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Republicans Fight to Keep Digital Transition Date Intact
14-Jan-2009
Written by: Kevin Krizmanich
Republicans respond after last week’s controversy due to the converter box coupon fund running dry.
On Wednesday, according to AdWeek, House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Joe Barton wrote a letter to President-elect Barack Obama in response to last week, when the Obama transition team wrote to Congress asking to delay the planned date for the analog to digital transition for television.
Barton and other committee members feel that delaying the transition date would only further hurt the public safety areas that the money generated by the transition is intended to help support.
According to Barton, “The transition is freeing broadcast spectrum for firefighters, police officers and other lifesavers and also providing them with $1 billion to equip themselves with the state-of-the-art communications gear that was so tragically lacking on 9/11.” The letter goes further to say that “panicky talk of a delay is breeding stultifying uncertainty, and that an actual delay would be a monumental error in judgment that would damage the program and the public.”
Instead of a delay, the House Energy and Commerce Committee are working to suggest a program that will let the government issue more coupons. There are reportedly still 7.8 million households unprepared for the transition, and over 1 million on the waiting list for converter box coupons.
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