II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5137 

To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to reauthorize and improve 

the ReConnect loan and grant program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 29, 2022 

Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. LUJA ́N, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mrs. FISCHER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to reauthorize and improve the ReConnect loan and grant program, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural Internet Im5 provement Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STREAMLINING BROADBAND AUTHORITIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 601 of the Rural Elec8 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking the section heading and insert2 ing ‘‘RECONNECT PROGRAM’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

5 paragraph (4); and 

6 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(3) RECONNECT PROGRAM.—The term ‘Re9 Connect Program’ means the program established 

10 under this section.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

13 (i) in clause (i)— 

14 (I) in subclause (I), by striking 

15 ‘‘10-Mbps’’ and inserting ‘‘25-Mbps’’; 

16 and 

17 (II) in subclause (II), by striking 

18 ‘‘1-Mbps’’ and inserting ‘‘3-Mbps’’; 

19 and 

20 (ii) by striking clause (iv) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(iv) give priority to applications from 

23 applicants that have demonstrated the 

24 technical and financial experience required 


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1 to construct and operate broadband net2 works.’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall es5 tablish an application process for grants, loans, and 

6 loan guarantees under this section that— 

7 ‘‘(A) reduces the amount of data required 

8 to apply by limiting the required data to only— 

9 ‘‘(i) the entity applying, excluding any 

10 parent or affiliate entity that is not a party 

11 to the application, to the greatest extent 

12 practicable; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the geographic area affected by 

14 the application, if a parent or affiliate is 

15 not a party to the application; 

16 ‘‘(B) simplifies the data interfaces for sub17 mission to the greatest extent practicable; and 

18 ‘‘(C) allows all applicants, regardless of 

19 whether an applicant is publicly traded, to rely 

20 on a bond rating of at least investment grade 

21 (when bond ratings are available) in place of fi22 nancial documentation.’’; 

23 (4) in subsection (d)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘subsection (j)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

3 (l)’’; and 

4 (ii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(C) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec7 retary— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall not restrict the eligibility of 

9 an entity for a grant under this section 

10 based on the legal structure of the entity; 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall allow entities to apply for a 

12 grant under this section without regard to, 

13 or preference for, the legal structure of an 

14 entity; 

15 ‘‘(iii) in determining the financial abil16 ity of an entity to carry out a project using 

17 a grant under this section, shall allow the 

18 entity to demonstrate that financial ability 

19 by methods that— 

20 ‘‘(I) the Secretary determines to 

21 be the least burdensome; and 

22 ‘‘(II) subject to clause (v), are 

23 not limited to providing the Federal 

24 Government an exclusive first lien on 


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1 all grant-funded assets during the 

2 service obligation of the grant; 

3 ‘‘(iv) subject to clause (v), in deter4 mining the required collateral to secure 

5 grant funds or to secure performance dur6 ing the service obligation of a grant, shall 

7 allow an awardee to offer alternative secu8 rity, such as a letter of credit, in lieu of 

9 providing the Federal Government an ex10 clusive first lien on all grant-funded assets; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(v) if the Secretary reasonably deter13 mines that alternative methods or alter14 native security established under clause 

15 (iii)(II) or (iv) are insufficient to secure 

16 performance with respect to a project 

17 under this section— 

18 ‘‘(I) may require an entity to 

19 provide the Federal Government an 

20 exclusive first lien all grant-funded as21 sets during the service obligation of 

22 the grant; and 

23 ‘‘(II) shall release that lien after 

24 the Secretary determines that the enVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:44 Nov 30, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5137.IS S5137

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1 tity is performing to the satisfaction 

2 of the Secretary.’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

5 ‘‘50’’ and inserting ‘‘90’’; and 

6 (ii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(D) OBLIGATIONS TO PROVIDE

9 BROADBAND SERVICE IN THE SAME SERVICE

10 TERRITORY.— 

11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF BROADBAND IN12 FRASTRUCTURE.—In this subparagraph, 

13 the term ‘broadband infrastructure’ means 

14 any cables, fiber optics, wiring, or other 

15 permanent infrastructure that is integral 

16 to the structure, including fixed wireless 

17 infrastructure, that— 

18 ‘‘(I) is capable of providing ac19 cess to internet connections in indi20 vidual locations; and 

21 ‘‘(II) offers an advanced tele22 communications capability (as defined 

23 in section 706(d) of the Telecommuni24 cations Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 

25 1302(d))). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) OTHER PROVIDERS.—The Sec2 retary shall consider a proposed service 

3 territory with respect to which an eligible 

4 entity submits an application to carry out 

5 a project under this section to be served by 

6 broadband service if a broadband service 

7 provider other than that eligible entity is 

8 subject to an obligation by a Federal, 

9 State, or local government entity to build 

10 broadband infrastructure and offer 

11 broadband service in that service territory, 

12 subject to conditions— 

13 ‘‘(I) under a Federal, State, or 

14 local funding award program; or 

15 ‘‘(II) otherwise required by the 

16 Federal, State, or local government 

17 entity. 

