U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and John Rockefeller of West Virginia asked that the switch from analog to digital television to be pushed back by three months, up until June 12.

The explanation for this request, is that there appear to be several problems with this switch, which is scheduled to take place on February 17, including the lack of coupons for DTV converter boxes and also the estimated prices for these new boxes, which might be out of range for many low-income families.

"In Minnesota, more than 21% of our households depend exclusively on over-the-air broadcast TV," Klobuchar explained in a recent statement. "Unfortunately, after guarantees that the Bush administration would adequately prepare and protect consumers, only in the last few days have they revealed that funding has run out -- just weeks before the plug is pulled on analog TV," she added.

Rockefeller, who is the incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, addressed the issue of the millions of Americans that still haven’t their coupons to purchase the convertor boxes, saying that more than 2 million Americans are still waiting to receive a coupon that will help them make it through the transition without spending too much money. He considers that is is the best way of making sure that the government will have enough time to deliver the converter box coupons to everyone that needs them.

The request for the program’s delay has also been approved by President Elect Barack Obama.