mr. speaker, in all these endeavors russell inspired so many to give back and push his community to do the same. he led a life of service, sacrifice, and a commitment to others. colonel russell once stated he hoped he would be remembered for the impact that his life had on others and that he made a difference. mr. speaker, i rise today as one more voice among the countless others across pennsylvania and the country and the world to praise colonel russell for doing just that. we thank you for your unparalleled service to this nation and our community, and may you rest with god, my friend. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until noon today.

>> republicans bringing these bills to the floor as part in reaction to the president's decision to delay parts of the health care law. live house coverage when they return for legislative work at noon here on c-span. and the senate about to vote on a number of judicial nominations. before return to a bill this afternoon that renews federal childcare block grants. the senate foreign relations committee today is scheduled to mark up a ukraine aid package. a sticking point exists over language requested by president obama that would alter the structure of the i.m.f. and strengthen its ability to send aid to ukraine. we'll have live coverage of that markup at 2:30 eastern over on c-span3. at the white house meanwhile, president obama is hosting ukraine's new prime minister in a show of support for the new government. g-7 leaders today have called on russia to immediately halt all action supporting a referendum

in crimea this weekend on whether to separate from ukraine. the g-7 also calling on russia to withdraw their troops from the region and begin discussions with the government of ukraine. by the way we'll bring you any on-camera remarks that come out of today's white house meeting. just one more programming note, following that white house meeting, ukraine's new prime minister will be speaking at the atlantic counsel. we'll cover that event live on c-span3. >> while this invasion continues, we and the other nations of the world cannot conduct business as usual with the soviet union. that's why the united states has imposed stiff economic penalties on the soviet union. i will not issue any permits for soviet ships to fish in the coastal waters of the united states. i have cut soviet access to high technology equipment and to agricultural products. i have limited other commerce with the soviet union and i have

asked our allies and friends to join with us in restraining their own trade with the soviets and not to replace our own embargoed items. and i have notified the olympic committee that with soviet invading forces in afghanistan, neither the american people nor i will support sending an olympic team to moscow. >> more highlights from 35 years of house floor coverage on our facebook page. c-span created by america's cable companies 35 years ago and brought to you today as a public service by your television rovider. >> the house subcommittee will be meeting this morning to examine the laws governing the satellite tv industry, as well as the data video marketplace. witnesses at this morning's hearing include former s.e.c. chairman michael powell, plus senior executives from directv and tivo.

the former chairman will at the center of the screen. the hearing should get under way shortly.

>> the ranking democrat on the committee, anna eshoo, the subcommittee hearing will be examining this morning the laws on the satellite tv industry. you saw michael powell, the former chairman of the s.e.c. and now president and c.e.o. of the national cable and elecommunications association.

>> grelling walden on your screen, the chairman of the subcommittee on communications and technology. the hearing about to get under way on satellite television. by the way the chairman is also,

mr. walden is also chairman of the national republican campaign committee. released a statement earlier today about the move yesterday in the special e -- win yesterday in the special election of the florida's 13th congressional district, david jolly winning that seat yesterday in a special election. >> i'll call to order the subcommittee on communications and technology, welcome you here this morning for hour hearing. today the subcommittee on communications and technology will consider draft legislation to re-authorize the satellite television extension and localism act. that's the law that governs the provision of direct broadcast satellite service to millions of

americans. today's hearing follows several previous hearings on the subject. multiple hearings on the communications marketplace, a bipartisan round table debate on the issue of the integration ban, and an incredible number of meetings with stakeholders by members of this committee on bob dole sides of the aisle. it's taken an enormous amount of work, but this draft has earned the support of cable, broadcast, and satellite competitors. i especially want to thank vice chairman bob latta and my democratic colleague from texas, gene green, on their thoughtful bipartisan work on the integration ban repeal. it's important to note that this provision still requires cable companies to support cart d's, it just gets an outdated expense niff energy consuming division of little or no value of f.c.c.'s books. the draft legislation responds to the concerns of members of both sides of the aisle regarding the joint service agreements and sweet sweep provision that is seem to put the thumb on the scale. i have listened to those concerns and proposed

