DBS Extension Passed; Senate Passes 10-Year Reauthorization

The Senate and the House late Thursday passed a 30-day extension for the license allowing satellite TV companies to import distant signals. The license was set to expire at the end of the month. The legislation (S-3186) gives DBS providers and legislators until the end of April to pass another extension or a longer-term reauthorization. It’s the third time the license, which was originally set to expire at the end of 2009, has gotten a reprieve. The measure was passed without debate in both houses. The Senate also passed a 10-year reauthorization of the distant signal license Friday.

The satellite extension was originally part of a group of unrelated expiring provisions that were pushed back as lawmakers dealt with health care legislation. Senate lawmakers decided to treat the satellite TV extension separately from the others when Republicans, led by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., objected to an extension of jobless benefits, Senate officials said. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced the separate legislation that was passed by the House and Senate.

Meanwhile, the Senate passed a 10-year satellite reauthorization Friday that avoids a Congressional Budget Office “scoring” issue that has tripped up previous attempts at a full reauthorization. The change to 10 years from five years solves the accounting issue and reduces the CBO estimate of the long-term deficit by close to $300 million compared to the five-year bill, Senate and industry officials said. Other than the year change, the bill is largely identical to the five-year reauthorization currently being reviewed in the House, they said. When it became clear the Senate wanted to peel off the satellite TV extensions from the the 30-day extension bill on Thursday, Republicans worked out a deal with Rockefeller and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to try to pass a 10-year extension on unanimous consent, said a Senate Republican aide.

However, it remains to be seen if the move to 10 years will be a problem for House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich. Many in the House favored five years from a policy perspective, since the shorter time frame would allow policymakers to make further tweaks to the satellite TV law sooner, the Republican aide said.

House members recessed Thursday night and won’t vote on the 10-year reauthorization until after they return April 12. Both reauthorization bills, the five-year and the ten-year, include a controversial provision that held up similar legislation last year and waives a 2006 injunction that has left Dish Network unable to import distant signals. In exchange for the waiver, Dish would provide local-into-local service for all 210 designated market areas.

Legislators were eager to pass an extension or reauthorization this week because they wouldn’t get another chance to address the problem before going on a two-week recess. Lawmakers and DBS companies faced a similar situation last month when Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., objected to the extensions, allowing the satellite license to lapse. The five-year and ten-year bills being considered would retroactively push back the license deadline that was missed due to Bunning’s objections. The legislation would free DBS providers of legal liability for importing distant signals without their license, as promised by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees’ chairmen and ranking members when it become clear the license would sunset without renewal (CD March 1 p1).