II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 745 

To make high-speed broadband internet service accessible and affordable 

to all Americans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2021 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. 

ROSEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WARNER, 

Mr. BOOKER, Ms. WARREN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To make high-speed broadband internet service accessible 

and affordable to all Americans, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 4. Severability. 


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TITLE I—DIGITAL EQUITY 

Sec. 1000. Definitions. 

Subtitle A—Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth 

Sec. 1101. Annual report of Office. 

Sec. 1102. Study and report on affordability of adoption of broadband service. 

Sec. 1103. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 1104. Study and recommendations to connect socially disadvantaged individuals. 

Subtitle B—Digital Equity Programs 

Sec. 1201. State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program. 

Sec. 1202. Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. 

Sec. 1203. Policy research, data collection, analysis and modeling, evaluation, 

and dissemination. 

Sec. 1204. General provisions. 

TITLE II—BROADBAND AFFORDABILITY AND PRICING 

TRANSPARENCY 

Subtitle A—Broadband Affordability 

Sec. 2101. Authorization for additional funds for the Emergency Broadband 

Connectivity Fund. 

Sec. 2102. Grants to States to strengthen National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier. 

Sec. 2103. Federal coordination between National Eligibility Verifier and National Accuracy Clearinghouse. 

Sec. 2104. Federal coordination between Lifeline and SNAP verification. 

Sec. 2105. Definitions. 

Subtitle B—Additional Authorization for Emergency Connectivity Fund 

Sec. 2201. Additional authorization for Emergency Connectivity Fund. 

Subtitle C—Additional Authorization for Connecting Minority Communities 

Fund. 

Sec. 2301. Additional authorization for Connecting Minority Communities 

Fund. 

Subtitle D—Pricing Transparency 

Sec. 2401. Definitions. 

Sec. 2402. Broadband transparency. 

Sec. 2403. Distribution of data. 

Sec. 2404. Coordination with certain other Federal agencies. 

Sec. 2405. Adoption of consumer broadband labels. 

Sec. 2406. GAO report. 

TITLE III—BROADBAND ACCESS 

Subtitle A—Expansion of Broadband Access 

Sec. 3101. Expansion of broadband access in unserved areas and areas with 

low-tier or mid-tier service. 

Sec. 3102. Tribal internet expansion. 


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Subtitle B—Broadband Infrastructure Finance and Innovation 

Sec. 3201. Short title. 

Sec. 3202. Definitions. 

Sec. 3203. Determination of eligibility and project selection. 

Sec. 3204. Secured loans. 

Sec. 3205. Lines of credit. 

Sec. 3206. Alternative prudential lending standards for small projects. 

Sec. 3207. Program administration. 

Sec. 3208. State and local permits. 

Sec. 3209. Regulations. 

Sec. 3210. Funding. 

Sec. 3211. Reports to Congress. 

Subtitle C—Wi-Fi on School Buses 

Sec. 3301. E-rate support for school bus Wi-Fi. 

Subtitle D—Healthcare Broadband Expansion. 

Sec. 3401. Definitions. 

Sec. 3402. Expansion of Rural Health Care Program. 

Subtitle E—Internet Exchange and Submarine Cable Grants. 

Sec. 3501. Definitions. 

Sec. 3502. Internet exchange facility grants. 

Sec. 3503. Submarine cable landing station grants. 

Sec. 3504. Report. 

Sec. 3505. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 3506. Return of certain grant amounts. 

TITLE IV—COMMUNITY BROADBAND 

Sec. 4001. State, local, public-private partnership, and co-op broadband services. 

TITLE V—BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT 

Sec. 5001. Broadband infrastructure deployment. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AGING INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘aging indi4 vidual’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘older indi5 vidual’’ in section 102 of the Older Americans Act 

6 of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002). 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con3 gress’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

7 and Transportation of the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com11 merce of the House of Representatives. 

12 (3) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist13 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

14 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

15 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

16 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

17 (5) COVERED HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘covered 

18 household’’ means a household the income of which 

19 does not exceed 150 percent of the poverty thresh20 old, as determined by using criteria of poverty estab21 lished by the Bureau of the Census, for a household 

22 of the size involved. 

23 (6) COVERED POPULATIONS.—The term ‘‘cov24 ered populations’’ means— 


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1 (A) individuals who are members of cov2 ered households; 

3 (B) aging individuals; 

4 (C) incarcerated individuals, other than in5 dividuals who are incarcerated in a Federal cor6 rectional facility (including a private facility op7 erated under contract with the Federal Govern8 ment); 

9 (D) veterans; 

10 (E) individuals with disabilities; 

11 (F) individuals with a language barrier, in12 cluding individuals who— 

13 (i) are English learners; or 

14 (ii) have low levels of literacy; 

15 (G) individuals who are members of a ra16 cial or ethnic minority group; and 

17 (H) individuals who primarily reside in a 

18 rural area. 

19 (7) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit20 eracy’’ means the skills associated with using tech21 nology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, 

22 create, and communicate information. 

23 (8) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 

24 meaning given the term in section 3 of the AmeriVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

2 12102). 

3 (9) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

4 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 

5 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 (10) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

7 has the meaning given such term in section 4(e) of 

8 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist9 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 

10 (11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

11 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’— 

12 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec13 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 

15 (B) includes a postsecondary vocational in16 stitution. 

17 (12) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU18 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary vocational institu19 tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

20 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 1002(c)). 

22 (13) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has 

23 the meaning given the term in section 13 of the 

24 Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 913). 


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1 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean2 ing given the term in section 3 of the Communica3 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

4 (15) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 

6 United States Code. 

7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress that— 

9 (1) a broadband service connection and digital 

10 literacy are increasingly critical to how individuals— 

11 (A) participate in the society, economy, 

12 and civic institutions of the United States; and 

13 (B) access health care and essential serv14 ices, obtain education, and build careers; 

15 (2) digital exclusion— 

16 (A) carries a high societal and economic 

17 cost; 

18 (B) materially harms the opportunity of an 

19 individual with respect to the economic success, 

20 educational achievement, positive health out21 comes, social inclusion, and civic engagement of 

22 that individual; 

23 (C) materially harms the opportunity of 

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1 ment, positive health outcomes, social cohesion, 

2 and civic institutions; and 

3 (D) exacerbates existing wealth and income 

4 gaps, especially those experienced by covered 

5 populations and between regions; 

6 (3) achieving accessible and affordable access to 

7 broadband service, as well as digital literacy, for all 

8 people of the United States requires additional and 

9 sustained research efforts and investment; 

10 (4) the Federal Government, as well as State, 

11 Tribal, and local governments, have made social, 

12 legal, and economic obligations that necessarily ex13 tend to how the citizens and residents of those gov14 ernments access and use the internet; and 

15 (5) achieving accessible and affordable access to 

16 broadband service is a matter of social and economic 

17 justice and is worth pursuing. 

18 (b) BROADBAND SERVICE DEFINED.—In this sec19 tion, the term ‘‘broadband service’’ has the meaning given 

20 the term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ in section 

21 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

22 successor regulation. 

23 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 

24 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

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1 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, 

2 the remainder of this Act and the amendments made by 

3 this Act, and the application of such provision or amend4 ment to any other person or circumstance, shall not be 

5 affected thereby. 

6 TITLE I—DIGITAL EQUITY 

7 SEC. 1000. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title: 

9 (1) ADOPTION OF BROADBAND SERVICE.—The 

10 term ‘‘adoption of broadband service’’ means the 

11 process by which an individual obtains daily access 

12 to broadband service— 

13 (A) with a download speed of at least 25 

14 megabits per second, an upload speed of at 

15 least 3 megabits per second, and a latency that 

16 is sufficiently low to allow real-time, interactive 

17 applications; 

18 (B) with the digital skills that are nec19 essary for the individual to participate online; 

20 and 

21 (C) on a— 

22 (i) personal device; and 

23 (ii) secure and convenient network. 

24 (2) ANCHOR INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘anchor 

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1 brary, a medical or healthcare provider, a museum, 

2 a public safety entity, a public housing agency, a 

3 community college, an institution of higher edu4 cation, a religious organization, or any other com5 munity support organization or agency. 

6 (3) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist7 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary, act8 ing through the Office. 

9 (4) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 

10 ‘‘broadband service’’ has the meaning given the term 

11 ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ in section 8.1(b) 

12 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc13 cessor regulation. 

14 (5) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘covered 

15 programs’’ means the State Digital Equity Capacity 

16 Grant Program established under section 1201 and 

17 the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program es18 tablished under section 1202. 

19 (6) DIGITAL EQUITY.—The term ‘‘digital eq20 uity’’ means the condition in which individuals and 

21 communities have the information technology capac22 ity that is needed for full participation in the society 

23 and economy of the United States. 

24 (7) DIGITAL INCLUSION ACTIVITIES.—The term 

25 ‘‘digital inclusion activities’’— 


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1 (A) means the activities that are necessary 

2 to ensure that all individuals in the United 

3 States have access to, and the use of, affordable 

4 information and communication technologies, 

5 such as— 

6 (i) reliable broadband service; 

7 (ii) internet-enabled devices that meet 

8 the needs of the user; and 

9 (iii) applications and online content 

10 designed to enable and encourage self-suf11 ficiency, participation, and collaboration; 

12 and 

13 (B) includes— 

14 (i) the provision of digital literacy 

15 training; 

16 (ii) the provision of quality technical 

17 support; and 

18 (iii) promoting basic awareness of 

19 measures to ensure online privacy and cy20 bersecurity. 

21 (8) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘‘eligible 

22 State’’ means— 

23 (A) with respect to planning grants made 

24 available under section 1201(c)(3), a State with 

25 respect to which the Assistant Secretary has 


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1 approved an application submitted to the As2 sistant Secretary under subparagraph (C) of 

3 such section; and 

4 (B) with respect to capacity grants award5 ed under section 1201(d), a State with respect 

6 to which the Assistant Secretary has approved 

7 an application submitted to the Assistant Sec8 retary under paragraph (2) of such section. 

9 (9) FEDERAL BROADBAND SUPPORT PRO10 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Federal broadband support pro11 gram’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

12 903 of division FF of the Consolidated Appropria13 tions Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260). 

14 (10) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 

15 identity’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

16 249(c) of title 18, United States Code. 

17 (11) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

18 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

19 the term in section 8101(30) of the Elementary and 

20 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

21 7801(30)). 

22 (12) MEDICAID ENROLLEE.—The term ‘‘Med23 icaid enrollee’’ means, with respect to a State, an in24 dividual enrolled in the State plan under title XIX 


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1 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) 

2 or a waiver of that plan. 

3 (13) NATIONAL LIFELINE ELIGIBILITY

4 VERIFIER.—The term ‘‘National Lifeline Eligibility 

5 Verifier’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

6 54.400 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

7 any successor regulation). 

8 (14) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

9 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ means any or10 ganization— 

11 (A) that serves the interests of Native Ha12 waiians; 

13 (B) in which Native Hawaiians serve in 

14 substantive and policymaking positions; 

15 (C) that has as a primary and stated pur16 pose the provision of services to Native Hawai17 ians; and 

18 (D) that is recognized for having expertise 

19 in Native Hawaiian affairs, digital connectivity, 

20 or access to broadband service. 

21 (15) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

22 Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth within 

23 the National Telecommunications and Information 

24 Administration. 


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1 (16) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘‘public housing agency’’ has the meaning given the 

3 term in section 3(b) of the United States Housing 

4 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)). 

5 (17) SNAP PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘SNAP 

6 participant’’ means an individual who is a member 

7 of a household that participates in the supplemental 

8 nutrition assistance program under the Food and 

9 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 

10 (18) SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVAN11 TAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term ‘‘so12 cially and economically disadvantaged small business 

13 concern’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

14 8(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 637(a)(4)). 

16 (19) TRIBALLY DESIGNATED ENTITY.—The 

17 term ‘‘tribally designated entity’’ means an entity 

18 designated by an Indian Tribe to carry out activities 

19 under this title. 

20 (20) UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND PROGRAM.— 

21 The term ‘‘Universal Service Fund Program’’ has 

22 the meaning given such term in section 903 of divi23 sion FF of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

24 2021 (Public Law 116–260). 


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1 (21) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

2 The term ‘‘workforce development program’’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Work4 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

5 3102). 

6 Subtitle A—Office of Internet 

7 Connectivity and Growth 

8 SEC. 1101. ANNUAL REPORT OF OFFICE. 

9 Section 903(c)(2)(C) of division FF of the Consoli10 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) is 

11 amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(iv) A description of any non-eco13 nomic benefits of such broadband deploy14 ment efforts, including any effect on civic 

15 engagement. 

16 ‘‘(v) The extent to which residents of 

17 the United States that received broadband 

18 as a result of Federal broadband support 

19 programs and the Universal Service Fund 

20 Programs received broadband at the 

21 download and upload speeds required by 

22 such programs.’’. 


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1 SEC. 1102. STUDY AND REPORT ON AFFORDABILITY OF 

2 ADOPTION OF BROADBAND SERVICE. 

3 Section 903 of division FF of the Consolidated Ap4 propriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 

7 subsections (i) and (j), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(g) STUDY AND REPORT ON AFFORDABILITY OF

11 ADOPTION OF BROADBAND SERVICE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) STUDY.—The Office, in consultation with 

13 the Commission, the Department of Agriculture, the 

14 Department of the Treasury, and such other Federal 

15 agencies as the Office considers appropriate, shall, 

16 not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

17 of this subsection, and biennially thereafter, conduct 

18 a study that examines the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) The number of households for which 

20 cost is a barrier to the adoption of broadband 

21 service, the financial circumstances of such 

22 households, and whether such households are 

23 eligible for the emergency broadband benefit 

24 under section 904 of division N. 

25 ‘‘(B) The extent to which the cost of adop26 tion of broadband service is a financial burden 


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1 to households that have adopted broadband 

2 service, the financial circumstances of such fi3 nancially burdened households, and whether 

4 such households are receiving the emergency 

5 broadband benefit under section 904 of division 

6 N. 

7 ‘‘(C) The appropriate standard to deter8 mine whether adoption of broadband service is 

9 affordable for households, given the financial 

10 circumstances of such households. 

11 ‘‘(D) The feasibility of providing additional 

12 Federal subsidies, including expanding the eligi13 bility for or increasing the amount of the emer14 gency broadband benefit under section 904 of 

15 division N, to households to cover the difference 

16 between the cost of adoption of broadband serv17 ice (determined before applying such additional 

18 Federal subsidies) and the price at which adop19 tion of broadband service would be affordable. 

20 ‘‘(E) How a program to provide additional 

21 Federal subsidies as described in subparagraph 

22 (D) should be administered to most effectively 

23 facilitate adoption of broadband service at the 

24 lowest overall expense to the Federal Govern25 ment, including measures that would ensure 


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1 that the availability of the subsidies does not 

2 result in providers raising the price of 

3 broadband service for households receiving sub4 sidies. 

5 ‘‘(F) How participation in the Lifeline pro6 gram of the Commission has changed in the 5 

7 years prior to the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) geographic information at the 

10 census-block level depicting the scale of 

11 change in participation in each area; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) information on changes in par13 ticipation by specific types of Lifeline-sup14 ported services, including fixed voice te15 lephony service, mobile voice telephony 

16 service, fixed broadband service, and mo17 bile broadband service and, in the case of 

18 any Lifeline-supported services provided as 

19 part of a bundle of services to which a 

20 Lifeline discount is applied, which Lifeline21 supported services are part of such bundle 

22 and whether or not each Lifeline-supported 

23 service in such bundle meets Lifeline min24 imum service standards. 


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1 ‘‘(G) How competition impacts the price of 

2 broadband service, including the impact of mo3 nopolistic business practices by broadband serv4 ice providers. 

5 ‘‘(H) The extent to which, if at all, the 

6 Universal Service Fund high-cost programs 

7 have enabled access to reasonably comparable 

8 telephony and broadband services at reasonably 

9 comparable rates in high-cost rural areas as re10 quired by the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

11 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), including a comparison of 

12 the rates charged by recipients of support under 

13 such programs in rural areas and rates charged 

14 in urban areas, as determined by the Commis15 sion’s annual survey. 

16 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of the enactment of this subsection, and bienni18 ally thereafter, the Office shall submit to Congress 

19 a report on the results of the study conducted under 

20 paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

22 ‘‘(A) COST.—The term ‘cost’ means, with 

23 respect to adoption of broadband service, the 

24 cost of adoption of broadband service to a 


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1 household after applying any subsidies that re2 duce such cost. 

3 ‘‘(B) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—The terms 

4 ‘adoption of broadband service’ and ‘broadband 

5 service’ have the meanings given such terms in 

6 section 1000 of the Accessible, Affordable Inter7 net for All Act.’’. 

8 SEC. 1103. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Assist10 ant Secretary $26,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

11 2022 through 2026 for the operations of the Office. 

