“I am deeply disappointed that Republicans blocked the digital television transition (DTV) delay bill today in the House.  One thing is clear, the outgoing Bush Administration grossly mismanaged the digital television transition and consumers are confused, households are not prepared, and the coupon program for converter boxes is broken.  While the Senate paved the way with a bipartisan bill to repair this unfortunate situation, our Republican counterparts in the House chose to stand in the way of a workable solution.  Instead of delaying the transition to ensure that the most vulnerable among us have the ability to prepare for the transition, they have made certain that far too many consumers across the country will wake up on February the 18^th and find that their television sets have gone dark and access to news, information, and vital emergency alerts will be unavailable.  It did not have to be this way - this situation was unnecessary and avoidable.”

 

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