Republicans’ New DTV Education Bill Keeps Them in the Debate
A bill by House Republicans that would educate the public about the DTV transition (CD Jan 23 p11) seems designed to retain the new minority’s influence over the issue. Commerce Committee Ranking Member Barton (R-Tex.), Rep. Upton (R-Mich.) and former Speaker Hastert (R-Ill.), who Tues. announced he has joined Mitt Romney’s exploratory presidential committee, are sponsoring the bill, which would boost consumer outreach through the FCC, broadcasters, cable, satellite and CE retailers about the Feb. 2009 analog cutoff.
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Barton, who helped author analog cutoff legislation enacted last year, said in a statement there were provisions in his original bill that were “stripped out and left behind because of Senate procedural rules” restricting the language to deficit reduction. The new bill “reasserts the necessary public education provisions that were left out last year,” Barton said.
Hill watchers speculated Republicans also may have acted to stay relevant in the DTV transition debate, with House Democrats expected to exercise strong oversight of NTIA’s DTV coupon program and other transition issues. Their bill follows the Nov. 15 letter House Democrats sent to NTIA saying they opposed the “Republican transition plan” in committee because it didn’t sufficiently address “the legitimate and reasonable expectations of consumers who will be disenfranchised” by the analog cutoff.
The Republicans’ bill would require NTIA to give the House and Senate Commerce Committees progress reports every 90 days on the number of coupons distributed and redeemed, how long the process takes, and how much it costs. It would give the FCC far greater DTV consumer outreach responsibility. The Commission would be required to report to Congress every 6 months on the progress of its consumer education efforts -- language lifted directly from Barton’s May 2005 draft bill. A new element: The Commission within 30 days of enactment would be required to convene an advisory committee called the DTV Working Group to help coordinate consumer outreach. The group -- comprised of members representing a cross-section of DTV society -- would work with state and local govts., low-income-assistance programs, schools and community groups to promote understanding of the DTV transition and the coupon program.
The bill would amend the already-enacted DTV law to require that energy conservation standards be built into coupon-eligible DTV converter boxes. Comments filed in NTIA’s coupon rulemaking showed widespread support for such a measure.
There would be no mandatory labeling rule for CE makers under the new Republican bill as there was under the first Barton draft, presumably because CEA members companies began a voluntary labeling effort in July. However, retailers would be required to display informational signage next to analog-only TVs warning consumers the product won’t work after Feb. 2009 without a DTV converter box.
Of more immediate concern to consumer electronics retailers is when NTIA might choose a vendor to run the coupon program. NTIA is expected to begin vendor procurement Fri. (Jan. 26) when it releases its long-awaited request for proposals. NTIA has said it plans to award a contract by July, giving the winning vendor 6 months to implement the program in time for coupon requests to begin Jan. 1. But the CE industry wants NTIA to award the contract much earlier -- “ideally” by the end of Q1.