Testimony of Curtis LeGeyt at House Communications Subcommittee Hearing on RAY BAUMS Act
Curtis LeGeyt
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations Curtis LeGeyt testified this afternoon at a House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled RAY BAUM'S Act: A Bipartisan Foundation for Bridging the Digital Divide.
Below is his testimony as prepared for delivery.
* * *
Good morning Chairmen Walden and Blackburn, Ranking Members Pallone and Doyle and members of the Subcommittee. My name is Curtis LeGeyt, and I am the executive vice president of Government Relations at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). On behalf of the thousands of free, local television and radio broadcasters in your hometowns, I appreciate the opportunity to testify on this Committee's successful passage of RAY BAUM'S Act. This bipartisan legislation ensures that broadcast television and radio stations can continue to serve their communities following the unprecedented repack of nearly 1,000 full power television stations across the country. Moreover, I am personally honored to speak to this legislative success, fittingly named after our beloved NAB colleague, distinguished public servant and friend to everyone he met, Ray Baum.
I am confident that everyone on this Committee - members and staff alike - have fond memories of Ray. Before he was the staff director of this committee, I was fortunate to have worked with Ray as a close colleague at the NAB. On the surface, Ray and I had many differences. We are of different generations, different faiths, and different political leanings. But none of that mattered to Ray. He was unwavering in his desire to seek out common ground with everyone he worked with, and his genuine love of life was disarming not only to myself and our other colleagues at NAB, but also to our adversaries in the policy space. Having seen those diplomatic abilities first hand, I have no doubt that his spirit and unrelenting desire to put aside differences in advancement of shared priorities enabled the bipartisan working relationships on this Committee that resulted in the passage of RAY BAUM'S Act. For that, broadcast viewers and listeners across the country are thankful.
RAY BAUM'S Act will help ensure that broadcast viewers and listeners can continue to access the stations on which they rely. Thanks to the Committee's inclusion of the Viewer Protection Act in the final law, $1 billion was provided to ensure that all impacted television and radio stations are eligible to have costs associated with this repack reimbursed by the FCC. Importantly, this legislation also funds FCC consumer education efforts as stations move channels, and includes the SANDy Act, so that local broadcasters can access critical resources to keep their facilities functioning during times of emergency. For all of this, I am here to say THANK YOU.
Now, as the FCC moves forward with a massively complex repack process, early warning signs suggest that viewers are at risk. In the first phase of the repack, which was completed two weeks ago, 79 stations successfully completed their moves on time. However, 11 broadcasters were unable to meet their move deadlines for reasons beyond their control, such as inclement weather and tower crew availability. We are gratified that the FCC granted each of these stations waivers and moved them into subsequent repack phases. In each of these cases though, these phase changes could be done without impacting future station moves. That will not be the case as the repack moves forward.
The Phase 2 deadline in April 2019 applies to 116 stations and is significantly more complex. While broadcasters will do everything possible to meet their deadlines, this Committee should ensure that the FCC applies a fair waiver standard that will not force a single station to go off the air or reduce coverage due to circumstances outside their control as Congress intended.
Beyond its policy improvements, the enduring lesson of RAY BAUM'S Act is that this Committee can lead and make meaningful differences when it works together on a bipartisan basis. In that spirit, there are two significant issues worthy of your ongoing consideration entering the next Congress. First, this Committee should ensure that existing users of C-band spectrum are fully protected and reimbursed should a portion of the spectrum be reallocated for mobile broadband use.
Second, this Committee should allow the expiring provisions of STELAR to finally sunset as Congress has long intended. This distant signal license is a subsidy for two of the largest pay-tv providers in the country, and incentivizes the satellite carriage of out-of-market rather than local broadcast stations. This practice runs contrary to Congress's long-stated broadcast policy preference that viewers are best served by their LOCAL broadcast stations, and it is no longer justified.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you again for allowing me to speak about the bipartisan success of RAY BAUM'S Act. As Ray would say, Thanks for coming out today! I look forward to answering your questions.
* * *
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for Americas broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...
29/09/2026
Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...
29/09/2026
Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...
29/09/2026
Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...
29/09/2026
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch
Brie Clayton September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's portable design and dynamic range...
29/09/2026
Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...
29/09/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...
29/09/2026
Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...
29/09/2026
We tend to think we live in a digital world, with hopes and fears around artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, data centres and the next big technolo...
29/09/2026
Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...
29/09/2026
Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
28/09/2026
Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...
28/09/2026
Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...
28/09/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...
28/09/2026
Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...
Testimony of Curtis LeGeyt at House Communications Subcommittee Hearing on RAY BAUMS Act 
