Plans to delay the switch off of analog TV signals until June have hit an unexpected stumbling block in the House of Representatives. A bill to sanction a four-month delay failed to attract the required two-thirds majority.

The bill had passed in the Senate on Monday and it appeared inevitable it would pass in the House given that it had been rewritten to attract support from both major parties. The vote means the legally enforced switchover to digital signals remains set for Feb. 17…. for now.

While the House voted in favor of the bill, by 258-164, that wasn’t enough to pass it into law. That’s because Democrat leaders had used a Congressional procedure known as ‘suspension of the rules.’ Designed to allow uncontentious legislation to go through the House more quickly, it limits debate to 40 minutes and bars any amendments.

To avoid misuse, bills put through this method require a two-third majority instead of the usual simple majority. Those backing the bill clearly miscalculated the level of opposition to the delay. Though the bill passed unanimously in the Senate, it may be the case that some Senators objected to the delay but didn’t press for a vote as they believed there was no chance of preventing a majority there.

There was certainly vocal opposition in the House with Republican Joe Barton (pictured) saying, “I guarantee you, no matter when you set the date — Feb. 17, June 12, July the Fourth, Valentine’s Day — there are going to be some people that aren’t ready.”

Democrats say they will attempt to bring the bill back and now have two options. The first is to try using ‘suspension of the rules’ again, which could be done quickly. However, this would require 26 of those voting against the measure to change their minds. With no amendments to the bill allowed under this method, this seems unlikely.

The second, and more likely, option is to put the bill through the traditional process where a simple majority should be no problem. However, it might take longer to secure the necessary space in the Congressional calendar for a full debate, risking even more uncertainty as the original deadline draws closer.

To add to the confusion, Barton is proposing his own bill which would authorize an extra $250 million for coupons towards converter boxes but keep the February switch-off date.

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Entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 9:56 am under Politics, Technology.

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