12 SEC. 1104. STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONNECT 

13 SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS. 

14 Section 903 of division FF of the Consolidated Ap15 propriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260), as amend16 ed by section 1102, is further amended by inserting before 

17 subsection (i) (as redesignated by such section) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(h) STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONNECT

20 SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months 

22 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

23 the Office, in consultation with the Commission and 

24 the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Ag25 riculture, shall, after public notice and an opporVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 tunity for comment, conduct a study to assess the 

2 extent to which Federal funds for broadband service, 

3 including the Universal Service Fund Programs and 

4 other Federal broadband support programs, have ex5 panded access to and adoption of broadband service 

6 by socially disadvantaged individuals as compared to 

7 individuals who are not socially disadvantaged indi8 viduals. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORT AND PUBLICATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 18 

11 months after the date of the enactment of this 

12 subsection, the Office shall submit a report on 

13 the results of the study under paragraph (1) 

14 to— 

15 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Energy and 

16 Commerce of the House of Representa17 tives; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on Commerce, 

19 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iii) each agency administering a 

22 program evaluated by such report. 

23 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC PUBLICATION.—Contempora24 neously with submitting the report required by 

25 subparagraph (A), the Office shall publish such 


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1 report on the public-facing website of the Of2 fice. 

3 ‘‘(C) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report re4 quired by subparagraph (A) shall include rec5 ommendations with regard to how Federal 

6 funds for the Universal Service Fund Programs 

7 and Federal broadband support programs may 

8 be dispersed in an a manner that better ex9 pands access to and adoption of broadband 

10 service by socially disadvantaged individuals as 

11 compared to individuals who are not socially 

12 disadvantaged individuals. 

13 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 ‘‘(A) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDI15 VIDUAL.—The term ‘socially disadvantaged in16 dividual’ has the meaning given that term in 

17 section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

18 637). 

19 ‘‘(B) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—The terms 

20 ‘adoption of broadband service’ and ‘broadband 

21 service’ have the meanings given such terms in 

22 section 1000 of the Accessible, Affordable Inter23 net for All Act.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Digital Equity 

2 Programs 

3 SEC. 1201. STATE DIGITAL EQUITY CAPACITY GRANT PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

7 shall establish in the Office the State Digital Equity 

8 Capacity Grant Program (referred to in this section 

9 as the ‘‘Program’’)— 

10 (A) the purpose of which is to promote the 

11 achievement of digital equity, support digital in12 clusion activities, and build capacity for efforts 

13 by States relating to the adoption of broadband 

14 service by residents of those States; 

15 (B) through which the Assistant Secretary 

16 shall make grants to States in accordance with 

17 the requirements of this section; and 

18 (C) which shall ensure that States have the 

19 capacity to promote the achievement of digital 

20 equity and support digital inclusion activities. 

21 (2) CONSULTATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL

22 AGENCIES; NO CONFLICT.—In establishing the Pro23 gram under paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary 

24 shall— 

25 (A) consult with— 


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1 (i) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

2 (ii) the Secretary of Housing and 

3 Urban Development; 

4 (iii) the Secretary of Education; 

5 (iv) the Secretary of Labor; 

6 (v) the Secretary of Health and 

7 Human Services; 

8 (vi) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

9 (vii) the Secretary of the Interior; 

10 (viii) the Assistant Secretary for In11 dian Affairs of the Department of the Inte12 rior; 

13 (ix) the Commission; 

14 (x) the Federal Trade Commission; 

15 (xi) the Director of the Institute of 

16 Museum and Library Services; 

17 (xii) the Administrator of the Small 

18 Business Administration; 

19 (xiii) the Federal Cochairman of the 

20 Appalachian Regional Commission; and 

21 (xiv) the head of any other Federal 

22 agency that the Assistant Secretary deter23 mines to be appropriate; and 

24 (B) ensure that the Program complements 

25 and enhances, and does not conflict with, other 


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1 Federal broadband support programs and Uni2 versal Service Fund Programs. 

3 (3) TRIBAL AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN CONSULTA4 TION AND ENGAGEMENT.—In establishing the Pro5 gram under paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary 

6 shall conduct robust, interactive, pre-decisional, 

7 transparent consultation with Indian Tribes and Na8 tive Hawaiian organizations. 

9 (b) ADMINISTERING ENTITY.— 

10 (1) SELECTION; FUNCTION.—The governor (or 

11 equivalent official) of a State that wishes to be 

12 awarded a grant under this section shall, from 

13 among entities that are eligible under paragraph (2), 

14 select an administering entity for that State, which 

15 shall— 

16 (A) serve as the recipient of, and admin17 istering agent for, any grant awarded to the 

18 State under this section; 

19 (B) develop, implement, and oversee the 

20 State Digital Equity Plan for the State de21 scribed in subsection (c); 

22 (C) make subgrants to any of the entities 

23 described in clauses (i) through (xi) of sub24 section (c)(1)(D) that is located in the State in 

25 support of— 


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1 (i) the State Digital Equity Plan for 

2 the State; and 

3 (ii) digital inclusion activities in the 

4 State generally; and 

5 (D) serve as— 

6 (i) an advocate for digital equity poli7 cies and digital inclusion activities; and 

8 (ii) a repository of best practice mate9 rials regarding the policies and activities 

10 described in clause (i). 

11 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Any of the following 

12 entities may serve as the administering entity for a 

13 State for the purposes of this section if the entity 

14 has demonstrated a capacity to administer the Pro15 gram on a statewide level: 

16 (A) The State. 

17 (B) A political subdivision, agency, or in18 strumentality of the State. 

19 (C) An Indian Tribe located in the State, 

20 a tribally designated entity located in the State, 

21 or a Native Hawaiian organization located in 

22 the State. 

23 (c) STATE DIGITAL EQUITY PLAN.— 

24 (1) DEVELOPMENT; CONTENTS.—A State that 

25 wishes to be awarded a grant under subsection (d) 


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1 shall develop a State Digital Equity Plan for the 

2 State, which shall include— 

3 (A) an identification of the barriers to dig4 ital equity faced by covered populations in the 

5 State; 

6 (B) measurable objectives for documenting 

7 and promoting, among each group described in 

8 subparagraphs (A) through (H) of section 2(6) 

9 located in that State— 

10 (i) the availability of, and affordability 

11 of access to, broadband service and tech12 nology needed for the use of broadband 

13 service; 

14 (ii) public awareness of such avail15 ability and affordability and of subsidies 

16 available to increase such affordability (in17 cluding subsidies available through the 

18 Lifeline program of the Commission), in19 cluding objectives to— 

20 (I) inform Medicaid enrollees and 

21 SNAP participants, and organizations 

22 that serve Medicaid enrollees and 

23 SNAP participants, of potential eligi24 bility for the Lifeline program; and 


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1 (II) provide Medicaid enrollees 

2 and SNAP participants with informa3 tion about the Lifeline program, in4 cluding— 

5 (aa) how to apply for the 

6 Lifeline program; and 

7 (bb) a description of the 

8 prohibition on more than one 

9 subscriber in each household re10 ceiving a service provided under 

11 the Lifeline program; 

12 (iii) the online accessibility and 

13 inclusivity of public resources and services; 

14 (iv) digital literacy; 

15 (v) awareness of, and the use of, 

16 measures to secure the online privacy of, 

17 and cybersecurity with respect to, an indi18 vidual; and 

19 (vi) the availability and affordability 

20 of consumer devices and technical support 

21 for those devices; 

22 (C) an assessment of how the objectives 

23 described in subparagraph (B) will impact and 

24 interact with the State’s— 


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1 (i) economic and workforce develop2 ment goals, plans, and outcomes; 

3 (ii) educational outcomes; 

4 (iii) health outcomes; 

5 (iv) civic and social engagement; and 

6 (v) delivery of other essential services; 

7 (D) in order to achieve the objectives de8 scribed in subparagraph (B), a description of 

9 how the State plans to collaborate with key 

10 stakeholders in the State, which may include— 

11 (i) anchor institutions; 

12 (ii) county and municipal govern13 ments; 

14 (iii) local educational agencies; 

15 (iv) where applicable, Indian Tribes, 

16 tribally designated entities, or Native Ha17 waiian organizations; 

18 (v) nonprofit organizations; 

19 (vi) organizations that represent— 

20 (I) individuals with disabilities, 

21 including organizations that represent 

22 children with disabilities; 

23 (II) aging individuals; 

24 (III) individuals with a language 

25 barrier, including individuals who— 


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1 (aa) are English learners; or 

2 (bb) have low levels of lit3 eracy; 

4 (IV) veterans; 

5 (V) individuals residing in rural 

6 areas; and 

7 (VI) incarcerated individuals in 

8 that State, other than individuals who 

9 are incarcerated in a Federal correc10 tional facility (including a private fa11 cility operated under contract with the 

12 Federal Government); 

13 (vii) civil rights organizations; 

14 (viii) entities that carry out workforce 

15 development programs; 

16 (ix) agencies of the State that are re17 sponsible for administering or supervising 

18 adult education and literacy activities in 

19 the State; 

20 (x) public housing agencies whose ju21 risdictions are located in the State; and 

22 (xi) a consortium of any of the enti23 ties described in clauses (i) through (x); 

24 and 


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1 (E) a list of organizations with which the 

2 administering entity for the State collaborated 

3 in developing and implementing the Plan. 

4 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The administering enti6 ty for a State shall make the State Digital Eq7 uity Plan of the State available for public com8 ment for a period of not less than 30 days be9 fore the date on which the State submits an ap10 plication to the Assistant Secretary under sub11 section (d)(2). 

12 (B) CONSIDERATION OF COMMENTS RE13 CEIVED.—The administering entity for a State 

14 shall, with respect to an application submitted 

15 to the Assistant Secretary under subsection 

16 (d)(2)— 

17 (i) before submitting the application— 

18 (I) consider all comments re19 ceived during the comment period de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) with re21 spect to the application (referred to in 

22 this subparagraph as the ‘‘comment 

23 period’’); and 


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1 (II) make any changes to the 

2 plan that the administering entity de3 termines to be appropriate; and 

4 (ii) when submitting the application— 

5 (I) describe any changes pursued 

6 by the administering entity in re7 sponse to comments received during 

8 the comment period; and 

9 (II) include a written response to 

10 each comment received during the 

11 comment period. 

12 (3) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in the first 

14 fiscal year that begins after the date of the en15 actment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 

16 shall, in accordance with the requirements of 

17 this paragraph, award planning grants to 

18 States for the purpose of developing the State 

19 Digital Equity Plans of those States under this 

20 subsection. 

21 (B) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be awarded 

22 a planning grant under this paragraph, a 

23 State— 


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1 (i) shall submit to the Assistant Sec2 retary an application under subparagraph 

3 (C); and 

4 (ii) may not have been awarded, at 

5 any time, a planning grant under this 

6 paragraph. 

7 (C) APPLICATION.—A State that wishes to 

8 be awarded a planning grant under this para9 graph shall, not later than 60 days after the 

10 date on which the notice of funding availability 

11 with respect to the grant is released, submit to 

12 the Assistant Secretary an application, in a for13 mat to be determined by the Assistant Sec14 retary, that contains the following materials: 

15 (i) A description of the entity selected 

16 to serve as the administering entity for the 

17 State, as described in subsection (b). 

18 (ii) A certification from the State 

19 that, not later than 1 year after the date 

20 on which the Assistant Secretary awards 

21 the planning grant to the State, the ad22 ministering entity for that State will sub23 mit to the Assistant Secretary a State Dig24 ital Equity Plan developed under this sub25 section, which will comply with the requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 ments of this subsection, including the re2 quirements of paragraph (2). 

3 (iii) The assurances required under 

4 subsection (e). 

5 (D) AWARDS.— 

6 (i) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount 

7 of a planning grant awarded to an eligible 

8 State under this paragraph shall be deter9 mined according to the formula under sub10 section (d)(3)(A)(i). 

11 (ii) DURATION.— 

12 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro13 vided in subclause (II), with respect to 

14 a planning grant awarded to an eligi15 ble State under this paragraph, the 

16 State shall expend the grant funds 

17 during the 1-year period beginning on 

18 the date on which the State is award19 ed the grant funds. 

20 (II) EXCEPTION.—The Assistant 

21 Secretary may grant an extension of 

22 not longer than 180 days with respect 

23 to the requirement under subclause 

24 (I). 


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1 (iii) CHALLENGE MECHANISM.—The 

2 Assistant Secretary shall ensure that any 

3 eligible State to which a planning grant is 

4 awarded under this paragraph may appeal 

5 or otherwise challenge in a timely fashion 

6 the amount of the grant awarded to the 

7 State, as determined under clause (i). 

8 (E) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible State to 

9 which a planning grant is awarded under this 

10 paragraph shall, through the administering en11 tity for that State, use the grant funds only for 

12 the following purposes: 

13 (i) To develop the State Digital Eq14 uity Plan of the State under this sub15 section. 

16 (ii)(I) Subject to subclause (II), to 

17 make subgrants to any of the entities de18 scribed in clauses (i) through (xi) of para19 graph (1)(D) to assist in the development 

20 of the State Digital Equity Plan of the 

21 State under this subsection. 

22 (II) If the administering entity for a 

23 State makes a subgrant described in sub24 clause (I), the administering entity shall, 

25 with respect to the subgrant, provide to the 


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1 State the assurances required under sub2 section (e). 

3 (d) STATE CAPACITY GRANTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 2 

5 years after the date on which the Assistant Sec6 retary begins awarding planning grants under sub7 section (c)(3), the Assistant Secretary shall each 

8 year award grants to eligible States to support— 

9 (A) the implementation of the State Dig10 ital Equity Plans of those States; and 

11 (B) digital inclusion activities in those 

12 States. 

13 (2) APPLICATION.—A State that wishes to be 

14 awarded a grant under this subsection shall, not 

15 later than 60 days after the date on which the notice 

16 of funding availability with respect to the grant is 

17 released, submit to the Assistant Secretary an appli18 cation, in a format to be determined by the Assist19 ant Secretary, that contains the following materials: 

20 (A) A description of the entity selected to 

21 serve as the administering entity for the State, 

22 as described in subsection (b). 

23 (B) The State Digital Equity Plan of that 

24 State, as described in subsection (c). 


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1 (C) A certification that the State, acting 

2 through the administering entity for the State, 

3 shall— 

4 (i) implement the State Digital Equity 

5 Plan of the State; and 

6 (ii) make grants in a manner that is 

7 consistent with the aims of the Plan de8 scribed in clause (i). 

9 (D) The assurances required under sub10 section (e). 

11 (E) In the case of a State to which the As12 sistant Secretary has previously awarded a 

13 grant under this subsection, any amendments 

14 to the State Digital Equity Plan of that State, 

15 as compared with the State Digital Equity Plan 

16 of the State previously submitted. 

17 (3) AWARDS.— 

18 (A) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

19 (i) FORMULA.—Subject to clauses (ii), 

20 (iii), and (iv), the Assistant Secretary shall 

21 calculate the amount of a grant awarded to 

22 an eligible State under this subsection in 

23 accordance with the following criteria, 

24 using the best available data for all States 


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1 for the fiscal year in which the grant is 

2 awarded: 

3 (I) 50 percent of the total grant 

4 amount shall be based on the popu5 lation of the eligible State in propor6 tion to the total population of all eligi7 ble States. 

8 (II) 25 percent of the total grant 

9 amount shall be based on the number 

10 of individuals in the eligible State who 

11 are members of covered populations in 

12 proportion to the total number of indi13 viduals in all eligible States who are 

14 members of covered populations. 

15 (III) 25 percent of the total 

16 grant amount shall be based on the 

17 lack of availability of broadband serv18 ice and lack of adoption of broadband 

19 service in the eligible State in propor20 tion to the lack of availability of 

21 broadband service and lack of adop22 tion of broadband service in all eligi23 ble States, which shall be determined 

24 according to data collected— 


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•S 745 IS

1 (aa) from the annual inquiry 

2 of the Commission conducted 

3 under section 706(b) of the Tele4 communications Act of 1996 (47 

5 U.S.C. 1302(b)); 

6 (bb) from the American 

7 Community Survey or, if nec8 essary, other data collected by 

9 the Bureau of the Census; 

10 (cc) from the Internet and 

11 Computer Use Supplement to the 

12 Current Population Survey of the 

13 Bureau of the Census; 

14 (dd) by the Commission pur15 suant to the rules issued under 

16 section 802 of the Communica17 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

18 642); and 

19 (ee) from any other source 

20 that the Assistant Secretary, 

21 after appropriate notice and op22 portunity for public comment, de23 termines to be appropriate. 

24 (ii) MINIMUM AWARD.—The amount 

25 of a grant awarded to an eligible State 


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•S 745 IS

1 under this subsection in a fiscal year shall 

2 be not less than 0.5 percent of the total 

3 amount made available to award grants to 

4 eligible States for that fiscal year. 

5 (iii) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—If, after 

6 awarding planning grants to States under 

7 subsection (c)(3) and capacity grants to el8 igible States under this subsection in a fis9 cal year, there are amounts remaining to 

10 carry out this section, the Assistant Sec11 retary shall distribute those amounts— 

12 (I) to eligible States to which the 

13 Assistant Secretary has awarded 

14 grants under this subsection for that 

15 fiscal year; and 

16 (II) in accordance with the for17 mula described in clause (i). 

