In a letter Monday to Reps. John Dingell, D-Mich., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., Martin said Congress tasked NTIA as the lead agency. "Congress explicitly gave NTIA the responsibility for both the coupon box program as well as consumer education about the digital transition generally," he wrote. The coupons will lower the price of equipment that Americans reliant on analog sets must purchase to receive digital TV signals after Feb. 17, 2009.

But Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Markey, head of its Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, see things differently. "It is the commission that has primary responsibility among federal agencies for the overall digital television transition -- to lead in consumer education about the transition," they emphasized in a letter late last month requesting more details on the FCC's education plan.

NTIA, which has received $5 million from Congress for outreach about the coupon effort, did not have any immediate comment.

Martin also told House members that if they want the agency to increase consumer awareness, they should allocate more dollars. "To the extent that Congress wishes to provide us with funds exceeding the $1.5 million we requested for consumer education efforts, we would welcome such an increase," the chairman wrote.

Once again, however, Dingell and Markey had a different perspective. They asserted that Martin requested too little by asking House appropriators for "a mere $1.5 million to inform 300 million American consumers about the digital television transition." By contrast, they noted that Berlin, Germany, spent nearly a million dollars to educate 3.4 million citizens about that city's transition.

Martin said he is circulating proposed rules that would enable the agency to use its existing authority to boost DTV education. The proposal reflects several ideas suggested by the lawmakers, such as requiring: cable and satellite providers to include DTV advisories in bills; broadcasters to update the agency about educational efforts; set manufacturers to include notices in equipment packaging; and retailers to conduct employee training.

"Obviously, it's in our best interest to make sure that Americans are fully educated on this DTV transition," said Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters.

The FCC recently has bolstered enforcement, issuing 250 citations to retailers that failed to add warning labels to analog sets in their inventories. "Additional violations could result in further enforcement action, including monetary forfeitures," Martin wrote. The FCC fined two companies in late May for importing TV sets that did not contain digital tuners.