Posted on 01/29/2009 3:37:00 PM PST by Las Vegas Dave
The House of Representatives yesterday rejected a measure that would have pushed the Digital TV deadline from Feb. 17 to June 12.
The House voted 258-168 in favor of the delay, but the bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass under rules approved for its consideration; the legislation fell 26 votes short of the two-thirds majority.
The defeat surprised many industry observers who thought the delay was assured when the Senate earlier in the week approved it by a voice vote. However, House Republicans opposed the delay, saying it would further confuse consumers.
Despite yesterday's defeat, House Democratic leaders remained hopeful that the delay bill would pass next week when it would not require a two-thirds vote.
"The likelihood is we'll come back next week" and pass the bill, said Rep. Rick Boucher, chairman of the House telecommunications subcommittee, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told The Times that the speaker was looking for a way to hold another vote soon.
On February 17, 2009, all full-powered local stations are scheduled to switch their analog signals to digital which means viewers will need a Digital TV, a digital converter box or a pay TV subscription to continuing watching television.
But the Obama administration has urged Congress to delay the transition from analog to digital, saying that millions of people are not ready for the switch and therefore could lose their TV signals.
Phillip Swann Commentary: With President Obama urging the delay, bet on the House bringing the bill back for a vote next week -- and passing it. The Democrats in Congress now will do almost anything to avoid handing their new president a major defeat in his first month in office. They will not let this defeat stand.
LVD
(If you search Freerepublic using the keyword "“HDTV”, you will find most of the past HDTV postings.. )
I wonder what they're really trying to pull with this.
It will pass next week when only a simple majority is needed. Too bad, the delay is unnecessary.
Not enough notice ~ only every night for over a year on my 6 & 11 o’clock news.
Yeah...kind of makes sense why everyone needs a “bailout”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.