Barton Praises SHVERA Passage

"We are technologically narrowing the expanse of our universe ..."

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today issued the following statement in response to last night's Senate passage of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) as part of the omnibus spending package:

"Passage of SHVERA will increase competition and consumer choice by both allowing satellite providers to continue to provide local and network broadcasts to viewers otherwise unable to receive local programming in their area, and to carry certain out-of-market signals in a comparable way to what cable operators are currently permitted to do. These provisions mean rural Americans will not be cut off from the world of information. From Washington to the distant expanses of Alaska, viewers will be able to have their fingers on the pulse of breaking news.

"Through the telecommunications medium, we truly have the ability to technologically narrow the expanse of our universe."

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