WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today legislation authored by Congresswoman Lois Capps (CA-23) and Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.VA), the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act (SAFER, S. 3663), was approved by the U.S. House by unanimous consent.  The legislation allows for the short-term continued analog broadcast of essential information after the February 18, 2009 nationwide transition to digital television (DTV), including broadcasts of emergency information.  The Senate approved the SAFER Act (S. 3663) last month by unanimous consent.  The legislation now goes to the President who is expected to sign the bill.  

“I am so pleased that the House was able to approve this much needed measure to help ease the Digital Television transition,” said Capps, co-author of the legislation and a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee.   “This legislation provides an important safety net as we work to ensure that no one gets left behind in the conversion.  As we prepare for the upcoming February 18th transition, it is clear that many Americans are still not prepared for the Digital Television transition, particularly seniors and members of minority communities.  Since the Federal Government is requiring this transition, we have to make sure it goes as smoothly as possibly and ensure our constituents can continue to receive important information in the event of an emergency.  I hope the President will act quickly to sign this legislation.”

Under the SAFER Act, after February 18th households that may not have prepared their televisions to receive digital signals will see a “slide” on their screen—in both English and Spanish— informing them that the transition to digital has taken place, and providing a phone number for further information on how to arrange for their televisions to receive digital signals.  More importantly, they will also receive emergency weather and public safety information that is broadcast over digital airwaves.  The SAFER Act would ensure that this information was available for 30 days following the transition to all-digital broadcasting.

On February 18, 2009, full-power broadcast stations will discontinue over-the-air transmissions using analog signals and instead use exclusively digital signals.  Digital television will deliver cleaner, crisper pictures.  More importantly, digital broadcasts are a more efficient use of our spectrum because they take up much less space than analog signals.  This reallocation of spectrum will allow our country to move forward with one of the key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission: establishing a nationwide public safety network to respond to regional or national disasters.

Consumers who currently receive their television signal through satellite or cable won’t notice the switch.  The 17 million households who rely exclusively on over-the-air analog signals, however, will need to purchase a digital converter box, which will allow their television to receive digital signals. Congress earlier allotted up to $1.5 billion to provide discount coupons for the purchase of these converter boxes. The FCC, broadcasters and others have been engaged in a multi-million dollar campaign to inform consumers of the upcoming switch to digital.

Capps originally introduced the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act (SAFER) in the House of Representatives on September 23rd, 2008.  Senator Rockefeller then introduced similar companion legislation in the Senate.  The current legislation, S. 3663, is compromise language based on the original Capps and Rockefeller bills.

For more information on the DTV Transition, please visit: 
http://www.house.gov/capps/constituentservices/digital_tv.shtml

A copy of the Congresswoman’s speech on the SAFER Act follows:

Statement of Rep. Lois Capps
S. 3663, the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act
December 10, 2008

Madame Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 3663, the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act.

On February 18, 2009 full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and transition to all-digital broadcasting.  This is undoubtedly an important step forward for our country; it allows us to more efficiently utilize our airwaves, and to lay the groundwork for a nationwide public safety network.  However, we must proceed with caution to ensure that segments of our population are not left behind and remain informed in cases of emergency.

That is why I introduced the SAFER Act.  This bill creates a program within the FCC that allows for the continuation of analog signals to televisions for thirty days following the DTV transition. It ensures that, once the digital television transition has taken place, unprepared analog televisions will receive a short “slide” — in English and Spanish — explaining that the digital transition has occurred and what viewers need to do to continue receiving television broadcasts. The bill also allows for emergency communications, such as natural disaster alerts, to be broadcast to unprepared analog televisions.  The fires that raged through my congressional district and other parts of Southern California last month are an example of alerts that could be broadcast to television viewers who were unprepared for the DTV transition.

According to the GAO, over 17 million households rely exclusively on analog over-the-air television, and while broadcasters, the FCC and others have been working furiously to let them know about the upcoming transition, there will inevitably be some folks left behind.  In fact, that is exactly what happened after an FCC “test” transition in Wilmington, N.C.  Despite saturation advertising announcing the change and a geographic topography most conducive to it, nearly 2,000 households woke up to find that their televisions did not work; when extrapolated to the entire nation this could mean that at least 1.5 million households will wake up on February 18 without a working television.

We also know that certain segments of our population will likely be disproportionately impacted by the digital transition: Latinos, African Americans and seniors.  As someone who represents a congressional district that is 42 percent Latino and has many senior citizens, I find this very troubling.  Clearly, we should be doing everything we can to ensure that no Americans are left behind during this important time.

Madame Speaker, I am grateful to my colleague Senator Rockefeller and his staff for taking leadership on this important bill in the Senate, and to Chairman Dingell and his staff for working closely with us to ensure that no one is left behind by the DTV transition.

I urge my colleagues to support S. 3663, the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act.

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Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.