The Senate passed their version of the bill to move the DTV transition date, and it seemed like a done deal. But the House of Representatives, with a decisive margin, voted against the bill. So as it stands today, the DTV transition will happen as scheduled at midnight on the evening of February 17.
Here’s more from WBALTV.com and Broadcasting and Cable.
John,
I think you are a bit mistaken. The House voted by a significant margin *FOR* the delay in the DTV transition. The final tally was about 60% for the delay, 40% against. It didn’t pass because it was brought up under special rules that required a 2/3 majority to pass. The special rules limited debate and amendments and I guess the hope was they would get it through quicker this way, but it didn’t work out.
According to the Washington Post, Rep. Rick Boucher intends to bring up the bill under “regular” rules next week, and that would allow the bill to delay the DTV transition to pass with a simple majority. The “regular” rules apparently leave the bill more vulnerable to get weighed down with prolonged debate and extra amendments. Overburdening a bill with amendments can be used as a tactic to make a bill so unpleasant that those who would normally support the original bill are forced to vote against it.
Bottom line: A significant majority of congress is FOR the delay in the DTV transition, and the fight isn’t over yet.
Here is the link to the Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012801883.html?hpid=moreheadlines