18 (iv) DATA UNAVAILABLE.—If, in a fis19 cal year, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

20 Rico (referred to in this clause as ‘‘Puerto 

21 Rico’’) is an eligible State and specific data 

22 for Puerto Rico is unavailable for a factor 

23 described in subclause (I), (II), or (III) of 

24 clause (i), the Assistant Secretary shall use 

25 the median data point with respect to that 


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•S 745 IS

1 factor among all eligible States and assign 

2 it to Puerto Rico for the purposes of mak3 ing any calculation under that clause for 

4 that fiscal year. 

5 (B) DURATION.—With respect to a grant 

6 awarded to an eligible State under this sub7 section, the eligible State shall expend the grant 

8 funds during the 5-year period beginning on the 

9 date on which the eligible State is awarded the 

10 grant funds. 

11 (C) CHALLENGE MECHANISM.—The As12 sistant Secretary shall ensure that any eligible 

13 State to which a grant is awarded under this 

14 subsection may appeal or otherwise challenge in 

15 a timely fashion the amount of the grant 

16 awarded to the State, as determined under sub17 paragraph (A). 

18 (D) USE OF FUNDS.—The administering 

19 entity for an eligible State to which a grant is 

20 awarded under this subsection shall use the 

21 grant amounts for the following purposes: 

22 (i)(I) Subject to subclause (II), to up23 date or maintain the State Digital Equity 

24 Plan of the State. 


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1 (II) An administering entity for an el2 igible State to which a grant is awarded 

3 under this subsection may use not more 

4 than 20 percent of the amount of the 

5 grant for the purpose described in sub6 clause (I). 

7 (ii) To implement the State Digital 

8 Equity Plan of the State. 

9 (iii)(I) Subject to subclause (II), to 

10 award a grant to any entity that is de11 scribed in section 1202(b) and is located in 

12 the eligible State in order to— 

13 (aa) assist in the implementation 

14 of the State Digital Equity Plan of 

15 the State; 

16 (bb) pursue digital inclusion ac17 tivities in the State consistent with 

18 the State Digital Equity Plan of the 

19 State; and 

20 (cc) report to the State regarding 

21 the digital inclusion activities of the 

22 entity. 

23 (II) Before an administering entity 

24 for an eligible State may award a grant 

25 under subclause (I), the administering enVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 tity shall require the entity to which the 

2 grant is awarded to certify that— 

3 (aa) the entity shall carry out the 

4 activities required under items (aa), 

5 (bb), and (cc) of that subclause; 

6 (bb) the receipt of the grant shall 

7 not result in unjust enrichment of the 

8 entity; and 

9 (cc) the entity shall cooperate 

10 with any evaluation— 

11 (AA) of any program that 

12 relates to a grant awarded to the 

13 entity; and 

14 (BB) that is carried out by 

15 or for the administering entity, 

16 the Assistant Secretary, or an17 other Federal official. 

18 (iv)(I) Subject to subclause (II), to 

19 evaluate the efficacy of the efforts funded 

20 by grants made under clause (iii). 

21 (II) An administering entity for an el22 igible State to which a grant is awarded 

23 under this subsection may use not more 

24 than 5 percent of the amount of the grant 

25 for a purpose described in subclause (I). 


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1 (v)(I) Subject to subclause (II), for 

2 the administrative costs incurred in car3 rying out the activities described in clauses 

4 (i) through (iv). 

5 (II) An administering entity for an el6 igible State to which a grant is awarded 

7 under this subsection may use not more 

8 than 3 percent of the amount of the grant 

9 for the purpose described in subclause (I). 

10 (e) ASSURANCES.—When applying for a grant under 

11 this section, a State shall include in the application for 

12 that grant assurances that— 

13 (1) if any of the entities described in clauses (i) 

14 through (xi) of subsection (c)(1)(D) or section 

15 1202(b) is awarded grant funds under this section 

16 (referred to in this subsection as a ‘‘covered recipi17 ent’’), provide that— 

18 (A) the covered recipient shall use the 

19 grant funds in accordance with any applicable 

20 statute, regulation, or application procedure; 

21 (B) the administering entity for that State 

22 shall adopt and use proper methods of admin23 istering any grant that the covered recipient is 

24 awarded, including by— 


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1 (i) enforcing any obligation imposed 

2 under law on any agency, institution, orga3 nization, or other entity that is responsible 

4 for carrying out the program to which the 

5 grant relates; 

6 (ii) correcting any deficiency in the 

7 operation of a program to which the grant 

8 relates, as identified through an audit or 

9 another monitoring or evaluation proce10 dure; and 

11 (iii) adopting written procedures for 

12 the receipt and resolution of complaints al13 leging a violation of law with respect to a 

14 program to which the grant relates; and 

15 (C) the administering entity for that State 

16 shall cooperate in carrying out any evaluation— 

17 (i) of any program that relates to a 

18 grant awarded to the covered recipient; 

19 and 

20 (ii) that is carried out by or for the 

21 Assistant Secretary or another Federal of22 ficial; 

23 (2) the administering entity for that State 

24 shall— 


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1 (A) use fiscal control and fund accounting 

2 procedures that ensure the proper disbursement 

3 of, and accounting for, any Federal funds that 

4 the State is awarded under this section; 

5 (B) submit to the Assistant Secretary any 

6 reports that may be necessary to enable the As7 sistant Secretary to perform the duties of the 

8 Assistant Secretary under this section; 

9 (C) maintain any records and provide any 

10 information to the Assistant Secretary, includ11 ing those records, that the Assistant Secretary 

12 determines is necessary to enable the Assistant 

13 Secretary to perform the duties of the Assistant 

14 Secretary under this section; and 

15 (D) with respect to any significant pro16 posed change or amendment to the State Dig17 ital Equity Plan for the State, make the change 

18 or amendment available for public comment in 

19 accordance with subsection (c)(2); and 

20 (3) the State, before submitting to the Assist21 ant Secretary the State Digital Equity Plan of the 

22 State, has complied with the requirements of sub23 section (c)(2). 

24 (f) TERMINATION OF GRANT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to other author2 ity under applicable law, the Assistant Secretary 

3 shall terminate a grant awarded to an eligible State 

4 under this section if, after notice to the State and 

5 opportunity for a hearing, the Assistant Secretary 

6 determines, and presents to the State a rationale 

7 and supporting information that clearly dem8 onstrates, that— 

9 (A) the grant funds are not contributing to 

10 the development or implementation of the State 

11 Digital Equity Plan of the State, as applicable; 

12 (B) the State is not upholding assurances 

13 made by the State to the Assistant Secretary 

14 under subsection (e); or 

15 (C) the grant is no longer necessary to 

16 achieve the original purpose for which the As17 sistant Secretary awarded the grant. 

18 (2) REDISTRIBUTION.—If the Assistant Sec19 retary, in a fiscal year, terminates a grant under 

20 paragraph (1) or under other authority under appli21 cable law, the Assistant Secretary shall redistribute 

22 the unspent grant amounts— 

23 (A) to eligible States to which the Assist24 ant Secretary has awarded grants under sub25 section (d) for that fiscal year; and 


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•S 745 IS

1 (B) in accordance with the formula de2 scribed in subsection (d)(3)(A)(i). 

3 (g) REPORTING AND INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS; 

4 INTERNET DISCLOSURE.—The Assistant Secretary— 

5 (1) shall— 

6 (A) require any entity to which a grant, in7 cluding a subgrant, is awarded under this sec8 tion to publicly report, for each year during the 

9 period described in subsection (c)(3)(D)(ii) or 

10 (d)(3)(B), as applicable, with respect to the 

11 grant, and in a format specified by the Assist12 ant Secretary, on— 

13 (i) the use of that grant by the entity; 

14 (ii) the progress of the entity towards 

15 fulfilling the objectives for which the grant 

16 was awarded; and 

17 (iii) the implementation of the State 

18 Digital Equity Plan of the State; 

19 (B) establish appropriate mechanisms to 

20 ensure that any entity to which a grant, includ21 ing a subgrant, is awarded under this section— 

22 (i) uses the grant amounts in an ap23 propriate manner; and 

24 (ii) complies with all terms with re25 spect to the use of the grant amounts; and 


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•S 745 IS

1 (C) create and maintain a fully searchable 

2 database, which shall be accessible on the inter3 net at no cost to the public, that contains, at 

4 a minimum— 

5 (i) the application of each State that 

6 has applied for a grant under this section; 

7 (ii) the status of each application de8 scribed in clause (i); 

9 (iii) each report submitted by an enti10 ty under subparagraph (A); 

11 (iv) a record of public comments re12 ceived during the comment period de13 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(A) regarding 

14 the State Digital Equity Plan of a State, 

15 as well as any written responses to or ac16 tions taken as a result of those comments; 

17 and 

18 (v) any other information that the As19 sistant Secretary considers appropriate to 

20 ensure that the public has sufficient infor21 mation to understand and monitor grants 

22 awarded under this section; and 

23 (2) may establish additional reporting and in24 formation requirements for any recipient of a grant 

25 under this section. 


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1 (h) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A grant or 

2 subgrant awarded under this section shall supplement, not 

3 supplant, other Federal or State funds that have been 

4 made available to carry out activities described in this sec5 tion. 

6 (i) SET ASIDES.—From amounts made available in 

7 a fiscal year to carry out the Program, the Assistant Sec8 retary shall reserve— 

9 (1) not more than 5 percent for the implemen10 tation and administration of the Program, which 

11 shall include— 

12 (A) providing technical support and assist13 ance, including ensuring consistency in data re14 porting; 

15 (B) providing assistance to— 

16 (i) States, or administering entities 

17 for States, to prepare the applications of 

18 those States; and 

19 (ii) administering entities with respect 

20 to grants awarded under this section; 

21 (C) developing the report required under 

22 section 1203(a); and 

23 (D) providing assistance specific to Indian 

24 Tribes, tribally designated entities, and Native 

25 Hawaiian organizations, including— 


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1 (i) conducting annual outreach to In2 dian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organiza3 tions on the availability of technical assist4 ance for applying for or otherwise partici5 pating in the Program; 

6 (ii) providing technical assistance at 

7 the request of any Indian Tribe, tribally 

8 designated entity, or Native Hawaiian or9 ganization that is applying for or partici10 pating in the Program in order to facilitate 

11 the fulfillment of any applicable require12 ments in subsections (c) and (d); and 

13 (iii) providing additional technical as14 sistance at the request of any Indian 

15 Tribe, tribally designated entity, or Native 

16 Hawaiian organization that is applying for 

17 or participating in the Program to improve 

18 the development or implementation of a 

19 Digital Equity plan, such as— 

20 (I) assessing all Federal pro21 grams that are available to assist the 

22 Indian Tribe, tribally designated enti23 ty, or Native Hawaiian organization 

24 in meeting the goals of a Digital Eq25 uity plan; 


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1 (II) identifying all applicable 

2 Federal, State, and Tribal statutory 

3 provisions, regulations, policies, and 

4 procedures that the Assistant Sec5 retary determines are necessary to ad6 here to for the deployment of 

7 broadband service; 

8 (III) identifying obstacles to the 

9 deployment of broadband service 

10 under a Digital Equity plan, as well 

11 as potential solutions; or 

12 (IV) identifying activities that 

13 may be necessary to the success of a 

14 Digital Equity plan, including digital 

15 literacy training, technical support, 

16 privacy and cybersecurity expertise, 

17 and other end-user technology needs; 

18 and 

19 (2) not less than 5 percent to award grants di20 rectly to Indian Tribes, tribally designated entities, 

21 and Native Hawaiian organizations to allow those 

22 Tribes, entities, and organizations to carry out the 

23 activities described in this section. 

24 (j) RULES.—The Assistant Secretary may prescribe 

25 such rules as may be necessary to carry out this section. 


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1 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Sec3 retary— 

4 (1) for the award of grants under subsection 

5 (c)(3), $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, and such 

6 amount is authorized to remain available through 

7 fiscal year 2026; and 

8 (2) for the award of grants under subsection 

9 (d), $625,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, and such 

10 amount is authorized to remain available through 

11 fiscal year 2026. 

12 SEC. 1202. DIGITAL EQUITY COMPETITIVE GRANT PRO13 GRAM. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

16 the date on which the Assistant Secretary begins 

17 awarding grants under section 1201(d), and not be18 fore that date, the Assistant Secretary shall estab19 lish in the Office the Digital Equity Competitive 

20 Grant Program (referred to in this section as the 

21 ‘‘Program’’), the purpose of which is to award 

22 grants to support efforts to achieve digital equity, 

23 promote digital inclusion activities, and spur greater 

24 adoption of broadband service among covered popu25 lations. 


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1 (2) CONSULTATION; NO CONFLICT.—In estab2 lishing the Program under paragraph (1), the As3 sistant Secretary— 

4 (A) may consult a State with respect to— 

5 (i) the identification of groups de6 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (H) 

7 of section 2(6) located in that State; and 

8 (ii) the allocation of grant funds with9 in that State for projects in or affecting 

10 the State; and 

11 (B) shall— 

12 (i) consult with— 

13 (I) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

14 (II) the Secretary of Housing 

15 and Urban Development; 

16 (III) the Secretary of Education; 

17 (IV) the Secretary of Labor; 

18 (V) the Secretary of Health and 

19 Human Services; 

20 (VI) the Secretary of Veterans 

21 Affairs; 

22 (VII) the Secretary of the Inte23 rior; 


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1 (VIII) the Assistant Secretary for 

2 Indian Affairs of the Department of 

3 the Interior; 

4 (IX) the Commission; 

5 (X) the Federal Trade Commis6 sion; 

7 (XI) the Director of the Institute 

8 of Museum and Library Services; 

9 (XII) the Administrator of the 

10 Small Business Administration; 

11 (XIII) the Federal Cochairman 

12 of the Appalachian Regional Commis13 sion; and 

14 (XIV) the head of any other Fed15 eral agency that the Assistant Sec16 retary determines to be appropriate; 

17 and 

18 (ii) ensure that the Program com19 plements and enhances, and does not con20 flict with, other Federal broadband support 

21 programs and Universal Service Fund Pro22 grams. 

23 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—The Assistant Secretary may 

24 award a grant under the Program to any of the following 

25 entities if the entity is not serving, and has not served, 


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1 as the administering entity for a State under section 

2 1201(b): 

3 (1) A political subdivision, agency, or instru4 mentality of a State, including an agency of a State 

5 that is responsible for administering or supervising 

6 adult education and literacy activities in the State. 

7 (2) An Indian Tribe, a tribally designated enti8 ty, or a Native Hawaiian organization. 

9 (3) An entity that is— 

10 (A) a not-for-profit entity; and 

11 (B) not a school. 

12 (4) An anchor institution. 

13 (5) A local educational agency. 

14 (6) An entity that carries out a workforce devel15 opment program. 

16 (7) A consortium of any of the entities de17 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (6). 

18 (8) A consortium of— 

19 (A) an entity described in any of para20 graphs (1) through (6); and 

21 (B) an entity that— 

22 (i) the Assistant Secretary, by rule, 

23 determines to be in the public interest; and 

24 (ii) is not a school. 


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1 (c) APPLICATION.—An entity that wishes to be 

2 awarded a grant under the Program shall submit to the 

3 Assistant Secretary an application— 

4 (1) at such time, in such form, and containing 

5 such information as the Assistant Secretary may re6 quire; and 

7 (2) that— 

8 (A) provides a detailed explanation of how 

9 the entity will use any grant amounts awarded 

10 under the Program to carry out the purposes of 

11 the Program in an efficient and expeditious 

12 manner; 

13 (B) identifies the period in which the ap14 plicant will expend the grant funds awarded 

15 under the Program; 

16 (C) includes— 

17 (i) a justification for the amount of 

18 the grant that the applicant is requesting; 

19 and 

20 (ii) for each fiscal year in which the 

21 applicant will expend the grant funds, a 

22 budget for the activities that the grant 

23 funds will support; 

24 (D) demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 

25 Assistant Secretary that the entity— 


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1 (i) is capable of carrying out the 

2 project or function to which the application 

3 relates and the activities described in sub4 section (h)— 

5 (I) in a competent manner; and 

6 (II) in compliance with all appli7 cable Federal, State, and local laws; 

8 and 

9 (ii) if the applicant is an entity de10 scribed in subsection (b)(1), will appro11 priate or otherwise unconditionally obligate 

12 from non-Federal sources funds that are 

13 necessary to meet the requirements of sub14 section (e); 

15 (E) discloses to the Assistant Secretary the 

16 source and amount of other Federal, State, or 

17 outside funding sources from which the entity 

18 receives, or has applied for, funding for activi19 ties or projects to which the application relates; 

20 and 

21 (F) provides— 

22 (i) the assurances that are required 

23 under subsection (f); and 

24 (ii) an assurance that the entity shall 

25 follow such additional procedures as the 


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1 Assistant Secretary may require to ensure 

2 that grant funds are used and accounted 

3 for in an appropriate manner. 

