House votes to delay DTV transition, President likely to sign

Events are recorded here in reverse chronological order.

1:06pm PT: The motion to recommit, and now the yeas and nays have been requested for the DTV Delay bill. The chair is saying this will be a five-minute vote, not a 15-minute vote (which usually takes a half-hour), indicating that House members are urgently working to attend a bill signing ceremony (for a different bill) hosted by the President.

12:58pm PT: The motion to commit would have the DTV Delay bill sent back to the Senate Commerce committee for markup procedures -- a move that would almost certainly defeat the purpose of the bill, since the transition date being delayed would be February 17. Judging from the current tally, it would appear the motion is being defeated. Few obstacles would then remain to the bill being voted upon.

12:39pm PT: Motion to recommit is defeated by voice vote. Yeas and nays are ordered on the motion, under the premise that a quorum was not present.

12:37pm PT: Boucher: Broadcasters were given the option in the current delay bill to terminate their analog broadcasts prior to 6/12, and we expect many will take advantage of that provision.

12:36pm PT: Opposition to motion to recommit, from Boucher: It simply is unnecessary.

Dept. of Commerce did not inform Congress that the program had run out of money, until Christmas Eve.

Motion would require broadcasters to essentially terminate their analog broadcasts. There are very few public service agencies that are immediately prepared to use the spectrum, according to David Firth, acting chief of homeland security and public safety bureau, FCC.

12:33pm PT: Rep. Walden: Motion to recommit says, let's make sure the FCC won't further hamper emergency services personnel, so they can have interoperable communications.

Eventually, a commission will ask, "Why have you guys waited? Why didn't you guys step up and do your job?"

Last night, Walden's wife noticed an ad that says Congress has passed a law. "We are still having these folks advertise as of last night. You're thinking confusion? And this is why people don't trust the government. We get everything [done]...and then we move the goalposts.

12:30pm PT: Barton moves for the bill to be sent to the Energy and Commerce Cmte. Argument in support of his motion:

Barton: Stations that have spectrum that is going to be used by first responders, must vacate by 2/17. Motion to recommit would state they get their spectrum on 2/18.

Entire state of Hawaii has already thrown the switch, to protect migrating birds that would be interfered with if it had waited until 2/17. No problem there. 143 stations on the mainland have gone digital, no problem.

12:27pm PT: Not until 12/24 was Congress sent notice that the coupon program had run out of money. "This delay is absolutely necessary, it will be for one time only...The converter boxes can be supplied, the call centers can be staffed."

12:26pm PT: Boucher [closing comment]: Suggestion that Nielsen survey is a month old, no, it was taken 1/18, so it's only two weeks old.

Suggestion that more money could solve the problem: No, not for two reasons: Not enough time in the 13 days remaining to clear the backlog of 3.7 million coupon requests, much less the time it would take to mail the coupons to TV viewers and for customers to redeem them. Massive dislocation on 2/17.

Call centers operated by the FCC are also in disarray -- busy signals, disconnections, virtually impossible to get it working in time.

Wilmington, N.C. did show a good result, but a massive amount of advertising money was expended. FCC set up a special field office in Wilmington, paid firefighters there to provide in-home technical assistance. Wilmington is flat terrain, very different from elsewhere in the country where territory could make new problems arise.

12:22pm PT: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R - Tenn.): "This is quite an amazing debate that we're having." We get down to the finish line and the federal government wants to push it out for another four months. One of the reasons appears to be, giving one company a competitive advantage. Reported as a lobbyist for Clearwire, now an advisor to the administration.

National organizations supporting this. But nobody Blackburn is talking to locally supports these national groups. "But isn't that the way it goes on issue after issue? We've got the D.C. way and then the Tennessee way." Seniors may be more prepared than any other group, according to Nielsen.

We have interoperability that was missing during 9/11, Katrina. We have a timetable for solving the problem. Let's show the people that the federal government can keep its word on something.

12:20pm PT: Walden: "A simple change in the law to allow budget authority of $250 million to NTIA would allow them to flow these coupons out." Spending $650 million more, but not until April "at the soonest." "I'm not sure you've solved the coupon problem."

12:18pm PT: Rep. Greg Walden (R - Ore.): We're being asked to limit time for debate on a bill that's never had a hearing in the House. "I'm trying to find out how this is Democracy in Action, and how this is Change for a Better Day." And now we're being asked to cut it quick for a White House media show.

