STEVENS, SENSENBRENNER WANT FULL REVIEW OF SHVIA
NEW ORLEANS -- As the Senate Commerce Committee was about to hold a hearing on the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA) and whether to extend it, 2 leading lawmakers told a national cable convention that the law deserves a full review, not just a simple extension. SHVIA gives DBS providers the right to transmit local broadcast signals and it expires this year, so many in Congress consider it “must do” legislation. But the question remains whether enough time remains this session to give the law a full review, as was intended, as opposed to simply extending the expiration date again. “I think we should make a run at a review of the entire act,” said House Judiciary Committee Chmn. Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), speaking at a NCTA conference luncheon. If it has to be extended because of time constraints, Sensenbrenner said he would favor a renewal “short in nature.”
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As for the Deal amendment on a la carte pricing, Sensenbrenner said he thinks it would make the bill too controversial to pass and SHVIA would expire. “I think it would be irresponsible. We've got to figure out how to do the job right and get it done,” Sensenbrenner said, and “if we simply strike out the December date and put another date in, it would mean Congress is really abdicating its responsibility to review the operation of the Act…” Sen. Stevens (R-Alaska), expected to chair the Commerce Committee next year, told the luncheon audience he would favor an extension but said it “deserves a real review.”
The Senate Commerce Committee’s SHVIA hearing is scheduled for today (Tues.) at 9:30 a.m. in 253 Russell Bldg. The House Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee will mark up its SHVIA bill at 10 a.m. Thurs. in 2141 Rayburn Bldg. The House Judiciary bill, which hasn’t formally been introduced, will address many intellectual property issues associated with SHVIA. The House Telecom Subcommittee moved a SHVIA bill last week (CD April 29 p4).
On the Internet Tax Freedom bill, Sensenbrenner said his committee members are talking about whether it should go to conference or ping-pong between the Senate and House. “I'm hopeful we'll be able to get that on the President’s desk soon,” he said. Sensenbrenner and Stevens said they would favor tax incentives over subsidies to promote the President’s goal of affordable nationwide broadband access before 2008. But Stevens said he sees the Universal Service Fund as vital, particularly in Alaska. “I don’t look at the Universal Service Fund as a subsidy. I look at it as a contribution… I think communications is becoming a new civil right really.” He noted that in Alaska the need for communications is “so great and the availability of communications is so limited.”
Stevens said that if he does become Commerce Committee chmn., he would like to review the entire 1996 Telecom Act, but said he wants to avoid hearings. Meetings and consensus building behind the scenes would be better, he said.
Asked about indecency, Stevens commended the cable industry for allowing people to block programming, “for people to set their own standards in their own home.” Sensenbrenner said self-regulation is best, companies should exercise self-control and parents need to be involved. “The most effective control is having the remote in the hands of the parents,” he said.