Breaking: House approves new DTV delay bill

Despite heavy opposition from Republican lawmakers, House Democrats finally passed a revised bill that would delay the impending DTV transition until June 12. All the bill needs now is a signature from President Obama, who's sure to sign it.

So barring a sudden change of heart on Obama's part (not likely), it looks like the country will indeed—like it or not—get an extra four months to prepare for the DTV transition, which was originally scheduled for Feb. 17.

The "DTV delay" bill, which was approved by the Senate last week, easily won House approval (by a vote of 264-158) Wednesday afternoon. Two weeks ago, a similar version of the bill failed to win a required two-thirds majority in the House under special "fast-tracking" rules; Wednesday's vote came under standard House rules, meaning that the bill only needed a simple majority to pass.

The vote caps weeks of back-and-forth (and mostly partisan) debate on the proposed DTV delay. Democratic lawmakers and the Obama administration argue that too many analog-only viewers still aren't ready for analog TV signals to be switched off; Republican have countered that changing the heavily-advertised DTV transition date would only add to the confusion, and that a delay would put an undue burden on broadcasters, who've been preparing for the switch for years.

One compromise in the bill (officially known as S. 352): TV stations will be allowed to go all-digital before the new June 12 transition date, provided they get FCC approval first. (It's also worth noting that about 150 local stations—as well as every TV station in Hawaii—have already turned off their analog over-the-air signals.)

Meanwhile, the bill does not include any additional funding for the cash-strapped $1.5 billion DTV coupon program, which provides up to two $40 coupons per household for $40-$60 DTV converter boxes.

Those with analog TVs and over-the-air antennas will need the boxes to receive digital TV signals, but since the coupon program ran out of money last month, new requests are going on a lengthy waiting list. About $650 million for the program (including money for more coupons and door-to-door community outreach) is included in Obama's proposed economic stimulus package.

OK, so what do you think—was Congress right to push back the DTV transition date? Or is it just making matters worse? (I already weighed in last week.) Sound off below.

Related:
Our (soon to be out-of-date) DTV transition guide [Yahoo! Tech]