By 52 to 47, the Senate Nov. 3 narrowly passed its version of the bill officially known as the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005. The House Nov. 18 approved its own version, 217 to 215. Differences between the bills will need to be reconciled in conference as early as December. Differences between the versions include the hard date and the amount to be allocated for subsidizing consumers with digital-to-analog converter boxes. The Senate has earmarked $3 bil. for conversion while the House is allotting just $990 mil. ($830 mil. after administrative expenses). The House legislation, however, contains provisions not included in the Senate bill (due to Senate rules barring votes on any provisions not associated with budgetary issues), including a requirement that broadcasters allocate $5 bil. in advertising time to promote the transition plus a provision for cable operators to downconvert HD broadcast signals to SD versions for five years after the transition date.
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