Multichannel News reports that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has offered an amendment to a budget bill that would expedite the return of analog TV spectrum, setting the data at April 7, 2008, a year before the cutoff date recently approved by the Senate Commerce Committee.
In his floor comments, McCain lashed out at the National Association of Broadcasters, saying that he was “sick and tired” that the trade group continued to put the interests of “television viewers” ahead of the lives of first responders.
McCain had earlier offered an amendment calling for an April 2007 cutoff date, which was voted down in committee. Another contentious issue related to the digital broadcast conversion is the amount of set-top subsidies for low-income households, with Sen. Ensign (R-NV) expected to propose an amendment to cut $2 bil. of the $3 bil. in set-top subsidies set forth in the bill approved by the Commerce Committee.
Mitch Shapiro at 9:04 AM|Comments(0)
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