6/12 is right in the middle of hurricane, tornado season. Doesn't deal with the issues that the public identified during 9/11.

$500,000 - 1 million more in energy costs per station. That'll add 4 million tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. We had an analog transmitter in Oregon burn up two weeks ago.

12:15pm PT: Barton: "I'm trying to be a good guy, and I'm being muzzled on the House floor. So we may decide to stay here all night."

12:14pm PT: Parliamentary inquiry from Barton: Since when can't the minority ask for a unanimous consent request? [for a six-minute dialog with Boucher]?

Chair: Right is recognized by the chair, but the majority manager must consent to extending the time for debate.

Barton: Unanimous consent request means of the House.

Chair: No rule was violated, Barton wasn't recognized. Majority manager must recognize the request to extend time.

12:11pm PT: Barton: Bill signing ceremony at the White House is scheduled, must the debate be "finished" in 10 minutes as the White House advises?

12:10pm PT: Rep. Phil Hare (D - Ill.): Highly unlikely that his 3,000+ constituents still outstanding would receive coupons by the 2/17 deadline. Elderly, citizens in rural communities, would see their TV screens go blank. "It is essential to push back the date until June 12."

12:09pm PT: Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R - Va.): 2/17/2009, if we took a poll, I bet 90% of the American public would know the date. TV stations have already spent $1 billion in advertising. 98-99% of the American people are ready. If you're connected to cable, satellite, digital-ready TV, you're ready. Or if you got the converter box, you're ready to make the transition now.

There is a much simpler solution: We could fix it today by saying, go buy the converter box, save the receipt, send it to us and you'll get your $40 back.

Look at the consequences of the delay: TV stations have to pay the electricity for two systems. 1,758 stations may face up to $141 million in additional electric bills because of the delay. "Think of the CO2 emissions!"

We have to re-educate the voters. The people don't know the answer to the question [of when the new deadline would be]. Billions have been invested in new equipment by first responders, all of which would delay the use of their assets by four months.

"This is an anti-stimulus bill." It is time to move ahead.

12:05pm PT: Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D - Texas): "Thank you very much, Pres. Obama, for listening for the real reason for having this legislation, which was because we had run out of money for these vouchers...for the people who were in need."

More than 600 in Houston added their names to the list the moment they realized this opportunity was available to them. AARP is supporting this configuration, this extension. It makes sense for the disabled and elderly. "We want to have interoperability, we want to communicate...but at the same time, we can multitask, we can do two things at once, to ensure that we don't turn the lights out on millions of Americans on account of a coupon system that does not work."

Thanks network affiliates for their hard work.

12:01pm PT: Terry: Is the $650 million an appropriate amount for 1.5 million people? Story about Nebraska Cornhusker coach Tom Osborne, who had 95% name recognition in his home state when he ran for Congress. Even with three national championships, 5% of folks in his own home state had never heard of him. Don't understand why we're delaying this.

12:00pm PT: Rep. Lee Terry (R - Neb.): 10 million valid, non-expired coupons. Let's assume that's 5 million households. 1.5 million would be left without resources on February 18. "For that, we're going to delay it for four months," and pay $650 million extra. Way too much money, is that money really all going for converter boxes? And why that much more for consumer education?

None of the public safety organizations were coming to us and saying, "My goodness, you have to delay this." Nobody was saying this until the President three weeks ago, out of the blue, said we should delay this because we were advised by someone in the transition that someone in Bush's administration messed it up. Conflict of interest not relayed to the President.

11:56am PT: Rep. Andre Carson (D - Ind.): "As a father, I try to limit how much television my daughter watches. However, that doesn't mean I want to deny her access to this completely informative medium." Other members would have folks denied access to television.

Indiana has suffered two major storms in the past two weeks, many survived thanks to local advisory alerts from Indianapolis. "I would implore the minority not to politicize this issue. [It] demands that we acts responsibly."

11:54am PT: Rep. Fred Upton (R - Mich.): The reason we did this [set the 2/17 date] was because the first responders needed the analog spectrum.

Broadcasters have spent more than $1 billion informing the nation of the 2/17 date.

Replacement parts for analog broadcast equipment that breaks down may be exceptionally difficult to find, on the understanding that there's no need for repair companies to keep it in stock after 2/17.