4 (d) AWARD OF GRANTS.— 

5 (1) FACTORS CONSIDERED IN AWARD OF

6 GRANTS.—In deciding whether to award a grant 

7 under the Program, the Assistant Secretary shall, to 

8 the extent practicable, consider— 

9 (A) whether— 

10 (i) an application will, if approved— 

11 (I) increase access to broadband 

12 service and the adoption of broadband 

13 service among covered populations to 

14 be served by the applicant; and 

15 (II) not result in unjust enrich16 ment; and 

17 (ii) the applicant is, or plans to sub18 contract with, a socially and economically 

19 disadvantaged small business concern; 

20 (B) the comparative geographic diversity of 

21 the application in relation to other eligible ap22 plications; and 

23 (C) the extent to which an application may 

24 duplicate or conflict with another program. 

25 (2) USE OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the ac2 tivities required under subparagraph (B), an 

3 entity to which the Assistant Secretary awards 

4 a grant under the Program shall use the grant 

5 amounts to support not less than one of the fol6 lowing activities: 

7 (i) To develop and implement digital 

8 inclusion activities that benefit covered 

9 populations. 

10 (ii) To facilitate the adoption of 

11 broadband service by covered populations, 

12 including by raising awareness of subsidies 

13 available to increase affordability of such 

14 service (including subsidies available 

15 through the Commission), in order to pro16 vide educational and employment opportu17 nities to those populations. 

18 (iii) To implement, consistent with the 

19 purposes of this subtitle— 

20 (I) training programs for covered 

21 populations that cover basic, ad22 vanced, and applied skills; or 

23 (II) other workforce development 

24 programs. 


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1 (iv) To make available equipment, in2 strumentation, networking capability, hard3 ware and software, or digital network tech4 nology for broadband service to covered 

5 populations at low or no cost. 

6 (v) To construct, upgrade, expend, or 

7 operate new or existing public access com8 puting centers for covered populations 

9 through anchor institutions. 

10 (vi) To undertake any other project or 

11 activity that the Assistant Secretary finds 

12 to be consistent with the purposes for 

13 which the Program is established. 

14 (B) EVALUATION.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—An entity to which 

16 the Assistant Secretary awards a grant 

17 under the Program shall use not more 

18 than 10 percent of the grant amounts to 

19 measure and evaluate the activities sup20 ported with the grant amounts. 

21 (ii) SUBMISSION TO ASSISTANT SEC22 RETARY.—An entity to which the Assistant 

23 Secretary awards a grant under the Pro24 gram shall submit to the Assistant SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 retary each measurement and evaluation 

2 performed under clause (i)— 

3 (I) in a manner specified by the 

4 Assistant Secretary; 

5 (II) not later than 15 months 

6 after the date on which the entity is 

7 awarded the grant amounts; and 

8 (III) annually after the submis9 sion described in subclause (II) for 

10 any year in which the entity expends 

11 grant amounts. 

12 (C) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—An entity to 

13 which the Assistant Secretary awards a grant 

14 under the Program may use not more than 10 

15 percent of the amount of the grant for adminis16 trative costs in carrying out any of the activities 

17 described in subparagraph (A). 

18 (D) TIME LIMITATIONS.—With respect to 

19 a grant awarded to an entity under the Pro20 gram, the entity— 

21 (i) except as provided in clause (ii), 

22 shall expend the grant amounts during the 

23 4-year period beginning on the date on 

24 which the entity is awarded the grant 

25 amounts; and 


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1 (ii) during the 1-year period beginning 

2 on the date that is 4 years after the date 

3 on which the entity is awarded the grant 

4 amounts, may continue to measure and 

5 evaluate the activities supported with the 

6 grant amounts, as required under subpara7 graph (B). 

8 (E) CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.—All 

9 laborers and mechanics employed by contractors 

10 or subcontractors in the performance of con11 struction, alteration, or repair work carried out, 

12 in whole or in part, with a grant under the Pro13 gram shall be paid wages at rates not less than 

14 those prevailing on projects of a similar char15 acter in the locality as determined by the Sec16 retary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 

17 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

18 Code. With respect to the labor standards in 

19 this subparagraph, the Secretary of Labor shall 

20 have the authority and functions set forth in 

21 Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 

22 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 

23 title 40, United States Code. 

24 (F) NEUTRALITY REQUIREMENT.—An em25 ployer to which the Assistant Secretary awards 


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•S 745 IS

1 a grant under the Program shall remain neutral 

2 with respect to the exercise of employees and 

3 labor organizations of the right to organize and 

4 bargain under the National Labor Relations Act 

5 (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

6 (G) REFERRAL OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS

7 OF APPLICABLE FEDERAL LABOR AND EMPLOY8 MENT LAWS.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

9 refer any alleged violation of an applicable labor 

10 and employment law to the appropriate Federal 

11 agency for investigation and enforcement, any 

12 alleged violation of subparagraph (E) or (F) to 

13 the National Labor Relations Board for inves14 tigation and enforcement, utilizing all appro15 priate remedies up to and including debarment 

16 from the Program. 

17 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), the Federal share of any project for 

20 which the Assistant Secretary awards a grant under 

21 the Program may not exceed 90 percent. 

22 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Assistant Secretary may 

23 grant a waiver with respect to the limitation on the 

24 Federal share of a project described in paragraph 

25 (1) if— 


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1 (A) the applicant with respect to the 

2 project petitions the Assistant Secretary for the 

3 waiver; and 

4 (B) the Assistant Secretary determines 

5 that the petition described in subparagraph (A) 

6 demonstrates financial need. 

7 (f) ASSURANCES.—When applying for a grant under 

8 this section, an entity shall include in the application for 

9 that grant assurances that the entity will— 

10 (1) use any grant funds that the entity is 

11 awarded in accordance with any applicable statute, 

12 regulation, or application procedure; 

13 (2) adopt and use proper methods of admin14 istering any grant that the entity is awarded, includ15 ing by— 

16 (A) enforcing any obligation imposed under 

17 law on any agency, institution, organization, or 

18 other entity that is responsible for carrying out 

19 a program to which the grant relates; 

20 (B) correcting any deficiency in the oper21 ation of a program to which the grant relates, 

22 as identified through an audit or another moni23 toring or evaluation procedure; and 

24 (C) adopting written procedures for the re25 ceipt and resolution of complaints alleging a 


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1 violation of law with respect to a program to 

2 which the grant relates; 

3 (3) cooperate with respect to any evaluation— 

4 (A) of any program that relates to a grant 

5 awarded to the entity; and 

6 (B) that is carried out by or for the Assist7 ant Secretary or another Federal official; 

8 (4) use fiscal control and fund accounting pro9 cedures that ensure the proper disbursement of, and 

10 accounting for, any Federal funds that the entity is 

11 awarded under the Program; 

12 (5) submit to the Assistant Secretary any re13 ports that may be necessary to enable the Assistant 

14 Secretary to perform the duties of the Assistant Sec15 retary under the Program; and 

16 (6) maintain any records and provide any infor17 mation to the Assistant Secretary, including those 

18 records, that the Assistant Secretary determines is 

19 necessary to enable the Assistant Secretary to per20 form the duties of the Assistant Secretary under the 

21 Program. 

22 (g) TERMINATION OF GRANT.—In addition to other 

23 authority under applicable law, the Assistant Secretary 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) terminate a grant awarded to an entity 

2 under this section if, after notice to the entity and 

3 opportunity for a hearing, the Assistant Secretary 

4 determines, and presents to the entity a rationale 

5 and supporting information that clearly dem6 onstrates, that— 

7 (A) the grant funds are not being used in 

8 a manner that is consistent with the application 

9 with respect to the grant submitted by the enti10 ty under subsection (c); 

11 (B) the entity is not upholding assurances 

12 made by the entity to the Assistant Secretary 

13 under subsection (f); or 

14 (C) the grant is no longer necessary to 

15 achieve the original purpose for which the As16 sistant Secretary awarded the grant; and 

17 (2) with respect to any grant funds that the As18 sistant Secretary terminates under paragraph (1) or 

19 under other authority under applicable law, competi20 tively award the grant funds to another applicant (if 

21 such an applicant exists), consistent with the re22 quirements of this section. 

23 (h) REPORTING AND INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS; 

24 INTERNET DISCLOSURE.—The Assistant Secretary— 

25 (1) shall— 


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1 (A) require any entity to which the Assist2 ant Secretary awards a grant under the Pro3 gram to, for each year during the period de4 scribed in clause (i) of subsection (d)(2)(D) 

5 with respect to the grant and during the period 

6 described in clause (ii) of such subsection with 

7 respect to the grant if the entity continues to 

8 measure and evaluate the activities supported 

9 with the grant amounts during such period, 

10 submit to the Assistant Secretary a report, in 

11 a format specified by the Assistant Secretary, 

12 regarding— 

13 (i) the use by the entity of the grant 

14 amounts; and 

15 (ii) the progress of the entity towards 

16 fulfilling the objectives for which the grant 

17 was awarded; 

18 (B) establish mechanisms to ensure appro19 priate use of, and compliance with respect to all 

20 terms regarding, grant funds awarded under 

21 the Program; 

22 (C) create and maintain a fully searchable 

23 database, which shall be accessible on the inter24 net at no cost to the public, that contains, at 

25 a minimum— 


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1 (i) a list of each entity that has ap2 plied for a grant under the Program; 

3 (ii) a description of each application 

4 described in clause (i), including the pro5 posed purpose of each grant described in 

6 that clause; 

7 (iii) the status of each application de8 scribed in clause (i), including whether the 

9 Assistant Secretary has awarded a grant 

10 with respect to the application and, if so, 

11 the amount of the grant; 

12 (iv) each report submitted by an enti13 ty under subparagraph (A); and 

14 (v) any other information that the As15 sistant Secretary considers appropriate to 

16 ensure that the public has sufficient infor17 mation to understand and monitor grants 

18 awarded under the Program; and 

19 (D) ensure that any entity with respect to 

20 which an award is terminated under subsection 

21 (g) may, in a timely manner, appeal or other22 wise challenge that termination; and 

23 (2) may establish additional reporting and in24 formation requirements for any recipient of a grant 

25 under the Program. 


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1 (i) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—A grant awarded 

2 to an entity under the Program shall supplement, not sup3 plant, other Federal or State funds that have been made 

4 available to the entity to carry out activities described in 

5 this section. 

6 (j) SET ASIDES.—From amounts made available in 

7 a fiscal year to carry out the Program, the Assistant Sec8 retary shall reserve— 

9 (1) not more than 5 percent for the implemen10 tation and administration of the Program, which 

11 shall include— 

12 (A) providing technical support and assist13 ance, including ensuring consistency in data re14 porting; 

15 (B) providing assistance to entities to pre16 pare the applications of those entities with re17 spect to grants awarded under this section; 

18 (C) developing the report required under 

19 section 1203(a); and 

20 (D) conducting outreach to entities that 

21 may be eligible to be awarded a grant under the 

22 Program regarding opportunities to apply for 

23 such a grant; and 

24 (2) not less than 5 percent to award grants di25 rectly to Indian Tribes, tribally designated entities, 


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1 and Native Hawaiian organizations to allow those 

2 Tribes, entities, and organizations to carry out the 

3 activities described in this section. 

4 (k) RULES.—The Assistant Secretary may prescribe 

5 such rules as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

6 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Sec8 retary $625,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal 

9 year 2022, and such amount is authorized to remain avail10 able through fiscal year 2026. 

11 SEC. 1203. POLICY RESEARCH, DATA COLLECTION, ANAL12 YSIS AND MODELING, EVALUATION, AND DIS13 SEMINATION. 

14 (a) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date on which the Assistant Secretary begins 

17 awarding grants under section 1201(d), and annu18 ally thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall— 

19 (A) submit to the appropriate committees 

20 of Congress a report that documents, for the 

21 year covered by the report— 

22 (i) the findings of each evaluation 

23 conducted under subparagraph (B); 


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1 (ii) a list of each grant awarded under 

2 each covered program, which shall in3 clude— 

4 (I) the amount of each such 

5 grant; 

6 (II) the recipient of each such 

7 grant; and 

8 (III) the purpose for which each 

9 such grant was awarded; 

10 (iii) any termination or modification 

11 of a grant awarded under the covered pro12 grams, which shall include a description of 

13 the subsequent usage of any funds to 

14 which such an action applies; and 

15 (iv) each challenge made by an appli16 cant for, or a recipient of, a grant under 

17 the covered programs and the outcome of 

18 each such challenge; and 

19 (B) conduct evaluations of the activities 

20 carried out under the covered programs, which 

21 shall include an evaluation of— 

22 (i) whether eligible States to which 

23 grants are awarded under the program es24 tablished under section 1201 are— 


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1 (I) abiding by the assurances 

2 made by those States under sub3 section (e) of that section; 

4 (II) meeting, or have met, the 

5 stated goals of the State Digital Eq6 uity Plans developed by the States 

7 under subsection (c) of that section; 

8 (III) satisfying the requirements 

9 imposed by the Assistant Secretary on 

10 those States under subsection (g) of 

11 that section; and 

12 (IV) in compliance with any 

13 other rules, requirements, or regula14 tions promulgated by the Assistant 

15 Secretary in implementing that pro16 gram; and 

17 (ii) whether entities to which grants 

18 are awarded under the program established 

19 under section 1202 are— 

20 (I) abiding by the assurances 

21 made by those entities under sub22 section (f) of that section; 

23 (II) meeting, or have met, the 

24 stated goals of those entities with re25 spect to the use of the grant amounts; 


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1 (III) satisfying the requirements 

2 imposed by the Assistant Secretary on 

3 those entities under subsection (h) of 

4 that section; and 

5 (IV) in compliance with any 

6 other rules, requirements, or regula7 tions promulgated by the Assistant 

8 Secretary in implementing that pro9 gram. 

10 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Assistant Sec11 retary shall make each report submitted under para12 graph (1)(A) publicly available in an online format 

13 that— 

14 (A) facilitates access and ease of use; 

15 (B) is searchable; and 

16 (C) is accessible— 

17 (i) to individuals with disabilities; and 

18 (ii) in languages other than English. 

19 (b) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT AND ENTER INTO

20 OTHER ARRANGEMENTS.—The Assistant Secretary may 

21 award grants and enter into contracts, cooperative agree22 ments, and other arrangements with Federal agencies, 

23 public and private organizations, and other entities with 

24 expertise that the Assistant Secretary determines appro25 priate in order to— 


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1 (1) evaluate the impact and efficacy of activities 

2 supported by grants awarded under the covered pro3 grams; and 

4 (2) develop, catalog, disseminate, and promote 

5 the exchange of best practices, both with respect to 

6 and independent of the covered programs, in order 

7 to achieve digital equity. 

8 (c) CONSULTATION AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.—In 

9 carrying out subsection (a), and to further the objectives 

10 described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b), the 

11 Assistant Secretary shall conduct ongoing collaboration 

12 and consult with— 

13 (1) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

14 (2) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel15 opment; 

16 (3) the Secretary of Education; 

17 (4) the Secretary of Labor; 

18 (5) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv19 ices; 

20 (6) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

21 (7) the Secretary of the Interior; 

22 (8) the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs of 

23 the Department of the Interior; 

24 (9) the Commission; 

25 (10) the Federal Trade Commission; 


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1 (11) the Director of the Institute of Museum 

2 and Library Services; 

3 (12) the Administrator of the Small Business 

4 Administration; 

5 (13) the Federal Cochairman of the Appa6 lachian Regional Commission; 

7 (14) State agencies and governors of States (or 

8 equivalent officials); 

9 (15) entities serving as administering entities 

10 for States under section 1201(b); 

11 (16) national, State, Tribal, and local organiza12 tions that conduct digital inclusion activities, pro13 mote digital equity, or provide digital literacy serv14 ices; 

15 (17) researchers, academics, and philanthropic 

16 organizations; and 

17 (18) other agencies, organizations (including 

18 international organizations), entities (including enti19 ties with expertise in the fields of data collection, 

20 analysis and modeling, and evaluation), and commu21 nity stakeholders, as determined appropriate by the 

22 Assistant Secretary. 

23 (d) TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE.—The 

24 Assistant Secretary shall provide technical support and as25 sistance to potential applicants for the covered programs 


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1 and entities awarded grants under the covered programs, 

2 to ensure consistency in data reporting and to meet the 

3 objectives of this section. 

4 SEC. 1204. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

5 (a) NONDISCRIMINATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—No individual in the United 

7 States may, on the basis of actual or perceived race, 

8 color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, 

9 sexual orientation, age, or disability, be excluded 

10 from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or 

11 be subjected to discrimination under any program or 

12 activity that is funded in whole or in part with funds 

13 made available under this subtitle. 

14 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The Assistant Secretary 

15 shall effectuate paragraph (1) with respect to any 

16 program or activity described in that paragraph by 

17 issuing regulations and taking actions consistent 

18 with section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

19 U.S.C. 2000d–1). 

20 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Judicial review of an 

21 action taken by the Assistant Secretary under para22 graph (2) shall be available to the extent provided in 

23 section 603 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

24 U.S.C. 2000d–2). 


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1 (b) TECHNOLOGICAL NEUTRALITY.—The Assistant 

2 Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, carry out this 

3 subtitle in a technologically neutral manner. 

4 (c) AUDIT AND OVERSIGHT.—There are authorized 

5 to be appropriated to the Office of Inspector General of 

6 the Department of Commerce for audits and oversight of 

7 funds made available to carry out this subtitle, $1,000,000 

8 for fiscal year 2022, and such amount is authorized to 

9 remain available through fiscal year 2026. 

