House Republicans Urge Obama Not to Delay Transition
Delaying the Feb. 17 DTV transition would be a “monumental error of judgment that would damage the program and hurt the public,” House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Joe Barton of Texas said in a letter sent Wednesday to the Obama-Biden transition team. Fifteen committee Republicans signed the letter, which warned that “panicky talk of a delay is breeding stultifying uncertainty.” The letter reflects a growing sense of concern among committee Republicans that House leadership will push through legislation to delay the transition, and bypass what many members see as an easier fix: A bill to exempt the NTIA’s coupon program from accounting rules so the agency can resume mailing out discount vouchers for converter boxes.
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Despite Republican concerns and opposition by some industry leaders, Congressional Democrats are heeding the transition team’s call for a delay. Discussion about the shape and direction of legislation seeking a 90-day delay are ongoing, but a draft is likely to be marked up next week in the Commerce Committee, said an aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
On hold for now is a bill proposed by Rep. Ed Markey, D- Mass., to fix government accounting rules now inhibiting the flow of digital converter box coupons. The waiting list for coupons grew to over 2.14 million orders through the close of business Tuesday, the NTIA reported late Wednesday. Over 478,000 orders have been removed from the waiting list since Jan. 4, when mailing of coupons was suspended, an agency spokesman said.
There’s less chance of Senate passage of a bill delaying the digital transition, according to industry members and Hill staffers. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas voiced opposition last week to a delay, as has Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev. But many Republicans believe Congress should exempt the coupon program from Anti- Deficiency Act rules, a step that could be done quickly since there isn’t much opposition. Further funding could be added down the road if needed, several members have said.
A delay changes the equation for the public, industry and public safety, the Barton letter said. “Industry groups are nervously withdrawing from what had been vigorous consumer education efforts,” Barton said, and asking broadcasters to maintain digital and analog facilities for another three months is “neither green, nor fiscally responsible.” The lawmakers also raised concerns about a delay’s impact on public safety, which is counting on release of spectrum for an interoperable network.
“A sudden last-minute delay in the transition means postponing the vast public safety improvements that are finally within our grasp,” the Barton letter said. “We hope you will carefully consider the issues we are facing.” The transition team has not yet responded.
Also Wednesday, Commissioner Robert McDowell renewed his criticism of the FCC’s digital transition planning, saying he and colleagues are kept out of the loop. Because neither McDowell nor other FCC members were involved in many aspects of the FCC’s “inadequate” DTV planning, he wrote in a letter to be sent to Chairman Kevin Martin, it’s hard to gauge the extent of “shortcomings. … It appears that your fellow commissioners have not been brought into planning discussions concerning this important initiative” for a company to take consumers’ calls to the FCC shortly before Feb. 17, wrote McDowell. He has questions about reports (CD Jan 2 p1) that FCC requests for quotations, including one for the call centers, are pending. The FCC has an “extraordinary” task ahead if analog full-power broadcasts are to end next month, he added. “To accomplish this daunting task, the Commission must be better organized, more energetic and must coordinate its efforts in a more open and collaborative manner.”