Here we go again, indeed. The DTV transition was originally scheduled for February 17, but Democrat Senators wanted to pass a bill that would postpone it for 4 months because they thought 6.5 million people were not ready yet.
I can imagine that, if Americans are anything like me, they would probably wait until Valentine’s day and give a loved one a converter box if they needed one. Then, a few days ago the House Republicans blocked the bill, because they did not get the necessary 2/3 to pass it, even though the majority was for it, so it’s back to the drawing board. Last night, the Senate unanimously passed the same bill, hoping this time it will get through the House.
The difference this time, the majority of the house just needs to pass it, not 2/3. The vote is expected to take place on Tuesday, and that would be the earliest. As of now, the transition is still going to take place on February 17, unless something happens. The Republicans are arguing that a delay would confuse many Americans because so many ads about this have been running recently, and it would cost television stations millions of dollars extra. And I’m sure they could put that money to better use.
It will be interesting to see how things play out, so stay tuned!
Via [Washington Post]
I actually think this is a really dumb idea. They should just let it happen on Feb 17th.