Public safety groups can't use the spectrum until the TV spectrum is vacated, under the current letter of the law. "If we had acted then to figure out how to send these coupons now, we could have easily fixed this so that our broadcasters and first responders would have this spectrum on February 17. But we didn't do that job. After spending a billion dollars to inform the public about this date, we're just going to move it out."

Compared to April 15 tax date: "We need to file on time."

11:49am PT: Rep. Bart Stupak (D - Mich.): Needs to make sure all Americans have the opportunity to make the transition. Not all stores have converter boxes available. Even though he warned the Commerce Dept. this would happen, it did nothing.

Allegation that this would impact public safety, not true. Misplaced rhetoric.

Advocated a wireless broadband network for enhancing the public infrastructure. Public safety groups support the delay, have repeatedly said it would not jeopardize public safety. Broadcasters can make the switch "as soon as you're ready."

11:46am PT: Rep. Cliff Stearns (R - Fla.): Agrees, wishes there had been time to mark up and debate amendments.

"A change in the date engenders skepticism among Americans...and distrust in their government."

We're delaying this another four months because of a perceived problem, not a real problem. And there's always going to be a segment that are not happy.

We all thought the inauguration would go perfectly. But not everyone could get to their seats because the metal detectors broke down. If we had known that in advance, would you have shut down the Obama inauguration?

11:42am PT: Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D - N.C.): It is clear that a short delay is necessary. But he wishes there had been an opportunity to mark up the bill -- the first Democrat to say so.

11:38am PT: Barton: You could also just say, you don't need a coupon. You could go to any electronics store in America and buy a converter box. There's no means test. Send us a receipt, the Treasury will pay back your money:

Technical problems: Here's how to do it. First, get the converter box. Second, take it out of the box. Then, plug it in. Next, turn it on. Hit the Scan button, and tune your TV to Channel 3. "What's so technical about that? It works." If it doesn't work, you can dial 211, someone can go to your house and make sure it works. "That's not all that high-tech. If a Texas Aggie like me can understand it, I think the rest of the country can understand it."

11:36am PT: Barton: "The majority's trying to fix a problem that I don't think really exists." 22 million coupons redeemed, 11 million outstanding, redemption rate is 500,000 per week. "You could keep the hard date and not have a problem, in my opinion."

If there is a problem, it's not lack of money. Treasury money can't release existing allocation because Treasury assumes 100% of existing coupons will be redeemed.

"The simple thing to do is authorize, not appropriate, but authorize $240 million...and you've authorized enough money for these 6.5 million Nielsen families. But the majority has chosen not to do that; they've insisted they have to delay the program."

11:34am PT: Rep. Barton (R - Texas): Parliamentary inquiry, voice vote, visual inspection says there were more No congressmen on the floor than Aye congressmen. Can the speaker ask for a show of hands without violating House rules?

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D - Ill.): Straw votes are not recognized under House rules.

Barton: If charge is that the vote is erroneous, can a roll call vote be called for?

Jackson: Speaker can request a voice or recorded vote.

11:28am PT: Boucher: Absence of technical support necessary for folks to test their antennas, make adjustments, determine whether digital signal strength is strong enough to be received. For many, FCC's call center program is the only point of contact that many folks, especially in rural areas, will have available.

Only by utilizing $650 million provided in the stimulus bill can this problem be addressed.

11:26am PT: New round of debate controlled by Rep. Boucher and Rep. Barton.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D - Va.): 1/22, Nielsen concluded that 6.5 million households are unprepared for the transition. "These are homes that rely upon antennas or rabbit ears to get their television service." They do not have cable or satellite subscriptions. If transition goes forward, 6.5 million households will lose TV service, 5.7% of the American TV viewing public.

Most people would declare the transition a failure if that many lost service. 3.7 million on the waiting list for coupons, will expect more requests filed with the Dept. of Commerce.

Senate has unanimously, twice, passed legislation to delay until 6/12. Now discussing the second bill.

Republicans might argue that if more money had been allocated the previous week, "The provision of more money for this program now, without moving the transition date, could not avoid the disruption." IBM has been handling this coupon program since the inception, 1.6 million coupon requests per week is as much as IBM can handle, even if more money were provided for that program today.

Even if more money were provided today, the transition would still be a failure.

11:20am PT: Parliamentary inquiry, it appears more vocalized their votes on the yeas and nays than were actually present in chamber. Speaker (Rep. Jackson (D - Ill.)) concludes the resolution is agreed to.

