Confirmingan earlier report, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said late Friday he
would be testifying at the May 14 hearing
on the state of video in the Senate Commerce Committee's Communications
Subcommittee.
McCain,
former chairman of the full committee, earlier this week introduced S. 912, the
Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013,
which was already expected to be a topic of conversation at the hearing.
"As
a former Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, I look forward to the
opportunity to discuss this effort to give consumers more choices and more
control over their cable bills," McCain said in a statement. "The
current regulatory structure is rigged in favor of corporate interests over
consumers, resulting in Americans paying ever-higher cable bills for channels
they do not want to watch. It is time to shift the landscape and empower
consumers with options. I look forward to beginning this conversation with the
Committee next week."
The
conversation is not expected to end in passage of the bill according to
numerous lobbyists, but it could provide fodder for debate over reauthorization
of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act.
