The House approved the budget reconciliation bill by 212-206 vote yesterday.
The bill establishes a Feb. 17, 2009, as the hard date for the transition from analog to digital television.
$1.5 billion was set aside for assisting users who have sets that rely exclusively on over-the-air broadcasting and will need a converter box in order to continue receiving television signals in the digital era.
The new bill also removes the provision that permits cable operators to downconvert HDTV signals into SD signals.