11:19am PT: Polis: 10/7/1927, Philo T. Farnsworth flipped a switch, brought us into the television age. We have come to rely on television for so much of our news.

Without this bill, in 13 days, television will no longer work for millions of Americans. Will create a surprise for them, will create a gap for our society. Can't think of a time when having access to television is more critical, with the threat of terrorism. Yes, the implementation of the project was bungled. Many have said they won't support additional delays. Urges the House to follow the Senate's lead.

11:17am PT: Foxx: Agrees with colleagues that this has been a terrible process, not having delayed to consider amendments. "We have a potential for harming the very people that we're purporting to help," by creating confusion about the source of public safety information. "We should be doing this under regular order."

11:15am PT: Rep. Paul Broun (R - Geo.): Will the text of the Omnibus bill, upon which this delay relies, be ready?

Polis: No, it won't be ready until after the delay.

Broun: It's a cryin' shame that we couldn't do this in the regular order.

11:14am PT: Weiner: Advocates for who bought the spectrum at billions of dollars? No doubt there are equities on both side, but someone should stand for the two million waiting for coupons. [To the other side:] Who are you standing for?

11:13am PT: Polis: Boucher said he will not support an additional delay. Urgent need for a one-time delay is because 6.5 million TVs will go dark in 13 days.

Yesterday, 135,464 coupons were added to the waiting list, 2.1 million households total. They did everything right, will be eligible for coupons as well. [Won't yield the floor to Blackburn's question.]

Lists public safety official groups supporting the delay.

11:11am PT: Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R - Tenn.): 95% of America is ready for the transition, but on 1/22. That's the day that number was released. It's already closer to 2/17. 300,000 people per week are coming off the list with readiness. Expectation is that the federal govt. is ready to make good on its promise.

Broadcasters are running two systems, digital and analog. Ready to move off that spectrum. "You all are so concerned about climate change," broadcasters are paying double for energy bills. Acquirers of the spectrum are indeed concerned about the potential for a delay, concerned about delaying jobs. "It is time for us to move forward on this and keep our word to the American people."

11:09am PT: Weiner (N.Y.): We have two competing safety imperatives: One is, when will the bandwidth be used. Another, our obligation to the citizens of our districts to protect the connection of citizens to television.

"The past administration screwed up the administration of this program, there's no dispute about that."

11:07am PT: Rep. John Shimkus (R - Ill.): "This movement of the spectrum was directed and suggested by the 9/11 Commission years ago." Subcommittee worked diligently to comply. Firefighters didn't know the buildings were falling. Hurricane Katrina, National Guardsmen can't talk to police officers, disaster relief officials in New Orleans.

FOP isn't supportive, Sheriff's Assoc. is not supportive. Other public service agencies are supportive, but only after cajoling by Democrats. "I do not want to be the member of Congress who delays [access] to the spectrum by first responders."

Rep. Boucher had said, hard date will not be extended again. "We will hold him to that."

Spent eight months going to senior centers.

11:05am PT: Rep. Anthony Weiner (D - N.Y.): We'll be spending the next year digging out of the mess created by our Republican friends, on the economy as well as on digital TV.

"We on this side didn't write this bill." Rep. Ed Markey warned, administration was poorly conceived. Third Class mail delivery, if you don't redeem, folks must wait for the next one to be delivered, "because that's the way you wrote it."

What if there was an emergency tomorrow, a tornado, people needed to be notified quickly. Who do you think you're punishing by standing in the way of this extension? Senior citizens might not be reading about digital TV today, they think their television is fine. Outreach necessary for this program was never done. Big stack of STBs at the electronics store? "What difference does it make, if two million people are on waiting lists to get the voucher?"

Independent Nielsen survey, 7 million Americans not hooked up. Do you say, "It serves them right?"

People who bought the spectrum are fine with the delay, emergency response officials are fine. All you're doing [Republicans] are what you did last week, saying no, no, no.

11:01am PT: Polis: Time would allow citizens to re-apply for coupons.

Rep. Roy Blunt (R - Mo.) "I don't know how you could possibly be watching television and not know that this date is coming up." If you don't know this is coming up, you're not watching television, and you wouldn't know if the transition occurred or not.

9/11 Commission recommendation, first responders should all be on one level where they can communicate. "They could be much more helpful if they could all communicate together immediately...and they cannot do that until the last person gets off the spectrum."