eliminating sweeps week prohibition which keeps cable operators and not other paid tv providers from dropping grast signals during sweeps week. further, the draft contains provision that would limit joint retransmission consent negotiation by two or more independent broadcasters in a shared service agreement. unless the paid tv providers agrees to negotiate jointly with those broadcasters. i have no complaints with provisions that support fair negotiating tactics for all parties to an agreement. i am, however, very concerned by the f.c.c.'s recently announced plans to dump join sales agreements into their local media cal clue lations without first completing their statutoryly required quadrennial review of the marketplace. up in fairbanks, alaska, all four tv stations are operated from the same group of quan sit huts to share costs and create efficiencies to allow the stations to provide a variety of

news and entertainment to this city of a whopping 32,000 people. after the j.s.a. it's unlikely the community could support four television stations. i also draw the committee's attention to a recent "wall street journal" op-ed that includes the community's served by the nation's only african-american owned full broadcast station. i'll introduce that later. and local broadcasters like bob singer, general manager of several local television stations in my district, there is a positive role for consumers in joint service agreements. unfortunately, narme wheeler is putting the g.s.a. cart before the media ownership horse. federal communications commission is required by statute to review the entire set of media ownership laws every four years. it has consistently failed to follow the law. if a licensee of the s.e.c. failed to follow the law, it would lose its license or be subject to penalty. chairman wheeler is forging ared to regulate g.s.a.'s while

leaving the legal obligations for another day. this is why we included in this draft a clear directive from the congress to the f.c.c. that it should do its job and finish the quadrennial media ownership review before it tinkers with j.s.a.'s. but in the meantime, we bring fairness to the marketplace when it comes to the misuse of j.s.a.'s for retransition consent negotiations. our draft finds the right balance. our work here is set against the ackdrop of our larger effort and bring our communications aws in dine minimum of the marketplace. we hope consumer stakeholders in this discussion will engage in the comprehensive discussion of the update. this will be a time consuming process, however, and as my colleague, mr. shimkus explained to politico last week, the telecom rewrite is not for sissys. the video marketplace is not a model structure by any stretch of the imagination.

today's witnesses represent diverse parts that have ecosystem. the drafting cable, direct broadcast satellite, and retail top box industries are well represented on our panel, as well as public interest community. i thank our witnesses for being here today. i appreciate your counsel. i yield the remaining time to the vice chair of the committee, mr. lat why. >> i thank the chairman -- mr. latta. >> i thank the chairman and also appreciate hold the hearing. and our witnesses for testifying. thank you. today we take another opportunity to examine the video marketplace in the context of the satellite television extension localism act re-authorization. we can all agree that there has been a tremendous amount of innovation and technological advancement in the video marketplace since the satellite home viewer act, which was enacted in 1988. since the law was last re-authorized in 2010, we have been witness to an even greater innovation in modern development. we see a proliferation of new entrants in the video market which is spurred greater investment, job creation, increased competition and video

distributors and content providers, and offered consumers with greater choice and enhanced experiences that are closely aligned with their personal references and interests. it is incumbent upon this congress and the subcommittee in particular to create and support policies that allow the video marketplace to continue to flourish and innovate. and empower market participants the flexibility and efficiently meet the ever evolving demands of consumers. the promise and potential of this industry must be willing to remove outdated government regulation that is are no longer justifiable and will limit and stifle future progress if left in place. i want to thank chairman upton and walden for acknowledging the work we have done with congressman gene green on h.r. 3196 including the proposal to eliminate the ban on set top boxes as a provision in the first draft of the re-authorization. this represents positive forward step in updating policies to

reflect today's competitive video marketplace and illuminate -- eliminating a regulatory burden to innovation and consumer choice. i look forward to continue to work with you, mr. chairman, chairman upton, congressman green, and other members of the subcommittee on moving this draft re-authorization package forward. i look forward to the testimony today and i yield back. >> i thank the gentleman. i seek unanimous consent to enter into the record statements from the national association of broadcasters, national table and telecommunications association, and joint statement from dish, network, and directv in support of the discussion draft, as well as letters of support for repeal ban e cable cart integrate -- integration ban. without objection, so ordered. recognize my friend and colleague from california, ms. eshoo. >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome to all of the witnesses. we are pleased that you're here and we know that we are goingle to learn a great deal from you. over the past year and a half

