Waxman, Boucher Push DTV Date-Change Bill To Colleagues

House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) sent a "dear colleague" letter Monday in support of the digital television transition delay legislation which the House will vote on Wednesday. They pointed out that the waiting list for $40 coupons subsidizing the purchase of the boxes is now 3.3 million requests long from over 1.8 million households. But they went even farther, spelling out for each House member what that translated to in terms of constituents in their respective districts. "We have received data from the Commerce Department on the number of households in your district that are on the waiting list for digital converter box coupons. In order to assist you in evaluating the need for the DTV Delay Act, we have attached a table that contains this information for each member of Congress."