollars preparing for 
the February 17th transition date and postponing the deadline again 
will only create more confusion and delay the implementation of this 
vital 9/11 Commission recommendation.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, the question of whether to delay the 
transition to digital television is important and deserves thoughtful 
consideration. But today's debate misses a key point that will affect 
many Vermonters, many Americans, living in rural areas: once the 
transition to digital television is completed, even if every household 
in America has a DTV converter box, many TVs simply will not work.
  Reception of a digital television signal is an ``all-or-nothing'' 
proposal: rural areas that currently receive a weak analog TV signal 
may receive no digital signal at all. For many people across Vermont 
and across the country, this transition does not represent a step 
forward, but a step backward. I am particularly concerned about the 
many elderly viewers living in rural areas; for them, television is a 
lifeline that provides information and entertainment.
  We know that this problem is out there. In order to ensure that all 
our constituents have access to broadcast television, we need to do one 
or all of three things: increase digital television broadcast signal 
range; increase the ability of viewers to receive the signal through 
antennae; or increase access to low-cost cable or satellite television.
  If there were an easy answer, this problem would most likely have 
already been solved. But the problem persists, and it must be 
addressed. I look forward to working with Chairman Waxman as well as 
you, Chairman Boucher, to ensure that rural Americans maintain access 
to television broadcast over the public airwaves.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 328, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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