10 TITLE II—BROADBAND AFFORD11 ABILITY AND PRICING TRANS12 PARENCY 

13 Subtitle A—Broadband 

14 Affordability 

15 SEC. 2101. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR 

16 THE EMERGENCY BROADBAND 

17 CONNECTIVITY FUND. 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Emer19 gency Broadband Connectivity Fund established under 

20 subsection (i) of section 904 of title IX of division N of 

21 the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 

22 116–260) $6,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 for the pur23 poses described in paragraph (3) of such subsection, and 

24 such amount is authorized to remain available through fis25 cal year 2026. 


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1 SEC. 2102. GRANTS TO STATES TO STRENGTHEN NATIONAL 

2 LIFELINE ELIGIBILITY VERIFIER. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

5 establish a program to provide a grant, from amounts ap6 propriated under subsection (d), to each eligible entity for 

7 the purpose described under subsection (b). 

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The Commission shall make a grant 

9 to each eligible entity for the purpose of establishing or 

10 amending a connection between the databases of such en11 tity that contain information concerning the receipt by a 

12 household, or a member of a household, of benefits under 

13 a program administered by such entity (including any ben14 efit provided under the supplemental nutrition assistance 

15 program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

16 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)) and the National Lifeline Eligibility 

17 Verifier so that the receipt by a household, or a member 

18 of a household, of benefits under such benefits program— 

19 (1) is reflected in the National Lifeline Eligi20 bility Verifier; and 

21 (2) can be used to verify eligibility for— 

22 (A) the Lifeline program established under 

23 subpart E, part 54, of title 47, Code of Federal 

24 Regulations (or any successor regulation); and 

25 (B) the Emergency Broadband Benefit 

26 Program established under section 904(b) of 


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1 title IX of division N of the Consolidated Ap2 propriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260). 

3 (c) DISBURSEMENT OF GRANT FUNDS.—Not later 

4 than 60 days after the program established under sub5 section (a) is established, funds provided under each grant 

6 made under such subsection shall be disbursed to the enti7 ty receiving such grant. 

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 for fiscal 

10 year 2022 for the purposes of carrying out this section, 

11 and such amount is authorized to remain available 

12 through fiscal year 2026. 

13 (e) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the term 

14 ‘‘eligible entity’’ means an entity that— 

15 (1) is a State or Tribal entity; and 

16 (2) not later than 30 days after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act, submits to the Commission 

18 an application containing such information as the 

19 Commission may require. 

20 SEC. 2103. FEDERAL COORDINATION BETWEEN NATIONAL 

21 ELIGIBILITY VERIFIER AND NATIONAL ACCU22 RACY CLEARINGHOUSE. 

23 Notwithstanding section 11(x)(2)(C)(i) of the Food 

24 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020(x)(2)(C)(i)), 

25 not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 


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1 of this Act, the Commission shall, in coordination with the 

2 Secretary of Agriculture, establish an automated connec3 tion, to the maximum extent practicable, between the Na4 tional Lifeline Eligibility Verifier and the National Accu5 racy Clearinghouse established under section 11(x) of the 

6 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020(x)) for 

7 the supplemental nutrition assistance program. 

8 SEC. 2104. FEDERAL COORDINATION BETWEEN LIFELINE 

9 AND SNAP VERIFICATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

11 11(x)(2)(c)(i) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

12 U.S.C. 2020(x)(2)(C)(i)), not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, 

14 in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, establish 

15 an automated connection, to the maximum extent prac16 ticable, between the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier 

17 and the National Accuracy Clearinghouse established 

18 under section 11(x) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

19 (7 U.S.C. 2020(x)) for the Supplemental Nutrition Assist20 ance Program. 

21 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, and each year there23 after, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with 

24 the Commission, shall produce a report on enrollment in 

25 the Lifeline program by individuals participating in the 


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1 supplemental nutrition assistance program established 

2 under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

3 20112 et seq.). 

4 (c) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

5 enactment of this Act, the Commission shall conduct a 

6 study and submit a report to the Congress on— 

7 (1) the projected number of new broadband 

8 service consumers who adopted broadband service 

9 through a Federal assistance program; and 

10 (2) data that illustrates the efficacy of various 

11 advertising efforts on eligibility for the Lifeline pro12 gram. 

13 SEC. 2105. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this subtitle: 

15 (1) AUTOMATED CONNECTION.—The term 

16 ‘‘automated connection’’ means a connection be17 tween two or more information systems where the 

18 manual input of information in one system leads to 

19 the automatic input of the same information into 

20 any other connected system. 

21 (2) NATIONAL LIFELINE ELIGIBILITY

22 VERIFIER.—The term ‘‘National Lifeline Eligibility 

23 Verifier’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

24 54.400 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

25 any successor regulation). 


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1 (3) TRIBAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Tribal entity’’ 

2 means any of the following: 

3 (A) The governing body of any Indian or 

4 Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, vil5 lage, community, component band, or compo6 nent reservation, individually recognized (in7 cluding parenthetically) in the list published 

8 most recently as of the date of enactment of 

9 this Act pursuant to section 104 of the Feder10 ally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

11 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 

12 (B) The Department of Hawaiian Home 

13 Lands. 

14 Subtitle B—Additional Authoriza15 tion for Emergency 

16 Connectivity Fund 

17 SEC. 2201. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION FOR EMERGENCY 

18 CONNECTIVITY FUND. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Emer20 gency Connectivity Fund established under section 

21 7402(c) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 

22 $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 for the purposes de23 scribed in such section, and such amount is authorized to 

24 remain available through fiscal year 2026. 


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1 Subtitle C—Additional Authoriza2 tion for Connecting Minority 

3 Communities Fund. 

4 SEC. 2301. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION FOR CONNECTING 

5 MINORITY COMMUNITIES FUND. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Con7 necting Minority Communities Fund established under 

8 section 902(c)(2) of title IX of division N of the Consoli9 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) 

10 $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 for the purposes de11 scribed in subparagraph (B) of such section, and such 

12 amount is authorized to remain available through fiscal 

13 year 2026. 

14 Subtitle D—Pricing Transparency 

15 SEC. 2401. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this subtitle: 

17 (1) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.— 

18 The term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ has 

19 the meaning given the term in section 8.1(b) of title 

20 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

21 regulation. 

22 (2) FIXED WIRELESS BROADBAND.—The term 

23 ‘‘fixed wireless broadband’’ means broadband inter24 net access service that serves end users primarily at 

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1 nected by the use of radio, such as by the use of un2 licensed spectrum. 

3 (3) MOBILE BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘mobile 

4 broadband’’— 

5 (A) means broadband internet access serv6 ice that serves end users primarily using mobile 

7 stations; 

8 (B) includes services that use smartphones 

9 or mobile network-enabled tablets as the pri10 mary endpoints for connection to the internet; 

11 and 

12 (C) includes mobile satellite broadband 

13 internet access services. 

14 (4) PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘provider’’ means a 

15 provider of fixed or mobile broadband internet access 

16 service. 

17 (5) SATELLITE BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘sat18 ellite broadband’’ means broadband internet access 

19 service that serves end users primarily at fixed 

20 endpoints through stationary equipment connected 

21 by the use of orbital satellites. 

22 (6) TERRESTRIAL FIXED BROADBAND.—The 

23 term ‘‘terrestrial fixed broadband’’ means broadband 

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1 ment connected by wired technology such as cable, 

2 DSL, and fiber. 

3 SEC. 2402. BROADBAND TRANSPARENCY. 

4 (a) RULES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis7 sion shall issue final rules that include a require8 ment for the annual collection by the Commission of 

9 data relating to the price and subscription rates of 

10 terrestrial fixed broadband, fixed wireless 

11 broadband, satellite broadband, and mobile 

12 broadband. 

13 (2) UPDATES.—Not later than 90 days after 

14 the date on which rules are issued under paragraph 

15 (1), and when determined to be necessary by the 

16 Commission thereafter, the Commission shall revise 

17 such rules to verify the accuracy of data submitted 

18 pursuant to such rules. 

19 (3) REDUNDANCY AVOIDANCE.—Nothing in this 

20 section shall be construed to require the Commis21 sion, in order to meet a requirement of this section, 

22 to duplicate an activity that the Commission is un23 dertaking as of the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, if the Commission refers to such activity in the 

25 rules issued under paragraph (1), such activity 


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1 meets the requirements of this section, and the Com2 mission discloses such activity to the public. 

3 (b) CONTENT OF RULES.—The rules issued by the 

4 Commission under subsection (a)(1) shall require the 

5 Commission to collect from each provider of terrestrial 

6 fixed broadband, fixed wireless broadband, mobile 

7 broadband, or satellite broadband, data that includes— 

8 (1) either the weighted average of the monthly 

9 prices charged to subscribed households within each 

10 census block for each distinct broadband internet ac11 cess service plan or tier of standalone broadband 

12 internet access service, including mandatory equip13 ment charges, usage-based fees, and fees for early 

14 termination of required contracts, or the monthly 

15 price charged to each subscribed household, includ16 ing such charges and fees; 

17 (2) either the mean monthly price within the 

18 duration of subscription contracts offered within 

19 each census block for each distinct broadband inter20 net access service plan or tier of standalone 

21 broadband internet access service, including manda22 tory equipment charges, usage-based fees, and fees 

23 for early termination of required contracts, or the 

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1 tion contracts offered to each household, including 

2 such charges and fees; 

3 (3) either the subscription rate within each cen4 sus block for each distinct broadband internet access 

5 service plan or tier of standalone broadband internet 

6 access service, or information regarding the sub7 scription status of each household to which a sub8 scription is offered; 

9 (4) data necessary to demonstrate the actual 

10 price paid by subscribers of broadband internet ac11 cess service at each tier for such service in a manner 

12 that— 

13 (A) takes into account any discounts (or 

14 similar price concessions); and 

15 (B) identifies any additional taxes and fees 

16 (including for the use of equipment related to 

17 the use of a subscription for such service), any 

18 monthly data usage limitation at the stated 

19 price, and the extent to which the price of the 

20 service reflects inclusion within a product bun21 dle; and 

22 (5) data necessary to assess the resiliency of 

23 the broadband internet access service network in the 

24 event of a natural disaster or emergency. 


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1 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Commission shall 

2 provide technical assistance to small providers (as defined 

3 by the Commission) of broadband internet access service, 

4 to ensure such providers can fulfill the requirements of 

5 this section. 

6 SEC. 2403. DISTRIBUTION OF DATA. 

7 (a) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Subject to subsection 

8 (b), the Commission shall make all data relating to 

9 broadband internet access service collected under rules re10 quired by this subtitle available in a commonly used elec11 tronic format to— 

12 (1) other Federal agencies, including the Na13 tional Telecommunications and Information Admin14 istration, to assist that agency in conducting the 

15 study required by subsection (g) of section 903 of di16 vision FF of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

17 2021 (Public Law 116–260), as added by this Act; 

18 (2) a broadband office, public utility commis19 sion, broadband mapping program, or other 

20 broadband program of a State, in the case of data 

21 pertaining to the needs of that State; 

22 (3) a unit of local government, in the case of 

23 data pertaining to the needs of that locality; and 


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1 (4) an individual or organization conducting re2 search for noncommercial purposes or public interest 

3 purposes. 

4 (b) PROTECTION OF DATA.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may not 

6 share any data described in subsection (a) with an 

7 entity or individual described in that subsection un8 less the Commission has determined that the receiv9 ing entity or individual has the capability and intent 

10 to protect any personally identifiable information 

11 contained in the data. 

12 (2) DETERMINATION OF PERSONALLY IDENTI13 FIABLE INFORMATION.—The Commission— 

14 (A) shall define the term ‘‘personally iden15 tifiable information’’, for purposes of paragraph 

16 (1), through notice and comment rulemaking; 

17 and 

18 (B) may not share any data under sub19 section (a) before completing the rulemaking 

20 under subparagraph (A). 

21 (c) BALANCING ACCESS AND PROTECTION.—If the 

22 Commission is unable to determine under subsection 

23 (b)(1) that an entity or individual requesting access to 

24 data under subsection (a) has the capability to protect per25 sonally identifiable information contained in the data, the 


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1 Commission shall make as much of the data available as 

2 possible in a format that does not compromise personally 

3 identifiable information, through methods such as 

4 anonymization. 

5 SEC. 2404. COORDINATION WITH CERTAIN OTHER FEDERAL 

6 AGENCIES. 

7 Section 804(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 

8 1934 (47 U.S.C. 644(b)(2)), as added by the Broadband 

9 DATA Act (Public Law 116–130), is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking the 

11 semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

12 (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(B) coordinate with the Postmaster Gen15 eral, the heads of other Federal agencies that 

16 operate delivery fleet vehicles, and the Director 

17 of the Bureau of the Census for assistance with 

18 data collection whenever coordination could fea19 sibly yield more specific geographic data.’’; and 

20 (3) by striking subparagraph (C). 

21 SEC. 2405. ADOPTION OF CONSUMER BROADBAND LABELS. 

22 (a) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

24 promulgate regulations to promote and incentivize the 

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1 scribed in the Public Notice of the Commission issued on 

2 April 4, 2016 (DA 16–357), to disclose to consumers in3 formation regarding broadband internet access service 

4 plans. 

5 (b) HEARINGS.—In issuing the final rule under sub6 section (a), the Commission shall conduct a series of pub7 lic hearings to assess, at the time of the proceeding— 

8 (1) how consumers evaluate broadband internet 

9 access service plans; and 

10 (2) whether disclosures to consumers of infor11 mation regarding broadband internet access service 

12 plans, including those required under section 8.1 of 

13 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, are available, 

14 effective, and sufficient. 

15 SEC. 2406. GAO REPORT. 

16 Not later than one year after the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

18 States shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Com19 merce of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

20 Agriculture of the House of Representatives, the Com21 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

22 of the Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, 

23 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee 

24 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the 

25 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 


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1 Senate, a report that evaluates the process used by the 

2 Commission for establishing, reviewing, and updating the 

3 upload and download broadband internet access service 

4 speed thresholds, including— 

5 (1) how the Commission reviews and updates 

6 broadband internet access speed thresholds; 

7 (2) whether the Commission considers future 

8 broadband internet access service speed needs when 

9 establishing broadband internet access service speed 

10 thresholds, including whether the Commission con11 siders the need, or the anticipated need, for higher 

12 upload or download broadband internet access serv13 ice speeds in the five-year period and the ten-year 

14 period after the date on which a broadband internet 

15 access service speed threshold is to be established; 

16 and 

17 (3) how the Commission considers the impacts 

18 of changing uses of the internet in establishing, re19 viewing, or updating broadband internet access serv20 ice speed thresholds, including— 

21 (A) the proliferation of internet-based busi22 ness; 

23 (B) working remotely and running a busi24 ness from home; 

25 (C) video teleconferencing; 


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1 (D) distance learning; 

2 (E) in-house web hosting; and 

3 (F) cloud data storage. 

4 TITLE III—BROADBAND ACCESS 

5 Subtitle A—Expansion of 

6 Broadband Access 

7 SEC. 3101. EXPANSION OF BROADBAND ACCESS IN 

8 UNSERVED AREAS AND AREAS WITH LOW9 TIER OR MID-TIER SERVICE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Communications 

11 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 723. EXPANSION OF BROADBAND ACCESS IN 

14 UNSERVED AREAS AND AREAS WITH LOW15 TIER OR MID-TIER SERVICE. 

16 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—Not later than 180 

17 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

18 Commission, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary, 

19 shall establish a program to expand access to broadband 

20 service for unserved areas, areas with low-tier service, 

21 areas with mid-tier service, and unserved anchor institu22 tions in accordance with the requirements of this section 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(1) is separate from any universal service pro25 gram established pursuant to section 254; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) does not require funding recipients to be 

2 designated as eligible telecommunications carriers 

3 under section 214(e). 

4 ‘‘(b) USE OF PROGRAM FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) EXPANDING ACCESS TO BROADBAND SERV6 ICE THROUGH NATIONAL SYSTEM OF COMPETITIVE

7 BIDDING.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

8 of the enactment of this section, the Commission 

9 shall award 75 percent of the amounts appropriated 

10 under subsection (g) through national systems of 

11 competitive bidding to funding recipients only to ex12 pand access to broadband service in unserved areas 

13 and areas with low-tier service. 

14 ‘‘(2) EXPANDING ACCESS TO BROADBAND SERV15 ICE THROUGH STATES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO

17 STATES.—Not later than 255 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this section, the Com19 mission shall distribute 25 percent of the 

20 amounts appropriated under subsection (g) 

21 among the States, as follows: 

22 ‘‘(i) $100,000,000 shall be distributed 

23 to each of the 50 States, the District of 

24 Columbia, and Puerto Rico. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) $100,000,000 shall be allocated 

2 equally among and distributed to the 

3 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, 

4 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 

5 the Northern Mariana Islands, the Repub6 lic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 

7 States of Micronesia, and the Republic of 

8 Palau. 

9 ‘‘(iii) The remainder shall be allocated 

10 among and distributed to the entities de11 scribed in clause (i), in proportion to the 

12 population of each such entity. 

