Chris Van Hollen: “I rise in support of The DTV Delay Act. Two weeks from today, all full-power television broadcast stations are required…”

“I rise in support of The DTV Delay Act. Two weeks from today, all full-power television broadcast stations are required to terminate analog signals and transmit only in digital. Congress mandated the transition to digital in response to requests by police, firefighters, and emergency personnel for the increased radio spectrum necessary for reliable, interoperable communications. To help Americans prepare for the transition and to offset the associated cost for consumers, Congress established the TV Converter Box Coupon Program. But the program underestimated the number of requests for coupons and ran out of money. As a result, many Americans have not received coupons and are unprepared for transition. Today 1.8 million households are on a waiting list to receive more than 3.3 million converter box coupons. Though funding was inserted in the Stimulus Package to pay for more coupons, unless the February 17th conversion date is delayed, few of these Americans will be able to receive their coupons and purchase their converter boxes in time. The DTV Delay Act will help the Coupon Program to honor requests for coupons and enable those whose coupons may have expired, to receive new ones. The bill does this by delaying the transition date to June 13th, 2009 and extending the period that the Coupon Program may operate until July 31st 2009. According to the Nielsen Company, 6.5 million households will lose all TV reception on February 17, 2009.”