"The bi-partisan staff draft omnibus Digital Television (DTV) bill released yesterday represents the Committee's starting legislative point to solve the DTV problem.

"It is intended to elicit discussion on what the Congress and the FCC can do to encourage a more orderly and timely successful transition to digital television.  It focused on the obstacles that have been identified as impediments to the transition and offers suggested solutions for solving the key problems that are central to the current logjam.

"The lack of progress in private inter-industry negotiations and the number of outstanding FCC rulemakings has led to uncertainty in the marketplace and makes it very difficult for businesses to make solid plans for the future.

"While we prefer marketplace solutions, clearly it is time for us to provide leadership in this area.  By doing so, we hope to ensure that consumers benefit in a meaningful way from this exciting transition."

A copy of the staff discussion draft and the section-by-section is available at  http://republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/107/drafts/dtvstaff.htm