Mr. Chairman, I congratulate you for producing a good, bipartisan bill on this issue. At a hearing on this topic last month, I laid out two important goals for the Committee in moving to reauthorize the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act. I am pleased that the Committee Print before us accomplishes both of them.

First, the Committee should strive to strengthen the ability of satellite companies to compete in the video marketplace and to empower consumers to receive the programming of their choice. The Committee Print moves strongly in this direction by affording satellite companies the same ability as their cable competitors to offer consumers distant network signals that are significantly viewed in his or her local community. The satellite companies told us that this inequity in the law was hurting their ability to compete with cable and I am pleased that we are addressing this issue head-on.

Also on this note, the legislation directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), by year-end 2005, to report to the Congress on a standard and predictive model for creating a digital white area so that the Congress can identify those consumers who cannot receive digital, local broadcast signals. After that time, the Congress will examine the progress of the digital transition and will make an informed decision on how to proceed in a way that best serves consumers. I particularly commend Representatives Boucher and Bass for their hard work and attention to this issue.

Second, we must ensure that the growth of the satellite industry does not come at the expense of America's local broadcasters. In 1999, the Congress permitted satellite companies to offer local broadcast stations to local communities and insisted that all broadcasters be offered in a non-discriminatory manner. That notion, dubbed "carry one - carry all," was the cornerstone of the 1999 Act.

By placing certain broadcasters on the so-called "wing dish," and by pursuing marketing practices to aggressively minimize consumer use of such a dish, one of the satellite companies, in the view of the Commission and others, has flouted the expressed will of the Congress on this issue. We have no choice but to correct this situation, and I am pleased that the Committee Print does so.

Mr. Chairman, I look forward to continuing to work with you on this legislation as we move towards full Committee action and to the House floor.