Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, like many of my colleagues here today, I represent a congressional district that is not near a large urban center. The largest city in my district, Roanoke, has a population of slightly more than 100,000 people. However, folks in cities as large as Roanoke, Virginia; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Springfield, Missouri, are unlikely to benefit from the most important parts of legislation enacted last fall known as the Satellite Home Viewer Act. This legislation, which I served as a conferee on with many of my colleagues here today, was designed to address a problem experienced by thousands of Americans who are frustrated that they either could not receive their local network signal or had to receive a poor quality local network signal through a rooftop antenna rather than receive a network signal through their satellite provider. The bill addressed this by allowing direct broadcast satellite providers to immediately begin retransmitting local television broadcast signals into the broadcast station's area. Consumers across the country expressed their support for this legislation and the availability of 'local-into-local' technology. I know my office received thousands of letters and calls from constituents concerned about this issue.”