passed

They've been kicking it around for years, but the House of Representatives has finally (and barely) approved a budget legislation that requires all broadcasters to get rid of their analog signals and switch to a digital format by February 17, 2009. The new legislation also results in "modest cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and student-loan subsidies and adds $10 billion in new revenue from auctioning television airwaves to the highest bidder."  

The transfer to DTV will allow broadcasters to have one of two channels in HDTV or several channels in standard definition. Broadcasters are being told to ditch their frequencies this year, or when digital TV reaches eighty-five percent. In addition, congress will be setting up a program in which a family may be eligible for up to $80 to convert their sets to digital.