Senate Passes DTV Delay Bill Again
By Ed Oswald | Friday, January 30, 2009 at 8:11 am
The Senate has passed a slightly modified version of the bill it passed last week, bringing in compromises from the House and sending it back to the lower chamber for a second vote. As with the first one, the switch would be delayed to June 12. It is not clear whether this modified bill will be enough to pass the House: the last bill failed to get the needed supermajority for “fast track passage,” 258-168 (see Steve Wildstrom’s comment below for an explanation). The earliest the bill could be taken up is Monday, a little over two weeks before the transition is to take place.
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January 30th, 2009 at 8:25 am
This is so stupid. Why is the Senate so insistent in getting this bill passed? As commenters on this site have said before, those who can’t afford buying the converter box now won’t be able to afford it in a few months, and those who have waited till the last minute to buy one will do the same again in June.
It will be best just to go to digital now.
January 30th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Actually, the House bill got a 258-168 majority. The problem was that it was brought up under a special fast-track procedure that requires a 2/3 majority, which it fell 26 votes short of. If the House leadership brings it up in “regular order” next week, only a simple majority will be needed and, for better or worse, it should pass easily. The Senate action just makes it easy for the House to take it up as a new bill rather than as reconsideration of the original measure. (I covered Congress in a previous life.)
January 30th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Steve.. thank you for that. Looks like my original source also had it wrong as well. Appreciated and updated…
January 30th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Thanks, Steve, and good to see you here!