13 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Not later than 195 

14 days after the date of the enactment of this sec15 tion, the Commission shall issue a public notice 

16 informing each State and the public of the 

17 amounts to be distributed under this para18 graph. The notice shall include— 

19 ‘‘(i) the manner in which a State shall 

20 inform the Commission of that State’s ac21 ceptance or acceptance in part of the 

22 amounts to be distributed under this para23 graph; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the date (which is 30 days after 

25 the date on which the public notice is 


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1 issued) by which such acceptance or ac2 ceptance in part is due; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the requirements as set forth 

4 under this section and as may be further 

5 prescribed by the Commission. 

6 ‘‘(C) ACCEPTANCE BY STATES.—Not later 

7 than 30 days after the date on which a public 

8 notice is issued under subparagraph (B), each 

9 State accepting amounts to be distributed 

10 under this paragraph shall inform the Commis11 sion of the acceptance or acceptance in part by 

12 the State of the amounts to be distributed 

13 under this paragraph in the manner described 

14 by the Commission in the public notice. 

15 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE RECEIPT

16 OF AMOUNTS DISTRIBUTED.—Each State ac17 cepting amounts distributed under this para18 graph— 

19 ‘‘(i) shall only award such amounts 

20 through statewide systems of competitive 

21 bidding, in the manner prescribed by the 

22 State but subject to the requirements as 

23 set forth under this section and as may be 

24 further prescribed by the Commission; 

25 ‘‘(ii) shall make such awards only— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to funding recipients to ex2 pand access to broadband service in 

3 unserved areas and areas with low-tier 

4 service; 

5 ‘‘(II) to funding recipients to ex6 pand access to broadband service to 

7 unserved anchor institutions; or 

8 ‘‘(III) to funding recipients to ex9 pand access to broadband service in 

10 areas with mid-tier service, but only if 

11 a State does not have, or no longer 

12 has, any unserved areas or areas with 

13 low-tier service; 

14 ‘‘(iii) shall conduct separate systems 

15 of competitive bidding for awards made to 

16 unserved anchor institutions under clause 

17 (ii)(II), if a State awards any amounts dis18 tributed under this paragraph to unserved 

19 anchor institutions; 

20 ‘‘(iv) shall return any unused portion 

21 of amounts distributed under this para22 graph to the Commission within 10 years 

23 after the date of the enactment of this sec24 tion and shall submit a certification to the 

25 Commission before receiving such amounts 


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1 that the State will return such amounts; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(v) may not use more than 5 percent 

4 of the amounts distributed under this 

5 paragraph to administer a system or sys6 tems of competitive bidding authorized by 

7 this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL AND STATE COORDINATION.— 

9 The Commission, in consultation with the Office of 

10 Internet Connectivity and Growth, shall establish 

11 processes through the rulemaking under subsection 

12 (e) to— 

13 ‘‘(A) permit a State to elect for the Com14 mission to conduct statewide systems of com15 petitive bidding on behalf of such State as part 

16 of, or in coordination with, national systems of 

17 competitive bidding; 

18 ‘‘(B) assist States in conducting statewide 

19 systems of competitive bidding; 

20 ‘‘(C) ensure that program funds awarded 

21 by the Commission and program funds awarded 

22 by the States are not used in the same areas; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(D) ensure that program funds and funds 

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1 pand broadband service with a download speed 

2 of at least 100 megabits per second, an upload 

3 speed of at least 100 megabits per second, and 

4 latency that is sufficiently low to allow multiple, 

5 simultaneous, real-time, interactive applications, 

6 are not used in the same areas. 

7 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY REQUIRED.— 

9 The entity administering a system of competitive 

10 bidding (either a State or the Commission) in mak11 ing awards may not favor a project using any par12 ticular technology. 

13 ‘‘(2) GIGABIT PERFORMANCE FUNDING.—The 

14 Commission shall reserve 20 percent of the amounts 

15 to be awarded by the Commission under subsection 

16 (b)(1), and each State shall reserve 20 percent of 

17 the amounts distributed to such State under sub18 section (b)(2), for bidders committing (with respect 

19 to any particular project by such a bidder) to offer, 

20 not later than the date that is 4 years after the date 

21 on which funding is provided under this section for 

22 such project— 

23 ‘‘(A) broadband service with a download 

24 speed of at least 1 gigabit per second, an 

25 upload speed of at least 1 gigabit per second, 


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1 and latency that is sufficiently low to allow mul2 tiple, simultaneous, real-time, interactive appli3 cations; or 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of a project to provide 

5 broadband service to an unserved anchor insti6 tution, broadband service with a download 

7 speed of at least 10 gigabits per second per 

8 1,000 users, an upload speed of at least 10 gig9 abits per second per 1,000 users, and latency 

10 that is sufficiently low to allow multiple, simul11 taneous, real-time, interactive applications. 

12 ‘‘(3) SYSTEM OF COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROC13 ESS.—The entity administering a system of competi14 tive bidding (either a State or the Commission) shall 

15 structure the system of competitive bidding process 

16 to— 

17 ‘‘(A) first hold a system of competitive bid18 ding only for bidders committing (with respect 

19 to any particular project by such a bidder) to 

20 offer, not later than the date that is 4 years 

21 after the date on which funding is provided 

22 under this section for such project— 

23 ‘‘(i) broadband service with a 

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1 abit per second, and latency that is suffi2 ciently low to allow multiple, simultaneous, 

3 real-time, interactive applications; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a project to pro5 vide broadband service to an unserved an6 chor institution, broadband service with a 

7 download speed of at least 10 gigabits per 

8 second per 1,000 users, an upload speed of 

9 at least 10 gigabits per second per 1,000 

10 users, and latency that is sufficiently low 

11 to allow multiple, simultaneous, real-time, 

12 interactive applications; and 

13 ‘‘(B) after holding the system of competi14 tive bidding required by subparagraph (A), hold 

15 one or more systems of competitive bidding, in 

16 areas not receiving awards under subparagraph 

17 (A), to award funds for projects in areas that 

18 are estimated to remain unserved areas, areas 

19 with low-tier service, or (to the extent permitted 

20 under this section) areas with mid-tier service, 

21 or (to the extent permitted under this section) 

22 for projects to offer broadband service to an23 chor institutions that are estimated to remain 

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1 ed under the system of competitive bidding re2 quired by subparagraph (A) or any previous 

3 system of competitive bidding under this sub4 paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(4) FUNDS PRIORITY PREFERENCE.—There 

6 shall be a preference in a system of competitive bid7 ding for projects that would expand access to 

8 broadband service in areas where at least 90 percent 

9 of the population has no access to broadband service 

10 or does not have access to broadband service offered 

11 with a download speed of at least 25 megabits per 

12 second, with an upload speed of at least 3 megabits 

13 per second, and with latency that is sufficiently low 

14 to allow multiple, simultaneous, real-time, interactive 

15 applications. Such projects shall be given priority in 

16 such system of competitive bidding over all other 

17 projects, regardless of how many preferences under 

18 paragraph (5) for which such other projects qualify. 

19 ‘‘(5) FUNDS PREFERENCE.—There shall be a 

20 preference in a system of competitive bidding, as de21 termined by the entity administering the system of 

22 competitive bidding (either a State or the Commis23 sion), for any of the following projects: 

24 ‘‘(A) Projects with at least 20 percent 

25 matching funds from non-Federal sources. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Projects that would expand access to 

2 broadband service on Tribal lands, as defined 

3 by the Commission. 

4 ‘‘(C) Projects that would provide 

5 broadband service with higher speeds than 

6 those specified in subsection (d)(2), except in 

7 the case of funds awarded under subparagraph 

8 (A) of paragraph (3). 

9 ‘‘(D) Projects that would expand access to 

10 broadband service in advance of the time speci11 fied in subsection (e)(5), except in the case of 

12 funds awarded under subparagraph (A) of 

13 paragraph (3). 

14 ‘‘(E) Projects that would expand access to 

15 broadband service to persistent poverty counties 

16 or high-poverty areas at subsidized rates. 

17 ‘‘(F) Projects that, at least until the date 

18 that is 10 years after the date of the enactment 

19 of this section, would provide broadband service 

20 with comparable speeds to those provided in 

21 areas that, on the day before such date of en22 actment, were not unserved areas, areas with 

23 low-tier service, or areas with mid-tier service, 

24 with minimal future investment. 


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1 ‘‘(G) Projects with support from the local 

2 community, demonstrated by at least one letter 

3 of support from local elected officials in the 

4 community. 

5 ‘‘(H) Projects that would provide for the 

6 deployment of open-access broadband service 

7 networks. 

8 ‘‘(6) UNSERVED AREAS AND AREAS WITH LOW9 TIER OR MID-TIER SERVICE.—In determining wheth10 er an area is an unserved area, an area with low11 tier service, or an area with mid-tier service or 

12 whether an anchor institution is an unserved anchor 

13 institution for any system of competitive bidding au14 thorized under this section, the Commission shall 

15 implement the following requirements through the 

16 rulemaking described in subsection (e): 

17 ‘‘(A) DATA FOR INITIAL DETERMINA18 TION.—To make an initial determination as to 

19 whether an area is an unserved area, an area 

20 with low-tier service, or an area with mid-tier 

21 service or whether an anchor institution is an 

22 unserved anchor institution, the Commission 

23 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) use the most accurate and granu2 lar data on the map created by the Com3 mission under section 802(c)(1)(B); 

4 ‘‘(ii) refine the data described in 

5 clause (i) by using— 

6 ‘‘(I) other data on access to 

7 broadband service obtained or pur8 chased by the Commission; 

9 ‘‘(II) other publicly available data 

10 or information on access to broadband 

11 service; and 

12 ‘‘(III) other publicly available 

13 data or information on State 

14 broadband service deployment pro15 grams; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) not determine an area is not an 

17 unserved area, an area with low-tier serv18 ice, or an area with mid-tier service, on the 

19 basis that one location within such area 

20 does not meet the definition of an unserved 

21 area, an area with low-tier service, or an 

22 area with mid-tier service. 

23 ‘‘(B) INITIAL DETERMINATION.—The 

24 Commission shall make an initial determination 

25 of the areas that are unserved areas, areas with 


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1 low-tier service, and areas with mid-tier service 

2 and which anchor institutions are unserved an3 chor institutions not later than 270 days after 

4 the date of the enactment of this section. 

5 ‘‘(C) CHALLENGE OF DETERMINATION.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

7 shall provide for a process for challenging 

8 any initial determination regarding wheth9 er an area is an unserved area, an area 

10 with low-tier service, or an area with mid11 tier service or whether an anchor institu12 tion is an unserved anchor institution that, 

13 at a minimum, provides not less than 45 

14 days for a person to voluntarily submit in15 formation concerning— 

16 ‘‘(I) the broadband service of17 fered in the area, or a commitment to 

18 offer broadband service in the area 

19 that is subject to legal sanction if not 

20 performed; or 

21 ‘‘(II) the broadband service of22 fered to the anchor institution. 

23 ‘‘(ii) STREAMLINED PROCESS.—The 

24 Commission shall ensure that such process 

25 is sufficiently streamlined such that a reaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 sonably prudent person may easily partici2 pate to challenge such initial determination 

3 with little burden on such person. 

4 ‘‘(D) FINAL DETERMINATION.—The Com5 mission shall make a final determination of the 

6 areas that are unserved areas, areas with low7 tier service, or areas with mid-tier service and 

8 which anchor institutions are unserved anchor 

9 institutions within 1 year after the date of the 

10 enactment of this section. 

11 ‘‘(7) NOTICE, TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNT12 ABILITY, AND OVERSIGHT REQUIRED.—The program 

13 shall contain sufficient notice, transparency, ac14 countability, and oversight measures to provide the 

15 public with notice of the assistance provided under 

16 this section, and to deter waste, fraud, and abuse of 

17 program funds. 

18 ‘‘(8) COMPETENCE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) STANDARDS.—The Commission shall 

20 establish, through the rulemaking described in 

21 subsection (e), objective standards to determine 

22 that each provider of broadband service seeking 

23 to participate in a system of competitive bid24 ding— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is capable of carrying out the 

2 project in a competent manner in compli3 ance with all applicable Federal, State, and 

4 local laws; 

5 ‘‘(ii) has the financial capacity to 

6 meet the buildout obligations of the project 

7 and requirements as set forth under this 

8 section and as may be further prescribed 

9 by the Commission; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) has the technical and oper11 ational capability to provide broadband 

12 services in the manner contemplated by the 

13 provider’s bid in the system of competitive 

14 bidding, including a detailed consideration 

15 of the provider’s prior performance in de16 livering services as contemplated in the bid 

17 and the capabilities of the provider’s pro18 posed network to deliver the contemplated 

19 services in the area in question. 

20 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATIONS REGARDING PRO21 VIDERS.—An entity administering a system of 

22 competitive bidding (either a State or the Com23 mission) may not permit a provider of 

24 broadband service to participate in the system 

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1 termines, after notice and an opportunity for 

2 public comment, that the provider meets the 

3 standards established under subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(9) CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.—All labor5 ers and mechanics employed by contractors or sub6 contractors in the performance of construction, al7 teration, or repair work carried out, in whole or in 

8 part, with assistance made available under this sec9 tion shall be paid wages at rates not less than those 

10 prevailing on projects of a similar character in the 

11 locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in 

12 accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 

13 40, United States Code. With respect to the labor 

14 standards in this paragraph, the Secretary of Labor 

15 shall have the authority and functions set forth in 

16 Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 

17 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40, 

18 United States Code. 

19 ‘‘(10) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING EN20 VIRONMENTAL LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall 

21 be construed to affect— 

22 ‘‘(A) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 

23 seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

2 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.; commonly referred 

3 to as the ‘Clean Water Act’); 

4 ‘‘(C) the National Environmental Policy 

5 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

6 ‘‘(D) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

7 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

8 ‘‘(E) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.; commonly referred to as 

10 the ‘Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’); 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(F) any State or local law that is similar 

13 to a law listed in subparagraphs (A) through 

14 (E). 

15 ‘‘(11) REFERRAL OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF

16 APPLICABLE FEDERAL LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

17 LAWS.—The Commission shall refer any alleged vio18 lation of an applicable labor and employment law to 

19 the appropriate Federal agency for investigation and 

20 enforcement, and any alleged violation of paragraph 

21 (9) or (12) to the National Labor Relations Board 

22 for investigation and enforcement, utilizing all ap23 propriate remedies up to and including debarment 

24 from the program. 

25 ‘‘(12) LABOR ORGANIZATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the 

2 National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 

3 et seq.), subparagraphs (B) through (F) shall 

4 apply with respect to any funding recipient who 

5 is an employer and any labor organization who 

6 represents employees of a funding recipient. 

7 ‘‘(B) NEUTRALITY REQUIREMENT.—An 

8 employer shall remain neutral with respect to 

9 the exercise of employees and labor organiza10 tions of the right to organize and bargain under 

11 the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 

12 151 et seq.). 

13 ‘‘(C) COMMENCEMENT OF COLLECTIVE

14 BARGAINING.—Not later than 10 days after re15 ceiving a written request for collective bar16 gaining from a labor organization that has been 

17 newly recognized or certified as a representative 

18 under section 9(a) of the National Labor Rela19 tions Act (29 U.S.C. 159(a)), or within such 

20 further period as the parties agree upon, the 

21 parties shall meet and commence to bargain 

22 collectively and shall make every reasonable ef23 fort to conclude and sign a collective bargaining 

24 agreement. 


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1 ‘‘(D) MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION FOR

2 FAILURE TO REACH A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

3 AGREEMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the parties have 

5 failed to reach an agreement before the 

6 date that is 90 days after the date on 

7 which bargaining is commenced under sub8 paragraph (C), or any later date agreed 

9 upon by both parties, either party may no10 tify the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

11 Service of the existence of a dispute and 

12 request mediation. 

13 ‘‘(ii) FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CON14 CILIATION SERVICE.—Whenever a request 

15 is received under clause (i), the Director of 

16 the Federal Mediation and Conciliation 

17 Service shall promptly communicate with 

18 the parties and use best efforts, by medi19 ation and conciliation, to bring them to 

20 agreement. 

21 ‘‘(E) TRIPARTITE ARBITRATION PANEL.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Federal Me23 diation and Conciliation Service is not able 

24 to bring the parties to agreement by medi25 ation or conciliation before the date that is 


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1 30 days after the date on which such medi2 ation or conciliation is commenced, or any 

3 later date agreed upon by both parties, the 

4 Service shall refer the dispute to a tri5 partite arbitration panel established in ac6 cordance with such regulations as may be 

7 prescribed by the Service, with one mem8 ber selected by the labor organization, one 

9 member selected by the employer, and one 

10 neutral member mutually agreed to by the 

11 parties. 

12 ‘‘(ii) DISPUTE SETTLEMENT.—A ma13 jority of the tripartite arbitration panel 

14 shall render a decision settling the dispute 

15 and such decision shall be binding upon 

16 the parties for a period of two years, un17 less amended during such period by writ18 ten consent of the parties. Such decision 

19 shall be based on— 

20 ‘‘(I) the employer’s financial sta21 tus and prospects; 

22 ‘‘(II) the size and type of the em23 ployer’s operations and business; 

24 ‘‘(III) the employees’ cost of liv25 ing; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the employees’ ability to 

2 sustain themselves, their families, and 

3 their dependents on the wages and 

4 benefits they earn from the employer; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(V) the wages and benefits that 

7 other employers in the same business 

8 provide their employees. 

