Haley Stevens: “I will use the time in opposition if I need it, and some others may want to speak. Our committee worked hard on this…”

“I will use the time in opposition if I need it, and some others may want to speak. Our committee worked hard on this bill, our portions of this bill, and the $3 billion associated with the converter box funds was derived from a CBO estimate based upon the problems that exist in the so-called analog world. There are an estimated 73 million analog TV sets not connected to cable or satellite. Our reconciliation measure ends all analog broadcasts on April 7, 2009. By that date, all televisions that rely on antennas have to be equipped with a digital analog converter box. We call that the set-top box. The cost to the consumers to purchase the box is estimated to be $3 billion. This amendment would cut that to $1 billion. That is not enough to meet the problem of these 73 million analog sets. I call attention to the Senate that there is a difference between the House approach and the Senate approach. The House would use a voucher system. The House estimates there are fewer sets than our estimate of 73 million. We believe by using the date--that is also subject to a question on an amendment that has been offered by the Senator from New Hampshire-- by using the hard date of April 2009, we estimate we will raise a considerable amount more money than a date closer to the present day. The impact of this far date is we have three periods where television sets are bought in great quantities, and during the Christmas period.…”