James Sensenbrenner, October 18, 2002

How would you like to fork out $250 for something you don’t need and are not ever likely to use, but have to pay for anyway?

In August, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a new rule requiring TV set makers to include digital tuners in all TV sets with 36-inch screens or larger, by July 2004 -- which is less than two years from now. The ruling states that TV set makers are required to include these tuners in all TV sizes in the ensuing three years. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, these tuners will increase the cost of the average TV by $250.

Digital tuners allow TVs to receive digital broadcasts from over-the-air signals, that is, when not hooked up to cable or satellite. According to the FCC, the reason for implementing this rule is so that all TV sets will be digitally compatible, thus facilitating the transition from analog to digital signals and allowing consumers to watch TV in digital mode.

Digital TV tuners are only used to receive over-the-air signals. For those households which choose alternate services, such as cable or satellite, the device is completely worthless. To put it another way, the result of the FCC’s mandate is comparable to requiring viewers to purchase an expensive antenna when they already have cable. When you consider the $250 added cost to future TVs, along with the projection that less than 13% of consumers will use this device, the FCC’s mandate is unacceptable. For Wisconsin, this would mean that with an estimated 560,000 TV sets sold per year, at $250 a tuner, the FCC’s mandate could cost Wisconsinites approximately $140 million per year!

In response to yet another federal mandate on the lives of consumers, on October 16, I introduced H.R. 5685, the TV Consumer Choice Act. My legislation is simple - it nullifies the FCC’s decision, thus ensuring that individual consumers, not the federal government, decide which TV options are best for them.

The switch to digital broadcasting is being made because the advanced technology will allow broadcasters to air a better product, which will translate to a better picture and more lifelike sound to people watching TV at home. I support that. But, while digital TV may present new and exciting options to viewers - particularly when the Packers game is on - these expensive tuners should not be forced upon hundreds of millions of Americans, many of whom do not want or need this costly device.

Although it’s late in the congressional session, I will continue to pursue this bill because $250 can go a long way in Wisconsin, and I can think of better ways to spend it than on a piece of equipment that most of us are unlikely to use.

James Sensenbrenner, a Republican, represents the Ninth Congressional District of Wisconsin in the U.S. House of Representatives.