9 ‘‘(F) PROHIBITION ON SUBCONTRACTING

10 FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES.—A funding recipient 

11 may not engage in subcontracting for the pur12 pose of circumventing the terms of a collective 

13 bargaining agreement with respect to wages, 

14 benefits, or working conditions. 

15 ‘‘(G) PARTIES DEFINED.—In this para16 graph, the term ‘parties’ means a labor organi17 zation that is newly recognized or certified as a 

18 representative under section 9(a) of the Na19 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 159(a)) 

20 and the employer of the employees represented 

21 by such organization. 

22 ‘‘(d) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—Any project funded 

23 through the program shall meet the following require24 ments: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The project shall adhere to quality-of-serv2 ice standards as established by the Commission. 

3 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 

4 (3) of subsection (c), the project shall offer 

5 broadband service with a download speed of at least 

6 100 megabits per second, an upload speed of at least 

7 100 megabits per second, and latency that is suffi8 ciently low to allow multiple, simultaneous, real-time, 

9 interactive applications. 

10 ‘‘(3) The project shall offer broadband service 

11 at prices that are comparable to, or lower than, the 

12 prices charged for comparable levels of service in 

13 areas that were not unserved areas, areas with low14 tier service, or areas with mid-tier service on the day 

15 before the date of the enactment of this section. 

16 ‘‘(4) For any project that involves laying fiber17 optic cables along a roadway, the project shall in18 clude interspersed conduit access points at regular 

19 and short intervals. 

20 ‘‘(5) The project shall incorporate prudent cy21 bersecurity and supply chain risk management prac22 tices, as specified by the Commission through the 

23 rulemaking described in subsection (e), in consulta24 tion with the Director of the National Institute of 


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1 Standards and Technology and the Assistant Sec2 retary. 

3 ‘‘(6) The project shall incorporate best prac4 tices, as defined by the Commission, for ensuring re5 liability and resiliency of the network during disas6 ters. 

7 ‘‘(7) Any funding recipient must agree to have 

8 the project meet the requirements established under 

9 section 224, as if the project were classified as a 

10 ‘utility’ under such section. The preceding sentence 

11 shall not apply to those entities or persons excluded 

12 from the definition of the term ‘utility’ by the second 

13 sentence of subsection (a)(1) of such section. 

14 ‘‘(8) The project shall offer an affordable option 

15 for a broadband service plan under which broadband 

16 service is provided— 

17 ‘‘(A) with a download speed of at least 50 

18 megabits per second; 

19 ‘‘(B) with an upload speed of at least 50 

20 megabits per second; and 

21 ‘‘(C) with latency that is sufficiently low to 

22 allow multiple, simultaneous, real-time, inter23 active applications. 

24 ‘‘(e) RULEMAKING AND DISTRIBUTION AND AWARD

25 OF FUNDS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 


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1 the enactment of this section, the Commission, in con2 sultation with the Assistant Secretary, shall promulgate 

3 rules— 

4 ‘‘(1) that implement the requirements of this 

5 section, as appropriate; 

6 ‘‘(2) that establish the design of and rules for 

7 the national systems of competitive bidding; 

8 ‘‘(3) that establish notice requirements for all 

9 systems of competitive bidding authorized under this 

10 section that, at a minimum, provide the public with 

11 notice of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the initial determination of which 

13 areas are unserved areas, areas with low-tier 

14 service, or areas with mid-tier service; 

15 ‘‘(B) the final determination of which 

16 areas are unserved areas, areas with low-tier 

17 service, or areas with mid-tier service after the 

18 process for challenging the initial determination 

19 has concluded; 

20 ‘‘(C) which entities have applied to bid for 

21 funding; and 

22 ‘‘(D) the results of any system of competi23 tive bidding, including identifying the funding 

24 recipients, which areas each project will serve, 

25 the nature of the service that will be provided 


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1 by the project in each of those areas, and how 

2 much funding the funding recipients will receive 

3 in each of those areas; 

4 ‘‘(4) that establish broadband service buildout 

5 milestones and periodic certification by funding re6 cipients to ensure that the broadband service build7 out milestones for all systems of competitive bidding 

8 authorized under this section will be met; 

9 ‘‘(5) that, except as provided in paragraphs (2) 

10 and (3) of subsection (c), establish a maximum 

11 buildout timeframe of three years beginning on the 

12 date on which funding is provided under this section 

13 for a project; 

14 ‘‘(6) that establish periodic reporting require15 ments for funding recipients and that identify, at a 

16 minimum, the nature of the service provided in each 

17 area for any system of competitive bidding author18 ized under this section; 

19 ‘‘(7) that establish standard penalties for the 

20 noncompliance of funding recipients or projects with 

21 the requirements as set forth under this section and 

22 as may be further prescribed by the Commission for 

23 any system of competitive bidding authorized under 

24 this section; 


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1 ‘‘(8) that establish procedures for recovery of 

2 funds, in whole or in part, from funding recipients 

3 in the event of the default or noncompliance of the 

4 funding recipient or project with the requirements 

5 established under this section for any system of com6 petitive bidding authorized under this section; and 

7 ‘‘(9) that establish mechanisms to reduce waste, 

8 fraud, and abuse within the program for any system 

9 of competitive bidding authorized under this section. 

10 ‘‘(f) REPORTS REQUIRED.— 

11 ‘‘(1) INSPECTOR GENERAL AND COMPTROLLER

12 GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than June 30 and 

13 December 31 of each year following the awarding of 

14 the first funds under the program, the Inspector 

15 General of the Commission and the Comptroller 

16 General of the United States shall submit to the 

17 Committees on Energy and Commerce of the House 

18 of Representatives and Commerce, Science, and 

19 Transportation of the Senate a report for the pre20 vious 6 months that reviews the program. Such re21 port shall include any recommendations to address 

22 waste, fraud, and abuse. 

23 ‘‘(2) STATE REPORTS.—Any State that receives 

24 funds under the program shall submit an annual re25 port to the Commission on how such funds were 


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1 spent, along with a certification of compliance with 

2 the requirements as set forth under this section and 

3 as may be further prescribed by the Commission, in4 cluding a description of each service provided and 

5 the number of individuals to whom the service was 

6 provided. 

7 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 is authorized to be appropriated to the Commission 

9 $79,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 to carry out the pro10 gram, and such amount is authorized to remain available 

11 through fiscal year 2026. 

12 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) AFFORDABLE OPTION.—The term ‘afford14 able option’ means, with respect to a broadband 

15 service plan, that broadband service is provided 

16 under such plan at a rate that is determined by the 

17 Commission, in coordination with the Office of 

18 Internet Connectivity and Growth, to be affordable 

19 for a household with an income of 136 percent of 

20 the poverty threshold, as determined by using cri21 teria of poverty established by the Bureau of the 

22 Census, for a four-person household that includes 

23 two dependents under the age of 18. 

24 ‘‘(2) ANCHOR INSTITUTION.—The term ‘anchor 

25 institution’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means a public or private school, a li2 brary, a medical or healthcare provider, a mu3 seum, a public safety entity, a public housing 

4 agency (as defined in section 3(b) of the United 

5 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

6 1437a(b))), a community college, an institution 

7 of higher education, a religious organization, or 

8 any other community support organization or 

9 agency; and 

10 ‘‘(B) includes any entity described in sub11 paragraph (A) that serves an Indian Tribe, 

12 tribally designated entity, or Native Hawaiian 

13 organization. 

14 ‘‘(3) AREA.—The term ‘area’ means the geo15 graphic unit of measurement with the greatest level 

16 of granularity reasonably feasible for the Commis17 sion to use in making eligibility determinations 

18 under this section and in meeting the requirements 

19 and deadlines of this section. 

20 ‘‘(4) AREA WITH LOW-TIER SERVICE.—The 

21 term ‘area with low-tier service’ means an area 

22 where at least 90 percent of the population has ac23 cess to broadband service offered— 


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1 ‘‘(A) with a download speed of at least 25 

2 megabits per second but less than 100 megabits 

3 per second; 

4 ‘‘(B) with an upload speed of at least 25 

5 megabits per second but less than 100 megabits 

6 per second; and 

7 ‘‘(C) with latency that is sufficiently low to 

8 allow multiple, simultaneous, real-time, inter9 active applications. 

10 ‘‘(5) AREA WITH MID-TIER SERVICE.—The term 

11 ‘area with mid-tier service’ means an area where at 

12 least 90 percent of the population has access to 

13 broadband service offered— 

14 ‘‘(A) with a download speed of at least 100 

15 megabits per second but less than 1 gigabit per 

16 second; 

17 ‘‘(B) with an upload speed of at least 100 

18 megabits per second but less than 1 gigabit per 

19 second; and 

20 ‘‘(C) with latency that is sufficiently low to 

21 allow multiple, simultaneous, real-time, inter22 active applications. 

23 ‘‘(6) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘As24 sistant Secretary’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

25 Commerce for Communications and Information. 


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1 ‘‘(7) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 

2 ‘broadband service’— 

3 ‘‘(A) means broadband internet access 

4 service that is a mass-market retail service, or 

5 a service provided to an anchor institution, by 

6 wire or radio that provides the capability to 

7 transmit data to and receive data from all or 

8 substantially all internet endpoints, including 

9 any capabilities that are incidental to and en10 able the operation of the communications serv11 ice; 

12 ‘‘(B) includes any service that is a func13 tional equivalent of the service described in sub14 paragraph (A); and 

15 ‘‘(C) does not include dial-up internet ac16 cess service. 

17 ‘‘(8) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—The term ‘col18 lective bargaining’ means performance of the mutual 

19 obligation described in section 8(d) of the National 

20 Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 158(d)). 

21 ‘‘(9) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.— 

22 The term ‘collective bargaining agreement’ means an 

23 agreement reached through collective bargaining. 

24 ‘‘(10) FUNDING RECIPIENT.—The term ‘fund25 ing recipient’ means an entity that receives funding 


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1 for a project under this section, which may in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(A) a private entity, a public-private part4 nership, a cooperative, and a Tribal or munic5 ipal broadband service provider; and 

6 ‘‘(B) a consortium between any of the enti7 ties described in subparagraph (A), including a 

8 consortium that includes an investor-owned util9 ity. 

10 ‘‘(11) HIGH-POVERTY AREA.—The term ‘high11 poverty area’ means a census tract with a poverty 

12 rate of at least 20 percent, as measured by the most 

13 recent 5-year data series available from the Amer14 ican Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census 

15 as of the year before the date of the enactment of 

16 this section. In the case of a territory or possession 

17 of the United States in which no such data is col18 lected from the American Community Survey of the 

19 Bureau of the Census as of the year before the date 

20 of the enactment of this section, such term includes 

21 a census tract with a poverty rate of at least 20 per22 cent, as measured by the most recent Island Areas 

23 decennial census of the Bureau of the Census for 

24 which data is available as of the year before the date 

25 of the enactment of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(12) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

2 has the meaning given such term in section 4(e) of 

3 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist4 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 

5 ‘‘(13) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

6 The term ‘institution of higher education’— 

7 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given the term in 

8 section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 

10 ‘‘(B) includes a postsecondary vocational 

11 institution. 

12 ‘‘(14) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘labor 

13 organization’ has the meaning given the term in sec14 tion 2 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 

15 U.S.C. 152). 

16 ‘‘(15) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

17 term ‘Native Hawaiian organization’ means any or18 ganization— 

19 ‘‘(A) that serves the interests of Native 

20 Hawaiians; 

21 ‘‘(B) in which Native Hawaiians serve in 

22 substantive and policymaking positions; 

23 ‘‘(C) that has as a primary and stated pur24 pose the provision of services to Native Hawai25 ians; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) that is recognized for having exper2 tise in Native Hawaiian affairs, digital 

3 connectivity, or access to broadband service. 

4 ‘‘(16) PERSISTENT POVERTY COUNTY.—The 

5 term ‘persistent poverty county’ means any county 

6 with a poverty rate of at least 20 percent, as deter7 mined in each of the 1990 and 2000 decennial cen8 suses and in the Small Area Income and Poverty Es9 timates of the Bureau of the Census for the most re10 cent year for which the Estimates are available. In 

11 the case of a territory or possession of the United 

12 States, such term includes any county equivalent 

13 area in Puerto Rico with a poverty rate of at least 

14 20 percent, as determined in each of the 1990 and 

15 2000 decennial censuses and in the most recent 5- 

16 year data series available from the American Com17 munity Survey of the Bureau of the Census as of 

18 the year before the date of the enactment of this 

19 section, or any other territory or possession of the 

20 United States with a poverty rate of at least 20 per21 cent, as determined in each of the 1990 and 2000 

22 Island Areas decennial censuses of the Bureau of the 

23 Census and in the most recent Island Areas decen24 nial census of the Bureau of the Census for which 


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1 data is available as of the year before the date of the 

2 enactment of this section. 

3 ‘‘(17) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU4 TION.—The term ‘postsecondary vocational institu5 tion’ has the meaning given the term in section 

6 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1002(c)). 

8 ‘‘(18) PROGRAM.—Unless otherwise indicated, 

9 the term ‘program’ means the program established 

10 under subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(19) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means an 

12 undertaking by a funding recipient under this sec13 tion to construct and deploy infrastructure for the 

14 provision of broadband service. 

15 ‘‘(20) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean16 ing given such term in section 3, except that such 

17 term also includes the Republic of the Marshall Is18 lands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the 

19 Republic of Palau. 

20 ‘‘(21) TRIBALLY DESIGNATED ENTITY.—The 

21 term ‘tribally designated entity’ means an entity des22 ignated by an Indian Tribe for purposes of para23 graph (2)(B). 

24 ‘‘(22) UNSERVED ANCHOR INSTITUTION.—The 

25 term ‘unserved anchor institution’ means an anchor 


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1 institution that has no access to broadband service 

2 or does not have access to broadband service of3 fered— 

4 ‘‘(A) with a download speed of at least 1 

5 gigabit per second per 1,000 users; 

6 ‘‘(B) with an upload speed of at least 1 

7 gigabit per second per 1,000 users; and 

8 ‘‘(C) with latency that is sufficiently low to 

9 allow multiple, simultaneous, real-time, inter10 active applications. 

11 ‘‘(23) UNSERVED AREA.—The term ‘unserved 

12 area’ means an area where— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Commission reasonably believes 

14 there are potential subscribers of broadband 

15 service; and 

16 ‘‘(B) at least 90 percent of the population 

17 has no access to broadband service or does not 

18 have access to broadband service offered— 

19 ‘‘(i) with a download speed of at least 

20 25 megabits per second; 

21 ‘‘(ii) with an upload speed of at least 

22 25 megabits per second; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) with latency that is sufficiently 

24 low to allow multiple, simultaneous, real25 time, interactive applications.’’. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR TRIB2 AL BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY PROGRAM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 905(c) of division N 

4 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub5 lic Law 116–260) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(9) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Assist9 ant Secretary $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 to 

10 carry out the grant program under this subsection, 

11 and such amount is authorized to remain available 

12 through fiscal year 2026.’’. 

13 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 905 

14 of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations 

15 Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) is amended— 

16 (A) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or 

17 paragraph (9) of this subsection’’ after ‘‘sub18 section (b)(1)’’ each place it appears; and 

19 (B) in subsection (e)— 

20 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (I) in the matter preceding sub22 paragraph (A), by inserting after 

23 ‘‘this Act’’ the following: ‘‘(and, in the 

24 case of the grant program under sub25 section (c), not earlier than 30 days, 


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1 and not later than 60 days, after the 

2 date of enactment of any other law 

3 making available amounts to carry out 

4 such program)’’; and 

5 (II) in subparagraph (A), by in6 serting after ‘‘eligible entities and cov7 ered partnerships’’ the following: ‘‘(or, 

8 in the case of a notice issued by rea9 son of the enactment of a law, other 

10 than this Act, making available 

11 amounts to carry out the grant pro12 gram under subsection (c), eligible en13 tities)’’; and 

14 (ii) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting 

15 after ‘‘an eligible entity or covered partner16 ship’’ the following: ‘‘(or, in the case of a 

17 notice issued by reason of the enactment of 

18 a law, other than this Act, making avail19 able amounts to carry out the grant pro20 gram under subsection (c), an eligible enti21 ty)’’. 

22 SEC. 3102. TRIBAL INTERNET EXPANSION. 

23 Section 254(b)(3) of the Communications Act of 

24 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(b)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

25 in Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, 


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1 United States Code) and areas with high populations of 

2 Indian (as defined in section 19 of the Act of June 18, 

3 1934 (Chapter 576; 48 Stat. 988; 25 U.S.C. 5129)) peo4 ple’’ after ‘‘high cost areas’’. 

5 Subtitle B—Broadband Infrastruc6 ture Finance and Innovation 

7 SEC. 3201. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Broadband Infra9 structure Finance and Innovation Act of 2021’’. 

