WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, hailed the announcement that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will award $2.7 million to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) to help seniors transition to digital television.  On February 17, 2009, full-power television broadcasters will switch from analog to digital signals. Last year, Chairman Kohl introduced the Preparing America’s Seniors for the Digital Television Transition Act of 2007, which in part would have established a grant program to support non-profits and state and local government agencies, such as area agencies on aging, in their efforts to help seniors and other vulnerable populations navigate the transition and the federal government’s converter box coupon program, which was created by NTIA to help subsidize the cost of a converter box for analog televisions. Similar legislative language was included as an amendment to S. 2607, the DTV Transition Assistance Act.

 

“Older Americans are particularly susceptible to slipping through the cracks of the DTV transition,” said Chairman Kohl. “Groups like n4a are the foot soldiers of this effort, helping local seniors purchase the converter boxes that they will need, and get them installed. Without this assistance, seniors could be left in the dark.”

 

In November 2007, Chairman Kohl helped convene the Keeping Seniors Connected Coalition, consisting of organizations advocating on behalf of older Americans and other vulnerable populations. Kohl led the Coalition in a push to obtain federal funding for those community outreach groups on the frontlines of the DTV transition. The coalition determined that seniors would need targeted education, assistance in navigating the federal government’s converter box coupon program, and one-on-one support for converter box installation. The funds awarded today could be used by n4a for these purposes.

 

Special Committee on Aging Hearing – September 2007

“Preparing for the Digital Television Transition: Will Seniors Be Left in the Dark?”