18 ‘‘(iii) OTHER FUNDING.—Subject to 

19 clause (iv), the Secretary shall not be re20 quired to consider a proposed service terri21 tory with respect to which an eligible entity 

22 submits an application to carry out a 

23 project under this section to be served by 

24 broadband service if that eligible entity has 

25 accepted an obligation under a Federal, 


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1 State, or local funding award program to 

2 build broadband infrastructure and offer 

3 broadband service in that service territory, 

4 if the proposed project under this sec5 tion— 

6 ‘‘(I) would not be duplicative of 

7 the obligation under the other award 

8 program; and 

9 ‘‘(II) would build broadband in10 frastructure that results in faster 

11 speeds or expedited milestones of de12 ployment of broadband infrastructure 

13 in that service territory, as compared 

14 to the obligation under the other 

15 award program. 

16 ‘‘(iv) OTHER OBLIGATIONS FOR

17 LOWER TRANSMISSION CAPACITY.—The 

18 Secretary shall consider a proposed service 

19 territory with respect to which an eligible 

20 entity submits an application to carry out 

21 a project under this section to be unserved 

22 by broadband service if an obligation under 

23 another award program described in clause 

24 (iii) would not provide broadband service of 

25 at least— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a 25-Mbps downstream 

2 transmission capacity; and 

3 ‘‘(II) a 3-Mbps upstream trans4 mission capacity. 

5 ‘‘(E) REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNDING.— 

6 ‘‘(i) AFFILIATE OWNED AND OPER7 ATED NETWORKS.—A grant, loan, or loan 

8 guarantee under this section may be used 

9 to construct networks that will be owned 

10 and operated by an affiliate of the eligible 

11 entity receiving the grant, loan, or loan 

12 guarantee, subject to the condition that the 

13 eligible entity, the affiliate, or both, as the 

14 Secretary determines to be necessary, shall 

15 provide adequate security for the grant, 

16 loan, or loan guarantee. 

17 ‘‘(ii) NEGATIVE COVENANTS AND CON18 DITIONS.—To the greatest extent prac19 ticable, a project carried out using a grant, 

20 loan, or loan guarantee under this section 

21 shall not add any new negative covenants 

22 or conditions to the grant, loan, or loan 

23 guarantee agreement that were not pre24 viously disclosed to the eligible entity at 


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1 the time of application for the grant, loan, 

2 or loan guarantee. 

3 ‘‘(iii) OWNERSHIP OF SYSTEMS.— 

4 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A network 

5 constructed with a grant, loan, or loan 

6 guarantee under this section may be 

7 transferred to an unaffiliated provider 

8 that agrees— 

9 ‘‘(aa) to assume the service 

10 obligation; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) to provide appropriate 

12 and sufficient security for that 

13 network. 

14 ‘‘(II) DETERMINATION.—The 

15 Secretary shall not unreasonably with16 hold consent to enter into an appro17 priate agreement described in sub18 clause (I) with the transferee based on 

19 an evaluation by the Secretary of the 

20 ability of the transferee to assume the 

21 agreement and provide security de22 scribed in item (bb) of that subclause. 

23 ‘‘(iv) REPORTING AND AUDITING.— 

24 The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) simplify, to the maximum 

2 extent practicable, ongoing reporting 

3 and auditing requirements for recipi4 ents of a grant, loan, or loan guar5 antee under this section; and 

6 ‘‘(II) allow a recipient described 

7 in subclause (I) whose financial infor8 mation is consolidated with the finan9 cial information of a parent entity to 

10 rely on that consolidated financial in11 formation in complying with the re12 quirements described in that sub13 clause if the parent entity is providing 

14 a guarantee on behalf of a subsidiary 

15 of the parent entity with respect to 

16 the grant, loan, or loan guarantee. 

17 ‘‘(v) PROCUREMENT AND CON18 TRACTING.—The Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(I) shall simplify, to the max20 imum extent practicable, requirements 

21 for recipients of a grant, loan, or loan 

22 guarantee under this section relating 

23 to the procurement of materials and 

24 retention of contractors; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) shall not unreasonably re2 strict the ability of a recipient de3 scribed in subclause (I) to obtain 

4 goods and services from affiliated en5 tities.’’; 

6 (5) in subsection (e)(1)— 

7 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘25- 

8 Mbps’’ and inserting ‘‘100-Mbps’’; and 

9 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘3- 

10 Mbps’’ and inserting ‘‘20-Mbps’’; 

11 (6) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as 

12 subsections (l) and (m), respectively; 

