House and Senate: like ED and HDTV

Yup, they're similar but just not the same. Take the DTV legislation for example. Two weeks ago, the Senate proposed a hard DTV transition date
of April 7, 2009 as well as earmarking up to $3 billion for digital converters. Seems like the House is tuning in to a different channel.

The House just approved similar legislation
calling for a transition date of December 31, 2008 and only $990 million for the transition. The transition date isn't too big of an issue; we're talking about just four short months difference. The real issue is in the proposed government subsidies for the converters. At an expected fifty bucks-a-pop for a converter, will it be enough?