the message i think from industry and consumer add vow cats to our subcommittee has -- advocates to our subcommittee has been pretty clear. our video laws are outdated. and in some cases they are even being abused. in 2010 there were just 12 broadcast television blackouts nationwide. in 2013, last year, there were 127. similarly retransfees are expected to more than double from $3.3 billion last year to $7 billion by 2018. i think that it's pretty clear who the losers are in all of this. it's consumers who will continue to see rising cable bills and in most case also not be compensated when programming -- when their programming is blacked out. some say that this is simply a manufactured crisis, but i would

ask the following questions be considered. why is a law that was intended to promote localism being used to block national cable programming or content that's available free on the internet? why does the law prohibit cable operators from taking down a broadcast signal during a neilsen's sweeps week if there is no such prohibition for a broadcaster that pulls their signal during a retransdispute? why when a consumer simply wants h.h.b.o. does the law require that they also play for retransstation that is are available free over the air? i think that these are some of the critical questions that led me to introduce the video choice act in december and a chorus of support, i might say strange political bedfellows came together from constituents, to paid tv providers, to independent programmers, to

think tanks, and consumer groups. to undertake targeted video reforms and do so as part of the re-authorization of stella, i think we have to work together in a bipartisan way. just as representative scalise and i have done over the past several months. unfortunately several of the provisions in the discussion draft do not embody the bipartisan values that have been the cornerstone of previous re-authorizations. we have to be forward thinking, both in our approach to legislating and when we are going to dismantle something, which there is a provision in the draft that does so, that has helped to ensure consumers can buy cable set top boxes from someone other than their local cable company, we have to have an eye on the future before we dismantle, we establish a framework for the future. and i think that this is something that we all need to

think long and hard about. i'm also concerned by a provision that would effectively bar the f.c.c. from modifying its rules to close the loophole that broadcasters have been exploiting to circumvent the s.e.c.'s media ownership rules. i find it contradictory that while the draft bill appropriately recognizes the anti-competitive nature of joint retransmission consent negotiations, it also gives tacit approval for other forms of coordination among broadcasters so long as it's not done at the expense of the cable and satellite operators. i think we can do better than this. in closing, mr. chairman, you know that i have said before and i will continue to say that we work together. not only with me but with all of my colleagues on this side of the aisle to eliminate or redraft the provisions i have highlighted to support consumers, competition, and

innovation across the video marketplace. and with that i would like to ask unanimous consent to place into the record two letters. one from ccia, and the other -- it's sortium of free press, consumer action, writers guild of america west, tech company alliance, etc., etc. it's a lot of good people. with that i don't think i have any time left. >> without objection. it will be entered into the record. >> do i have 35 seconds if there is anyone that would like to use the remainder of my time. i yield back, mr. chairman. >> the gentlelady yields back. now recognize the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from michigan, mr. upton. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank all of our witnesses for coming to discuss this draft of this must-pass

legislation. more than a million and a half satellite tv subscribers rely on the provisions of stella that expire at the end of the year, and the draft sthragse that is subject of our hearing will ensure that these subscribers continue to receive the services that in fact they have come to rely on. there's been a healthy debate, yes there has, over what this re-authorization should and should not do. and we welcome continued input as the process moves forward. we want to work to re-authorize stella. it's important to remember this is not the venue for comprehensive reform. as you know the committee has embarked on a multiyear effort to update the communications act, and this process will be driven by a thorough and thoughtful review of all aspects of today's communications marketplace with the goal of updating our laws to better respect today's realities while leaving the flexibility necessary to foster continued innovation and growth. we hope and expect that you-all will be very active participants in that process. as i know that you will want to do so.

take the hard work of this subcommittee and input from the stakeholders, chairman walden issued a discussion draft that offers practical, narrow reforms of the current video market while properly leaving comprehensive reform to the #come act update. i strongly support this draft and encourage others to do so as well. in addition to extending the expiring satellite provisions, today's draft also makes several targeted pro-consumer reforms to video laws and regulations. it repeals costly s.e.c. rules that require cable card and set top boxes leased by cable companies. it removes the government guarantee of sweeps week protection. and it takes action to ensure that the s.e.c. meets its statutory obligation to review and deregulate media ownership rules before attempting to take additional regulatory actions against sharing agleements. the draft also helps keep negotiations fair between broadcasters and paid tv

providers for retransmission consent. these are, i think, well considered deregulatory reforms. the type of reforms that the committee and this congress should think about during the # com update. i yield one minute each to mr. scalise, barton, and blackburn. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this very modest draft we are reviewing today begins to address the outdated provisions in the marketplace. i think there is more work to be tackled in this area before we can say we got the public policy right and we leveled the playing field for our consumers back home. i know many in this city on all sides of these issues are fearful of what a marketplace based on copyright law would look like. as long as we have this government manipulated market with the regulations and consumer purchase mandates, it is completely reasonable to suggest as ranking member eshoo would also agree, these outdated laws be updated over time. this is not a free market at work.

