John Ensign: “I rise today to report on a tremendous step forward for public safety, our economy, closing the digital divide, and…”

“I rise today to report on a tremendous step forward for public safety, our economy, closing the digital divide, and bringing next generation high definition television to rural America. The House and Senate today passed legislation that will fundamentally impact the future of television especially in rural America. Today the U.S. Congress set aside entrenched special interest group wish lists and took a strong step forward toward making high definition digital television available in unserved areas. The Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004 enjoyed broad bipartisan support and is now headed to the President's desk. I applaud my colleagues from the Commerce and Judiciary Committees, from both sides of the aisle, and from both Chambers. The leaders of these committees did not bow down to the furious lobbying of those who have sought to slow down the digital transition and that attempted to gut the important pro-consumer digital white area provisions designed to make available high definition programming to rural Americans. This legislation sends an unmistakable message that we are not going to allow a digital divide like we have for broadband to occur in the new world of digital television.”