The digital television transition originally scheduled to take place in a couple of weeks on Feb. 17 has officially been delayed until June 12.
The House voted for a second time on Wednesday and this time got the necessary two-thirds vote to delay the transition from analog to DTV. Members of the House voted 264-158 in favor of the delay, one week after the same bill passed through the Senate.
The bill will now head to the White House where President Barack Obama is expected to sign it as soon as possible.
There was growing concern that there could be up to 10 million American TV viewers who still need to purchase a new TV, get digital cable or satellite service, or purchase a converter box.
Image courtesy of Washington Post
"Consumers are confused about where to buy their converter box, about which box to buy, how to hook up their box, what to do if they lose a channel they once got, and whether they need a new antenna," Consumers Union policy analyst Joel Kelsey told the L.A. Times. "Changing the date allows them more time to grapple with those questions."
The other side of the argument, however, says delaying the DTV transition won't help, as the people who aren't ready won't likely be ready when the June 12 deadline approaches.
One of the reasons many politicians were in favor of delaying the transition has to do with the idea that several million people who are on the voucher wait list may now be able to get a voucher before the new deadline.
The Commerce Department has a $1.34 billion funding limit for vouchers -- two $40 vouchers per house hold -- and ran out of money for the program much sooner than originally planned. The necessary money to help get vouchers to more Americans has been included in the next stimulus package that Congress is evaluating right now, according to the House Subcommittee on Communication, Technology and the Internet.