Is a three-year plan better than a 115-day plan? The people who will win today will lose this argument in mid-June. There will be problems in mid-June just as there would be on 2/18. 99% of people are probably ready for the transition, the original benchmark figure was 85%. New problems could arise because contractors have been hired for 2/17, won't be available in June.

"We sold the spectrum." Thought maybe it should be kept longer to make it worth more during the FCC auction. US sliding from #2 to #19 worldwide in broadband spectrum delivery. "The government needs to keep its words on this."

10:57am PT: Rep. Erik Paulsen (R - Minn.): "Why are we spending another $650 million on television coupons when Americans need jobs?"

Many people are hurting, have lost their jobs, are worried about the future. Considered a $1 trillion+ stimulus bill, worth giving each citizen $11,000. $150 million for honey bee insurance, $650 for television coupons. Is this how you [colleagues] would spend your hard-earned money.

"The American public is smart," public support for delay is eroding. "I think we can do better. I think we must do better." Obama calls for swift bipartisan action. "Congress is focused on the wrong priorities with this bill."

10:55am PT: Terry: 95% of homes are ready. Question to Polis, so what is the number we have to be at to implement the hard date? 99.5%

Polis: Terry has 3,401 who have not made the transition, Polis has 3,671. Elderly people aren't aware of the technology. Nielsen says 6.5 million remain.

Many of the coupons were sent by Third Class Mail, taking 4-8 weeks to deliver, many were lost in the mail, arrived after the expiration date. Difficulty explaining to constituents why their TVs went off.

10:53am PT: Rep. Lee Terry (R - Neb.) - "I'm not sure that a delay is necessary. Are there some hiccups or concerns -- Sept. 11 is a 'catastrophe,' Feb. 17 is not."

Concerns that we're not 100% ready, that there's a waiting list. 10 million coupons issued today that were valid, representing 5 million homes. There are mountains, piles "almost up to my neck" in all the electronics stores I went into, of set-top boxes.

We've had hearings on the merits of the DTV hard date. We have not been able to have a discussion on whether there are appropriate responses that do not require a delay. We could have changed an accounting rule that fixed a so-called money problem, but there really isn't a money problem.

"The amazing part of this, to me, is that with these simple solutions that both sides could've agreed upon...we could've had this done a couple of weeks ago." But Obama said we need to delay this, no discussion, only reason because the Bush Administration messed up.

One of the "people" the President was referring to, a member of the transition team on technology issues, owns Clearwire, that will benefit from a delay because it puts his company in an advantageous position. "Maybe that's why we're now talking about a delay of four months without any hearing." Terry is on Oversight Committee, would like to look into this.

10:49am PT: Rep. Polis: A one-time delay only. Can't think of a time in history when having access to television is more critical than it is now. Legislation contains specific language recommended by public safety organizations. Under no circumstances will there be any disruption of spectrum being used by public safety. Association of Chiefs of Police has endorsed.

6.5 million households unprepared, according to Nielsen. Letting them go dark is a legitimate public safety issue, in the case of natural disaster, evacuation, or terrorist act. Delay is a reasonable response to a difficult problem.

10:47am PT: Rep. Cliff Stearns (R - Fla.) - "We spent over two years planning for this date of February 17, 2009." We're all ready to go, would cost PBS $22 million to delay. Hearings were to determine how to run the program. We've never had a hearing on this bill.

Had an opportunity to make this bill better with amendments, but closed rule prevented debate. "No matter what date you establish, there's going to be some folks who don't get the message." Wilmington, N.C. test showed 99% effectiveness.

10:44am PT: Rep. Eliot Engel (D - NY) - We're only talking about a 115-day delay to get our house in order. "I don't think that's so unreasonable." Supports the bill reluctantly.

10:40am PT: Rep. Darrell Issa (R - Calif.) - "I've been a supporter of digital transition." Here as ranking member of Govt. Reform committee signing a note of reform. In asking for a transition delay, Pres.-Elect Obama violated his "one-President-at-a-time" policy -- the only time he did so. Issa believes it's because a company that's behind in the transition rollout, a former Clearwire exec, was on the Obama transition team, and misinformed the then-Pres. Elect. May have been giving his own company an extra four months to get its technology rolled out.

Issa has been in the electronics business for 20 years. Converter box is really about $40. Would have to authorize $206 million or so to fund the delay. But no money is attached to this bill.

"We're not solving the basic problem here." $206 million would solve the problem where $18.6 billion of spectrum is being held ransom. Forcing us to stay in horse-and-buggy land for much longer.

