WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation today approved by a vote 19-3 the Committee’s Reconciliation Bill submission called the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005.

The original Committee bill offered by Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) provides two specific dates that will strengthen public safety communications and help advance the DTV transition and. First, the Act sets a hard date for the digital transition of April 7, 2009. This hard date establishes a date certain by which public safety personnel will be able to use an additional 24 MHz of spectrum recovered from the digital transition.

Second, the legislation begins the auction of recovered spectrum on January 28, 2008. Under its budget reconciliation instruction, the Commerce Committee is required to raise $4.8 billion in revenue in the next five years, and the spectrum auctions are considered to be the most viable method within the Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction to recover this revenue. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that auctions will raise a total of $10 billion.

After the required revenue is transferred to the U.S. Treasury, the remaining funds raised from spectrum auctions will be allocated as follows:

1) $3 billion for a converter box subsidy program

2) $200 million for a program to transition Low Power TV stations and TV translators to digital

3) $1 billion for state and local interoperability grants

4) $250 million to fund programs in the WARN Act, which establishes national alert and tsunami warning systems

5) $250 million in funding to improve E-911 communications under the Enhance 911 legislation sponsored by Senator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) passed last year

6) $200 million for assistance to coastal States affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters

In addition, the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act requires the Federal Communications Commission to raise $10 million in additional regulatory fees in Fiscal Year 2006 to meet the Budget Committee’s reconciliation instructions to the Commerce Committee.

Adopted by unanimous consent with the bill was a Manager’s Amendment offered by Senators Stevens and Inouye. The Amendment:

1) provided that any auction proceeds in excess of $10 billion be deposited in the Treasury to reduce the deficit. This could be a significant sum if the auction brings in over $20 billion as some industry groups have suggested;

2) set specific amounts for the program payments;

3) increased the amount to go to the Treasury from $4.8 billion to $5 billion to help reduce the deficit;

4) designated $50 million of $250 million for the national alert system to fund tsunami warning and coastal vulnerability programs; and

5) allocated any remaining funds from the converter box program and translator conversion be transferred to the emergency communications program.

Senator Burns also offered an amendment that was accepted by unanimous consent. The Burns amendment made $75 million from the spectrum auction available over a five-year period for the Essential Air Service program.