Posted on 01/30/2009 8:34:41 AM PST by lewisglad
For the second time, the Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday night to delay the transition to digital television by four months in order to give consumers more time to get ready.
The Senate first passed a bill Monday to postpone the switch from Feb. 17 to June 12. But on Wednesday, House Republicans blocked the bill from getting the two-thirds majority needed to pass under the rules applied to the legislation, even though the majority of lawmakers voted in favor of the delay.
By passing the bill that failed in the House, the Senate is giving the House another chance to vote on the measure under regular rules that would allow it to pass with a simple majority vote. The House could vote on the bill as early as Tuesday.
By law, all television broadcasters must shut off analog signals Feb. 17 and air only digital programming in order to free up airwaves for public safety networks and new wireless services. As a result, viewers who rely on analog TV sets and antennas to receive broadcasts will need to upgrade to a digital TV set or install a converter box to get signals.
In a statement, a White House spokeswoman urged the House to move quickly to pass the bill, and that the administration "will work with Congress to improve the information and assistance available to Americans as the nation moves to digital television."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Way to take care of the REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS, first.
Frig'n losers.
Can they delay the stimulus package too? I need time to get ready.
“...give consumers more time to get ready.”
Jeez how much time do they need. This has been reported on TV for almost a year?
But I suppose morons are a big Democrat constituency, so this panders to them.
They could delay it ten years and the same people still would not be prepared.
Well this is big news...
Maybe now that they see how to just “delay” things, they can “delay” their endless pay raises.
Sitting in SE MO with no power using iPhone listening to KFVS TV on small tv reciever. I wonder if that will be possible in the future?
Whenever it happens, 54 million Soetoro voters are going to be wandering the streets asking, “Why doesn’t my TV work???”
LMFAO!!!!!
I am probably going to deep six the cable/sat TV. Fox is a sell out and the others are Obama TV. Currentlky you can use rabbit ears to get something. Will people be able to pick up anything with digital?
Add tin foil to the rabbit ears? ;-)
I admittedly don’t follow this issue AT ALL. Well, I know enough to know that if you can’t get ready in 2 years you’re just too damn dumb to be allowed to watch TV. lol
A non-smart ass question here as I am truly curious . . . while people have had more than enough time, why does it matter if they are given more time? Is there an increased cost in doing so?
What else do these unprepared people have at home? Rotary phones? Record Players or 8 Tracks? TRS-80s?
Whenever somethings made idiotproof..
Government one-ups ‘em.
I tell everyone that the sure-fire way to screw up the simplest things is to send it to Washington.
I haven’t looked into the details, but I have seen headlines to the effect that Obama is doing this because on of his major contributors is lobbying for a delay in order to keep its advantage over a rival.
It sounds all too likely to me.
From what I’ve heard, unless you live right on top of a major market don’t expect to get many channels.
Hmmmmmmm.........
....uh, you are talking about me...I've gone cable-free for 15 years now...saved about $7,000...I never see idiots like Olbermann or Matthews...my kids brains have been exposed to much less garbage...and now that I have my converter box I am getting even clearer reception and more channels (rabbit ears + converter box)...I highly recommend it.
Guys, this wasn’t about “people not knowing about this”. This was about buddies of politicians who own very profitable wireless companies and screwing their competitor over.
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