Days after the U.S. Senate passed a bill to delay the digital television transition from Feb. 17 to June 12, the House of Representatives voted 258-168 in favor of delaying the DTV transition -- but that number is 26 votes short for the necessary two-thirds margin.
The bill was unanimously passed by the Senate on Monday afternoon, but it was unknown how members of the House would vote on the bill.
Both politicians and supporters plan to have the issue brought up again next week in the House, and hope they'll be able to get the necessary two-thirds vote on the second attempt. One of the bill's strongest supporters, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) hopes to hold another vote as soon as possible, according to numerous media reports.
Assuming the bill fails again, millions of Americans who aren't prepared for the transition from analog to digital will likely be left without working TV service, the government warns. The government was handing out vouchers to citizens who will need to purchase converter boxes, but the $40 vouchers ran out in early January, and there are now 2.5 million people on the wait list.
Most customers who have cable, satellite or phone company TV will be unaffected by the transition because the hosting companies convert all digital signals automatically so they can be shown on analog TV sets. Those TV viewers, however, who have rooftop antennas or rabbit ears will need to buy a new TV or use the converter box.
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