A bill to amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve the program of access to broadband telecommunications services in rural areas.

Summary: Connecting Rural America Act - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to include grants in the rural broadband loan program. Limits grants to not more than 50% of a project's development costs, with a waiver for up to 75% of such costs.

Provides higher grant rates for communities that are small, remote, high poverty, and working with specified stakeholders.

Authorizes appropriations for the program.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Connecting Rural America Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS.

    Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 
950bb) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``loans and'' and 
        inserting ``grants, loans, and'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``5 percent'' and 
        inserting ``15 percent'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Loans 
                and'' and inserting ``Grants, Loans, and'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``make grants 
                and'' after ``Secretary shall'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by inserting ``making grants and'' 
                        after ``In''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``poor and remote'' after 
                        ``priority to''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Grant amounts.--
                    ``(A) Maximum.--Except as otherwise provided in 
                subparagraph (C), the amount of any grant made under 
                this section shall not exceed 50 percent of the 
                development costs of the project for which the grant is 
                provided.
                    ``(B) Grant rate.--The Secretary shall establish 
                the grant rate for each project in accordance with 
                regulations issued by the Secretary that shall provide 
                for a graduated scale of grant rates that establish 
                higher rates for projects in communities that have--
                            ``(i) remote locations;
                            ``(ii) low community populations;
                            ``(iii) low income levels; and
                            ``(iv) developed the applications of the 
                        communities with the participation of 
                        combinations of stakeholders including--
                                    ``(I) State, local, and tribal 
                                governments;
                                    ``(II) nonprofit institutions;
                                    ``(III) institutions of higher 
                                education;
                                    ``(IV) private entities; and
                                    ``(V) philanthropic organizations.
                    ``(C) Waiver authority.--The Secretary may make 
                grants of up to 75 percent of the development costs of 
                the project for which the grant is provided to an 
                eligible entity if the Secretary determines that a 
                waiver of subparagraph (A) would best serve the purpose 
                of the program under this section.'';
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        striking ``loan or'' and inserting ``grant, 
                        loan, or'';
                            (ii) by striking ``a loan application'' 
                        each place it appears in clauses (ii) and (iii) 
                        and inserting ``an application''; and
                            (iii) in clause (iii), by striking 
                        ``proceeds from the loan made or guaranteed 
                        under this section are'' and inserting 
                        ``assistance under this section is'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter preceding 
                clause (i)--
                            (i) by striking ``the proceeds of a loan 
                        made or guaranteed'' and inserting 
                        ``assistance''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``for the loan or loan 
                        guarantee'' and inserting ``of the eligible 
                        entity'';
                    (C) by striking ``loan or'' each place it appears 
                in paragraphs (2)(B), (3)(A), (4), (5), and (6) and 
                inserting ``grant, loan, or'';
                    (D) in paragraph (7), by striking ``a loan 
                application'' and inserting ``an application''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) Transparency and reporting.--The Secretary--
                    ``(A) shall require any entity receiving assistance 
                under this section to submit quarterly, in a format 
                specified by the Secretary, a report that describes--
                            ``(i) the use by the entity of the 
                        assistance; and
                            ``(ii) the progress towards fulfilling the 
                        objectives for which the assistance was 
                        granted;
                    ``(B) shall maintain a fully searchable database, 
                accessible on the Internet at no cost to the public, 
                that contains, at a minimum--
                            ``(i) a list of each entity that has 
                        applied for assistance under this section;
                            ``(ii) a description of each application, 
                        including the status of each application;
                            ``(iii) for each entity receiving 
                        assistance under this section--
                                    ``(I) the name of the entity;
                                    ``(II) the type of assistance being 
                                received;
                                    ``(III) the purpose for which the 
                                entity is receiving the assistance; and
                                    ``(IV) each quarterly report 
                                submitted in accordance with 
                                subparagraph (A); and
                            ``(iv) such other information as is 
                        sufficient to allow the public to understand 
                        and monitor assistance provided under this 
                        section;
                    ``(C) may, in addition to other authority under 
                applicable law, deobligate awards to grantees that 
                demonstrate an insufficient level of performance, or 
                wasteful or fraudulent spending, as defined in advance 
                by the Secretary, and award those funds competitively 
                to new or existing applicants consistent with this 
                section; and
                    ``(D) may establish additional reporting and 
                information requirements for any recipient of any 
                assistance under this section so as to ensure 
                compliance with this section.'';
            (5) in subsection (f), by striking ``make a loan or loan 
        guarantee'' and inserting ``provide assistance'';
            (6) in subsection (i)--
                    (A) by inserting ``grant or'' after ``proceeds of 
                any''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``grant or'' after ``recipient of 
                the'';
            (7) in subsection (j)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``loan and loan guarantee'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``grants and'' 
                after ``number of'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``loan''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``loans and'' and inserting ``grants, loans, 
                        and''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ``loan'';
            (8) in subsection (k)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
                paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively;
                    (B) by inserting before paragraph (1) the 
                following:
            ``(1) Mandatory funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity 
        Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use for the cost of 
        grants, loans, and loan guarantees to carry out this section 
        $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017, to 
        remain available until expended.''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (A))--
                            (i) by striking ``There is'' and inserting 
                        ``In addition to funds otherwise made available 
                        under this subsection, there is''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``2012'' and inserting 
                        ``2017''; and
            (9) in subsection (l), by striking ``2012'' and inserting 
        ``2017''.