DTV Caucus Planned
LAS VEGAS -- Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Greg Walden, R-Ore., will co-chair a new Digital Television Congressional Caucus formed in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters.
Boucher unveiled the caucus during a Tuesday speech to the American Cable Association in Washington and described it in a short video on display at the NAB convention on Monday. Both Boucher and Walden sit on the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. Boucher is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Caucus members plan to educate other lawmakers and the public about the shift to digital TV signals on Feb. 17, 2009. To reach citizens in rural areas, they will conduct town-hall meetings and use the media to spread the word.
Also on Tuesday, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, warned during remarks at the broadcasters' convention that the transition could be a "mess" that leaves some citizens without access to television signals. To address such problems, the caucus will focus on educating both the public and other lawmakers about the switchover and how it will impact Americans.
But the group is not expected to address one of Copps' key concerns -- that funding be boosted for a $1.5 billion federal coupon program designed to ensure that an estimated 20 million Americans can afford equipment needed to keep many older analog sets functioning after the deadline.
In a separate but related development, NAB will brief congressional staffers about the digital transition on April 30, association spokeswoman Shermaze Ingram said.
-- David Hatch
UPDATE/CORRECTION: This entry has been rewritten to reflect information obtained after first posted and to correct the previous reference to the April 30 briefing as a press event about the caucus.
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