13 (7) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regu16 lations to carry out this section in accordance with section 

17 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(k) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 120 days 

19 after the date of enactment of the Rural Internet Improve20 ment Act of 2022, and not less frequently than annually 

21 thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) publish a report describing— 

23 ‘‘(A) the distribution of amounts made 

24 available under the ReConnect Program for the 

25 preceding year; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the number of locations at which 

2 broadband service was made available using 

3 amounts under the ReConnect Program for the 

4 preceding year; 

5 ‘‘(C) the number of locations described in 

6 subparagraph (B) at which broadband service 

7 was used; and 

8 ‘‘(D) the highest level of broadband service 

9 made available at each location described in 

10 subparagraph (B); and 

11 ‘‘(2) submit the report described in paragraph 

12 (1) to— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri14 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

15 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Commerce, 

16 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

17 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

18 House of Representatives; and 

19 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Energy and Com20 merce of the House of Representatives.’’; and 

21 (8) in subsection (l) (as so redesignated), in 

22 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$350,000,000 for each 

23 of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year’’. 


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1 (b) SUNSET.—Beginning on the date that is 120 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, section 779 of 

3 division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 

4 (Public Law 115–141; 132 Stat. 399), shall have no force 

5 or effect. 

6 (c) TRANSFER OF AMOUNTS.—The unobligated bal7 ance, as of the date that is 120 days after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, of any amounts made available to 

9 carry out the pilot program described in section 779 of 

10 division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 

11 (Public Law 115–141; 132 Stat. 399)— 

12 (1) is transferred to, and merged with, amounts 

13 made available to carry out section 601 of the Rural 

14 Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb); and 

15 (2) shall remain available, until expended, and 

16 without further appropriation, to carry out the Re17 Connect Program established under that section. 

18 (d) EFFECT.—Title VI of the Rural Electrification 

19 Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 607. EFFECT. 

22 ‘‘Nothing in this title authorizes the Secretary to reg23 ulate rates charged for broadband service.’’. 


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1 (e) PUBLIC NOTICE, ASSESSMENTS, AND REPORTING

2 REQUIREMENTS.—Section 701 of the Rural Electrifica3 tion Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950cc) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 

6 including a complete shapefile map’’ after ‘‘ap7 plicant’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2)(D), by striking ‘‘(c)’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘(d)’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 

11 as subsections (c) through (f), respectively; 

12 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(b) CHALLENGE PROCESS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab16 lish a transparent, evidence based, and expeditious 

17 process for challenging, with respect to any area for 

18 which assistance is sought under an application de19 scribed in subsection (a)(1), whether that area has 

20 access to broadband service. 

21 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall make pub22 licly available on the website of the Department of 

23 Agriculture a written notice describing— 

24 ‘‘(A) the decision of the Secretary on each 

25 challenge submitted under paragraph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the reasons for each decision de2 scribed in subparagraph (A).’’; and 

3 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(g) PUBLIC NOTICE OF ELIGIBLE FUNDING

5 AREAS.—Prior to making available to the public the data6 base under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make avail7 able to the public a fully searchable database on the 

8 website of the Rural Utilities Service that contains infor9 mation on areas eligible for assistance under retail 

10 broadband projects that are administered by the Secretary 

11 in accordance with the maps created by the Federal Com12 munications Commission under section 802(c)(1) of the 

13 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)).’’. 

14 (f) FEDERAL BROADBAND PROGRAM COORDINA15 TION.—Section 6212 of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

16 of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 950bb–6) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), 

18 and (d) as subsections (b), (c), (e), and (a), respec19 tively, and moving the subsections so as to appear 

20 in alphabetical order; 

21 (2) in subsection (a) (as so redesignated), in 

22 paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘section 601(b)(3) of the 

23 Rural Electrification Act of 1936’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘section 601(b) of the Rural Electrification Act of 

25 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(b))’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated), in 

2 paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) RECONNECT PROGRAM.—On award8 ing a grant, loan, or loan guarantee under the 

9 ReConnect Program established under section 

10 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 

11 U.S.C. 950bb), the Secretary shall notify the 

12 Commission of that award.’’; and 

13 (4) by inserting after subsection (c) (as so re14 designated) the following: 

15 ‘‘(d) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING RELATING

16 TO OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall enter into a memo17 randum of understanding with the Assistant Secretary 

18 and the Commission to facilitate outreach to residents and 

19 businesses in rural areas, including— 

20 ‘‘(1) to evaluate the broadband service needs in 

21 rural areas; 

22 ‘‘(2) to inform residents and businesses in rural 

23 areas of available Federal programs that promote 

24 broadband access, broadband affordability, and 

25 broadband inclusion; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) for such additional goals as the Secretary, 

2 the Assistant Secretary, and the Commission deter3 mine to be appropriate.’’. 

Æ 


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