Posted on 02/04/2009 1:21:33 PM PST by jbwbubba
U.S. House votes to delay analog shutdown Posted: Today at 3:18 p.m. Updated: 1 minute ago WASHINGTON — Congress has delayed the analog TV shutdown by four months. The House on Wednesday voted in favor of a bill that gives consumers until June 12 to prepare for the transition from analog to digital television broadcasts. The bill now heads to President Obama for his signature. A spokesman has said he will sign it. In a 258-168 vote last week, House Republicans defeated the proposal to delay the analog TV cutoff - currently mandated to be Feb. 17. But that vote happened under a special fast-track procedure that requires two-thirds support to pass. The Senate unanimously passed the bill earlier last week. The Obama administration and many Democrats on Capitol Hill argue that a delay is needed to ensure that millions of consumers - particularly poor and elderly Americans - do not lose TV reception when broadcasters shut off their analog signals. Republican lawmakers have raised concerns that a delay would confuse consumers, burden wireless companies and public safety agencies waiting for the slices of the airwaves that will be vacated and create added costs for TV stations that would keep broadcasting both analog and digital signals for four more months. The Obama administration called for the transition to be postponed after the Commerce Department hit a $1.34 billion funding limit for the $40 coupons that subsidize digital TV converter boxes for consumers. The boxes translate digital signals back into analog ones for older TVs to process.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
These are the same people who want to ration your healthcare to you.
Gald they are focused on whats truly important....(eyes rolling)
What a joke. Just get it over with.
Quick, get your coupons, buy the converter, and sell it on ebay!
Which would mean...what? They read a book? Get their fat asses up off the couch & take a walk? Talk to their neighbors? I mean, WTF?
Not only that.......they want all your money to do it and you will only get meat once a week with a coupon book (ration stamps) for all other purchases too. Nice to wait 2 years to get a replacement refrigerator after the only one you have dies.
NO...But, according to this congress, the irresponsible MUST be rewarded.
The original digital cutover date was Dec 31, 2006. Ah, those efficiency experts in Congress.
What was the vote today?
No one understands that 0 can’t lose his popularity to his block if they aren’t boobed (tuned into the TV) into his speeches....understand?
Hmmm. Ya know, that actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks.
http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/columns/TimothyCarney/Obamas_secret_telecom_advisor_pushing_his_companys_interest_011609.html
Well, $1.3 billion divided by $40/coupon = 32,500,000 people.
That means the coupon program only covered 1/10th of the population of the country.
Does this mean that we will soon be spending $13 BILLION to tranfer over the rest of the eligible TV’s ?!?
OMG
One of the stations down here has already switched...
That’s it.. spend all that money to let every one know that it changes in February and then change the date and spend even more money to let every one know when the change will happen. Helping our economy 1 stupid idea at a time.. That’s CHANGE we can believe in!
All this does is push back WIFI services and new jobs.
Obama cries our infrastructure is behind and fights WIFI to keep analog.
Idiots.
No wonder the Obama administration wants to extend health care benefits to young children. They think the populace of the United States is exclusively young children.
We have known about this changeover for years. If anyone didn’t get the message, they had their head firmly implanted in something.
Now Obama and the Democrats want to take them by the hand, and help them with another four months to do what they didn’t bother to do by now.
Goo goo, da da, ma ma... eeeeeee... (see the pretty picture).
We’ve heard of Ideocracy. How about Infantocracy? It’s a new nation where adults have all their choices made for them, by a cult figure, “The One”.
What time is dinner oh grand Obama? Your desires are our only wish.
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