it is a government creation. we should never stop championing the belief that consumers will stand to gain the most when we allow our nation's innovators, entrepreneurs, and risk takers to show washington the way not the other way around. i look forward to continuing to embrace this unique opportunity that brings together members from both sides of the aisle and hopefully both sides of the capitol as we work to modify the decades-old laws and regulation that is foreclose the possibility of frime for all market participants and greater consumer choice. i look forward to hearing from our witnesses. i yield back. >> mr. chairman, there is nothing like renewing old acquaintances for members of this subcommittee. and scheduling a legislative hearing. as i look out in the audience, i see a number of my old friends who have called me or made an attempt to touch base since you scheduled this hearing. we have two former congressmen on the subcommittee, mr. bass of new hampshire and mrs. myrick of

north carolina. we are glad to see them. i was here, mr. chairman, in 1988 when we passed the satellite home viewer act, and i have been here for all the re-authorizations. i think it is imperative we re- authorize it again this year since it expires at the end of december of this year, and i think the discussion draft as required -- has required a lot of input, received a lot of input, excuse me, and i think some of the changes resulting from that input are positive. i look forward to the hearing. with that blast blackburn is not here, so -- mrs. blackburn is not here, so i yield back to the chairman unless the chairman wishes to yield to one of the other members. >> any other member want to use up the remaining 34 seconds? if not, the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. we'll now turn to the ranking democrat on the committee, the gentleman from california, mr. waxman, for five minutes. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. we are here today to discuss draft satellite television legislation released by chairman

walden last week. i'm not preparedle to support the bill in its current version, but i'm prepared to work with chairman walden and chairman upton, ranking member eshoo to get a bill we can all stand behind. last night the house unanimously passed the s.e.c. process reform act. it took work to get that bill into shape that every member of the house could support. but if we are able to bridge differences in the s.e.c. process bill, that were much bigger than we face today, i'm hopeful that with good will on both sides we can reach the same result on this issue. my initial preference was for a clean re-authorization of the expiring provisions of the satellite television extension and localism act, or stella. previous authorizations may not have been clean, but the new provision that is had been added were part and parcel of the purpose of the law giving satellite subscribers access to

local and network broadcast programming. today we are considering a different kind of bill. it would make changes in the way retransmission consent negotiations may occur by altering the bargaining power between programmers and distributors. it would also hamstring the s.e.c.'s ability to address broadcaster coordination that could undermine the diversity of voices and lead to job losses and repeal the set box top regulation that is don't apply to satellite companies. mr. chairman, i can understand the draft bill bribting broadcasters' coordination in retransmission consent with limited exemptions while condoning similar coordination of broadcaster jointly sale ad time or otherwise coordinated outside the retransmission consent process. that's what this bill would do

and i find the two approaches difficult to reconcile. i believe much of the bill passes the public interest test but not every provision. i support f.c.c.'s tightening its attribution rules to address joint sales agreements between television stations. i don't understand why the same standard wouldn't apply that we are applying to anti-competitive behavior among broadcasters that result in consumer harm in retransmission consent negotiations to also apply to joint agreements that have a well documented history of increasing prices, reducing competition, and otherwise undermining the public interest. the set top box issue is also one we need to examine closely. some energy experts believe the cable cart requirement is preventing deet sign of more energy efficient set top boxes. if that's a real concern, i'd

like to see it addressed. at the same time we need to make sure we are preserving competition and innovation in the market for set top boxes. i think that the bill has been handled well. it's a bill we can work with. and i'm hopeful that we can reach a full agreement on all the provisions. i want to close by thanking chairman walden for his efforts and for this hearing today. i hope we can work together to develop a truly bipartisan satellite re-authorization bill. i want to yield at this time to my colleague from california, ms. matsui. . >> mr. chairman, thank you for holding today's hearing and i'd like to thank the witnesses for being here today. i'm pleased that we're beginning this legislative process to renew satellite television signal and license. however, i am surprised that unlike the past, our legislative starting point is