NEWS RELEASE

Committee on Energy and Commerce
Rep. John D. Dingell, Chairman

Dingell, Markey Question Mismanagement of Digital Television Coupon Program

Washington, DC – Key lawmakers are questioning why the agency charged with distributing coupons for digital television converter boxes is running out of administrative funding and will have difficulty reissuing coupons that have not been redeemed. In a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), the Chairman of the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, said that the NTIA had planned only for the distribution of 33.5 million coupons, when the reissuing of additional coupons could mean administrative costs for the addition of millions of more coupons.

“The digital television transition is now seven months away and millions of consumers are counting on NTIA to ensure they don’t lose their local television signals,” said Dingell. “Now, we find that NTIA has not adequately planned for reissuing expired coupons. The Committee intends to determine whether and where there have been shortcomings in the administration of this program, why they were allowed to occur, who was involved and, most importantly, how these problems will be corrected without penalizing consumers.”

"The coupon program is the key to ensuring that consumers who rely on analog over-the-air TV signals are not left in the dark come next February,” said Markey. “The NTIA has long been aware that redistributing expired coupons in a timely fashion would be key to ensuring everyone who needs a coupon receives one. The NTIA’s apparent lack of planning is a serious oversight, one that they must correct promptly and without dipping into the funds marked to help consumers purchase converter boxes."

In their letter, Dingell and Markey ask NTIA to explain why NTIA’s Request for Proposal for the DTV Converter Box Program and NTIA’s contract with IBM, which is under contract to administer the coupon program, only accounted for 33.5 million coupons.

Since January of 2007, the Committee on Energy and Commerce has held seven hearings on the status of the digital television transition. For additional information click here.

Read the letter »

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