10:32am PT: Rep. Greg Walden (R - Ore.): Asks Rep. Polis, what are the proponents afraid of, why are we afraid of open debate?

Rep. Polis (D - Colo.): In the interest of expediency.

Walden: We had no opportunity to offer an amendment. We had alternatives that would not cost the taxpayers money.

Polis: We had nine hearings in committee.

Walden: But not on this bill. So our only alternative...Who's going to loan us this money, by the way, to pay for converter boxes? While only half the money's been spent? Just change the accounting, go ahead and move forward and issue the coupons on the money already allocated -- The money from the stimulus wouldn't be available until April or May at the earliest.

10:30am PT: Rep. Anna Eshoo (D - Calif.): After all the oversight, all the work, all the hearings, it's become unfortunately clear that we're unable to transition on February 17. Coupons were lost in the mail, consumers were prevented from re-applying. New converter boxes were not procured after already issued coupons were expired. Coupons were mailed Third Class. "And I don't know what genius came up with that in the department."

Eshoo has 2,346 constituents in her 14th district without coupons. Could be 6-8 weeks to replenish the supply of converter boxes. "We can minimize a catastrophe if we pass today's legislation." Stimulus bill will have the necessary funds, if we pass that. "If you vote for this, it's a vote not to go dark for your constituents."

10:27am PT: Amendment that was ruled not in order: one that enabled broadcasters to bypass delay and go ahead and switch, if the cost of the delay exceeded $100,000.

Letter to FCC's Copps sent, "How many TV stations will go ahead with the switch?" Answer: 61% will switch on February 17 anyway, according to FCC Chairman Copps. 143 stations have already switched.

Let's bring an open rule to the floor, bring amendments in, and if that passes, send that to the Senate and work out the differences.

"We want the spectrum to be released for the first responders." But vote no on the closed rule.

10:26am PT: Barton says, he'd suggested that the delay wasn't necessary -- all that was needed was more money for the program. "You have to assume that the coupon could be redeemed 100% of the time." Half the coupon money is still in the account, but it's accounted for by the unredeemed coupons; 52% are being redeemed.

"Interestingly enough, this bill doesn't include any money." That money is actually in the Stimulus package, which won't be "on the President's desk within the next month." So we're delaying the bill without a way to send out coupons or allocate new money. "How silly is that?"

10:24am PT: Rep. Joe Barton (R - Texas): [ranking member of Energy and Commerce Committee] Here we are repeating the same delay debated last week, rejected on a bipartisan vote. Democrats "hot-lined" the bill to bring it back to the House, Rep. Waxman's idea to report the bill to the floor was under a closed rule, disallowing any amendments. This is not an occasion when that's in order; already, two markups have been scheduled and canceled. No real debate in the Senate on this bill.

10:22am PT: Rep. Jane Harman (D - Calif): To provide a one-time delay in the transition, to help minorities, residents of rural areas. TV supports citizens in times of emergency. The transition's real purpose is to improve emergency communications capability for first responders. 9/11 first responders died because they couldn't talk on their radios. Nationwide interoperable broadband network needs to be developed on the spectrum now used for VHF/UHF

"In a perfect world, this delay would not be necessary." Another delay will not be necessary, but we need to protect our most vulnerable citizens. Police, firefighters, EMTs have waited eight years for this.

10:20am PT: Rep. Virginia Foxx (R - N.C.): This process began a long time ago, it's a complicated issue, but even by Federal government standards, it's a long time to accomplish a task. Pres. Obama says he wants change, but he wants change that makes government work. "This is going in the wrong direction, in my opinion."

Government has already added $650 million in DTV funding to the Economic Stimulus bill. Would need to spend $3,000 per household for the holdouts, to match $650 million. Three times the money that needs to be spent for this program.

10:17am PT: Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D - Calif.) is speaking now in support of a one-time delay until June 12, 2009, "to provide additional time to get coupons for...coupons for millions of Americans who may be without television service." Support from Pres. Obama, the FCC, the NAB, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and the major TV networks.

"This has not been an ideal transition to digital television, and this is hardly a solution to the problem...But punishing consumers is not the solution to fix this problem."

10:16am PT: The House Resolution reported to the floor this morning was passed by unanimous consent, which means that that House will now officially debate the DTV Delay Act for one hour, and vote on the Act immediately afterward. The President may very well sign the Act into law this evening, if the delay passes.