10 SEC. 3202. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this subtitle: 

12 (1) BIFIA PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘BIFIA pro13 gram’’ means the broadband infrastructure finance 

14 and innovation program established under this sub15 title. 

16 (2) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 

17 ‘‘broadband service’’— 

18 (A) means broadband internet access serv19 ice that is a mass-market retail service, or a 

20 service provided to an entity described in para21 graph (11)(B)(ii), by wire or radio that pro22 vides the capability to transmit data to and re23 ceive data from all or substantially all internet 

24 endpoints, including any capabilities that are 


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1 incidental to and enable the operation of the 

2 communications service; 

3 (B) includes any service that is a func4 tional equivalent of the service described in sub5 paragraph (A); and 

6 (C) does not include dial-up internet access 

7 service. 

8 (3) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS.—The term ‘‘eli9 gible project costs’’ means amounts substantially all 

10 of which are paid by, or for the account of, an obli11 gor in connection with a project, including the cost 

12 of— 

13 (A) development phase activities, including 

14 planning, feasibility analysis, revenue fore15 casting, environmental review, historic preserva16 tion review, permitting, preliminary engineering 

17 and design work, and other preconstruction ac18 tivities; 

19 (B) construction and deployment phase ac20 tivities, including— 

21 (i) construction, reconstruction, reha22 bilitation, replacement, and acquisition of 

23 real property (including land relating to 

24 the project and improvements to land), 

25 equipment, instrumentation, networking 


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1 capability, hardware and software, and dig2 ital network technology; 

3 (ii) environmental mitigation; and 

4 (iii) construction contingencies; and 

5 (C) capitalized interest necessary to meet 

6 market requirements, reasonably required re7 serve funds, capital issuance expenses, and 

8 other carrying costs during construction and 

9 deployment. 

10 (4) FEDERAL CREDIT INSTRUMENT.—The term 

11 ‘‘Federal credit instrument’’ means a secured loan, 

12 loan guarantee, or line of credit authorized to be 

13 made available under the BIFIA program with re14 spect to a project. 

15 (5) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING.—The term 

16 ‘‘investment-grade rating’’ means a rating of BBB 

17 minus, Baa3, bbb minus, BBB (low), or higher as18 signed by a rating agency to project obligations. 

19 (6) LENDER.—The term ‘‘lender’’ means any 

20 non-Federal qualified institutional buyer (as defined 

21 in section 230.144A(a) of title 17, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations (or any successor regulation), known as 

23 Rule 144A(a) of the Securities and Exchange Com24 mission and issued under the Securities Act of 1933 

25 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.)), including— 


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1 (A) a qualified retirement plan (as defined 

2 in section 4974(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 

3 of 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer; 

4 and 

5 (B) a governmental plan (as defined in 

6 section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986) that is a qualified institutional buyer. 

8 (7) LETTER OF INTEREST.—The term ‘‘letter 

9 of interest’’ means a letter submitted by a potential 

10 applicant prior to an application for credit assistance 

11 in a format prescribed by the Assistant Secretary on 

12 the website of the BIFIA program that— 

13 (A) describes the project and the location, 

14 purpose, and cost of the project; 

15 (B) outlines the proposed financial plan, 

16 including the requested credit assistance and 

17 the proposed obligor; 

18 (C) provides a status of environmental re19 view; and 

20 (D) provides information regarding satis21 faction of other eligibility requirements of the 

22 BIFIA program. 

23 (8) LINE OF CREDIT.—The term ‘‘line of cred24 it’’ means an agreement entered into by the Assist25 ant Secretary with an obligor under section 3205 to 


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1 provide a direct loan at a future date upon the oc2 currence of certain events. 

3 (9) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The term ‘‘loan guar4 antee’’ means any guarantee or other pledge by the 

5 Assistant Secretary to pay all or part of the prin6 cipal of and interest on a loan or other debt obliga7 tion issued by an obligor and funded by a lender. 

8 (10) OBLIGOR.—The term ‘‘obligor’’ means a 

9 party that— 

10 (A) is primarily liable for payment of the 

11 principal of or interest on a Federal credit in12 strument; and 

13 (B) may be a corporation, company, part14 nership, joint venture, trust, or governmental 

15 entity, agency, or instrumentality. 

16 (11) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

17 project— 

18 (A) to construct and deploy infrastructure 

19 for the provision of broadband service; and 

20 (B) that the Assistant Secretary deter21 mines will— 

22 (i) provide access or improved access 

23 to broadband service to consumers residing 

24 in areas of the United States that have no 


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1 access to broadband service or do not have 

2 access to broadband service offered— 

3 (I) with a download speed of at 

4 least 100 megabits per second; 

5 (II) with an upload speed of at 

6 least 100 megabits per second; and 

7 (III) with latency that is suffi8 ciently low to allow multiple, simulta9 neous, real-time, interactive applica10 tions; or 

11 (ii) provide access or improved access 

12 to broadband service to— 

13 (I) schools, libraries, medical and 

14 healthcare providers, community col15 leges and other institutions of higher 

16 education, museums, religious organi17 zations, and other community support 

18 organizations and entities to facilitate 

19 greater use of broadband service by or 

20 through such organizations; 

21 (II) organizations and agencies 

22 that provide outreach, access, equip23 ment, and support services to facili24 tate greater use of broadband service 


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1 by low-income, unemployed, aged, and 

2 otherwise vulnerable populations; 

3 (III) job-creating strategic facili4 ties located within a State-designated 

5 economic zone, Economic Develop6 ment District designated by the De7 partment of Commerce, Empower8 ment Zone designated by the Depart9 ment of Housing and Urban Develop10 ment, or Enterprise Community des11 ignated by the Department of Agri12 culture; or 

13 (IV) public safety agencies. 

14 (12) PROJECT OBLIGATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘project obligation’’ means any note, bond, deben16 ture, or other debt obligation issued by an obligor in 

17 connection with the financing of a project, other 

18 than a Federal credit instrument. 

19 (13) PUBLIC AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘public 

20 authority’’ means a Federal, State, county, town or 

21 township, Indian Tribe, municipal, or other local 

22 government or instrumentality with authority to fi23 nance, build, operate, or maintain infrastructure for 

24 the provision of broadband service. 


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1 (14) RATING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘rating agen2 cy’’ means a credit rating agency registered with the 

3 Securities and Exchange Commission as a nationally 

4 recognized statistical rating organization (as defined 

5 in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 

6 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a))). 

7 (15) SECURED LOAN.—The term ‘‘secured 

8 loan’’ means a direct loan or other debt obligation 

9 issued by an obligor and funded by the Assistant 

10 Secretary in connection with the financing of a 

11 project under section 3204. 

12 (16) SMALL PROJECT.—The term ‘‘small 

13 project’’ means a project having eligible project costs 

14 that are reasonably anticipated not to equal or ex15 ceed $20,000,000. 

16 (17) SUBSIDY AMOUNT.—The term ‘‘subsidy 

17 amount’’ means the amount of budget authority suf18 ficient to cover the estimated long-term cost to the 

19 Federal Government of a Federal credit instru20 ment— 

21 (A) calculated on a net present value basis; 

22 and 

23 (B) excluding administrative costs and any 

24 incidental effects on governmental receipts or 


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1 outlays in accordance with the Federal Credit 

2 Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.). 

3 (18) SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION.—The term 

4 ‘‘substantial completion’’ means, with respect to a 

5 project receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA 

6 program— 

7 (A) the commencement of the provision of 

8 broadband service using the infrastructure 

9 being financed; or 

10 (B) a comparable event, as determined by 

11 the Assistant Secretary and specified in the 

12 credit agreement. 

13 SEC. 3203. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY AND PROJECT 

14 SELECTION. 

15 (a) ELIGIBILITY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A project shall be eligible to 

17 receive credit assistance under the BIFIA program 

18 if— 

19 (A) the entity proposing to carry out the 

20 project submits a letter of interest prior to sub21 mission of a formal application for the project; 

22 and 

23 (B) the project meets the criteria described 

24 in this subsection. 

25 (2) CREDITWORTHINESS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), to be eligible for assistance 

3 under the BIFIA program, a project shall sat4 isfy applicable creditworthiness standards, 

5 which, at a minimum, shall include— 

6 (i) adequate coverage requirements to 

7 ensure repayment; 

8 (ii) an investment-grade rating from 

9 at least two rating agencies on debt senior 

10 to the Federal credit instrument; and 

11 (iii) a rating from at least two rating 

12 agencies on the Federal credit instrument. 

13 (B) SMALL PROJECTS.—In order for a 

14 small project to be eligible for assistance under 

15 the BIFIA program, such project shall satisfy 

16 alternative creditworthiness standards that shall 

17 be established by the Assistant Secretary under 

18 section 3206 for purposes of this paragraph. 

19 (3) APPLICATION.—A State, local government, 

20 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern21 ment, public authority, public-private partnership, or 

22 any other legal entity undertaking the project and 

23 authorized by the Assistant Secretary shall submit a 

24 project application that is acceptable to the Assist25 ant Secretary. 


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1 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT COST PARAMETERS FOR

2 INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.—Eligible project costs 

3 shall be reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed 

4 $2,000,000 in the case of a project or program of 

5 projects— 

6 (A) in which the applicant is a local gov7 ernment, instrumentality of local government, 

8 or public authority (other than a public author9 ity that is a Federal or State government or in10 strumentality); 

11 (B) located on a facility owned by a local 

12 government; or 

13 (C) for which the Assistant Secretary de14 termines that a local government is substan15 tially involved in the development of the project. 

16 (5) DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCES.—The ap17 plicable Federal credit instrument shall be repayable, 

18 in whole or in part, from— 

19 (A) amounts charged to— 

20 (i) subscribers of broadband service 

21 for such service; or 

22 (ii) subscribers of any related service 

23 provided over the same infrastructure for 

24 such related service; 

25 (B) user fees; 


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1 (C) payments owing to the obligor under a 

2 public-private partnership; or 

3 (D) other dedicated revenue sources that 

4 also secure or fund the project obligations. 

5 (6) APPLICATIONS WHERE OBLIGOR WILL BE

6 IDENTIFIED LATER.—A State, local government, 

7 agency or instrumentality of a State or local govern8 ment, or public authority may submit to the Assist9 ant Secretary an application under paragraph (3), 

10 under which a private party to a public-private part11 nership will be— 

12 (A) the obligor; and 

13 (B) identified later through completion of 

14 a procurement and selection of the private 

15 party. 

16 (7) BENEFICIAL EFFECTS.—The Assistant Sec17 retary shall determine that financial assistance for 

18 the project under the BIFIA program will— 

19 (A) foster, if appropriate, partnerships 

20 that attract public and private investment for 

21 the project; 

22 (B) enable the project to proceed at an 

23 earlier date than the project would otherwise be 

24 able to proceed or reduce the lifecycle costs (in25 cluding debt service costs) of the project; and 


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1 (C) reduce the contribution of Federal 

2 grant assistance for the project. 

3 (8) PROJECT READINESS.—To be eligible for 

4 assistance under the BIFIA program, the applicant 

5 shall demonstrate a reasonable expectation that the 

6 contracting process for the construction and deploy7 ment of infrastructure for the provision of 

8 broadband service through the project can commence 

9 by no later than 90 days after the date on which a 

10 Federal credit instrument is obligated for the project 

11 under the BIFIA program. 

12 (9) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP OF PRIVATE ENTI13 TIES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible project is 

15 carried out by an entity that is not a State or 

16 local government or an agency or instrumen17 tality of a State or local government or a Tribal 

18 Government or consortium of Tribal Govern19 ments, the project shall be publicly sponsored. 

20 (B) PUBLIC SPONSORSHIP.—For purposes 

21 of this subtitle, a project shall be considered to 

22 be publicly sponsored if the obligor can dem23 onstrate, to the satisfaction of the Assistant 

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1 ment in the area in which the project is located, 

2 or that is otherwise affected by the project, and 

3 that such government supports the proposal. 

4 (b) SELECTION AMONG ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF APPLICATION PROC6 ESS.—The Assistant Secretary shall establish a roll7 ing application process under which projects that are 

8 eligible to receive credit assistance under subsection 

9 (a) shall receive credit assistance on terms accept10 able to the Assistant Secretary, if adequate funds 

11 are available to cover the subsidy costs associated 

12 with the Federal credit instrument. 

13 (2) PRELIMINARY RATING OPINION LETTER.— 

14 The Assistant Secretary shall require each project 

15 applicant to provide— 

16 (A) a preliminary rating opinion letter 

17 from at least one rating agency— 

18 (i) indicating that the senior obliga19 tions of the project, which may be the Fed20 eral credit instrument, have the potential 

21 to achieve an investment-grade rating; and 

22 (ii) including a preliminary rating 

23 opinion on the Federal credit instrument; 

24 or 


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1 (B) in the case of a small project, alter2 native documentation that the Assistant Sec3 retary shall require in the standards established 

4 under section 3206 for purposes of this para5 graph. 

6 (3) TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY REQUIRED.—In 

7 selecting projects to receive credit assistance under 

8 the BIFIA program, the Assistant Secretary may 

9 not favor a project using any particular technology. 

10 (4) PREFERENCE FOR OPEN-ACCESS NET11 WORKS.—In selecting projects to receive credit as12 sistance under the BIFIA program, the Assistant 

13 Secretary shall give preference to projects providing 

14 for the deployment of open-access broadband service 

15 networks. 

16 (c) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following provisions of 

18 law shall apply to funds made available under the 

19 BIFIA program and projects assisted with those 

20 funds: 

21 (A) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

22 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.). 

23 (B) The National Environmental Policy 

24 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 


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1 (C) 54 U.S.C. 300101 et seq. (commonly 

2 referred to as the ‘‘National Historic Preserva3 tion Act’’). 

4 (D) The Uniform Relocation Assistance 

5 and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 

6 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.). 

7 (2) NEPA.—No funding shall be obligated for 

8 a project that has not received an environmental cat9 egorical exclusion, a finding of no significant impact, 

10 or a record of decision under the National Environ11 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

12 (3) TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF

13 1964.—For purposes of title VI of the Civil Rights 

14 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), any project 

15 that receives credit assistance under the BIFIA pro16 gram shall be considered a program or activity with17 in the meaning of section 606 of such title (42 

18 U.S.C. 2000d–4a). 

19 (4) CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.—All labor20 ers and mechanics employed by contractors or sub21 contractors in the performance of construction, al22 teration, or repair work carried out, in whole or in 

23 part, with assistance made available through a Fed24 eral credit instrument shall be paid wages at rates 

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1 lar character in the locality as determined by the 

2 Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 

3 IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code. 

4 With respect to the labor standards in this para5 graph, the Secretary of Labor shall have the author6 ity and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan 

7 Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. 

8 App.) and section 3145 of title 40, United States 

9 Code. 

10 (5) NEUTRALITY REQUIREMENT.—An employer 

11 receiving assistance made available through a Fed12 eral credit instrument under this subtitle shall re13 main neutral with respect to the exercise of employ14 ees and labor organizations of the right to organize 

15 and bargain under the National Labor Relations Act 

16 (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

17 (6) REFERRAL OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF AP18 PLICABLE FEDERAL LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

19 LAWS.—The Assistant Secretary shall refer any al20 leged violation of an applicable labor and employ21 ment law to the appropriate Federal agency for in22 vestigation and enforcement, and any alleged viola23 tion of paragraph (4) or (5) to the National Labor 

24 Relations Board for investigation and enforcement, 


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1 utilizing all appropriate remedies up to and includ2 ing debarment from the BIFIA program. 

3 (d) APPLICATION PROCESSING PROCEDURES.— 

4 (1) NOTICE OF COMPLETE APPLICATION.—Not 

5 later than 30 days after the date of receipt of an ap6 plication under this section, the Assistant Secretary 

7 shall provide to the applicant a written notice to in8 form the applicant whether— 

9 (A) the application is complete; or 

10 (B) additional information or materials are 

11 needed to complete the application. 

12 (2) APPROVAL OR DENIAL OF APPLICATION.— 

13 Not later than 60 days after the date of issuance of 

14 the written notice under paragraph (1), the Assist15 ant Secretary shall provide to the applicant a writ16 ten notice informing the applicant whether the As17 sistant Secretary has approved or disapproved the 

18 application. 

19 (3) APPROVAL BEFORE NEPA REVIEW.—Subject 

20 to subsection (c)(2), an application for a project may 

21 be approved before the project receives an environ22 mental categorical exclusion, a finding of no signifi23 cant impact, or a record of decision under the Na24 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

25 4321 et seq.). 


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1 (e) DEVELOPMENT PHASE ACTIVITIES.—Any credit 

2 instrument secured under the BIFIA program may be 

3 used to finance up to 100 percent of the cost of develop4 ment phase activities as described in section 3202(3)(A). 

5 SEC. 3204. SECURED LOANS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

7 (1) AGREEMENTS.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

8 and (3), the Assistant Secretary may enter into 

9 agreements with one or more obligors to make se10 cured loans, the proceeds of which shall be used— 

11 (A) to finance eligible project costs of any 

12 project selected under section 3203; 

13 (B) to refinance interim construction fi14 nancing of eligible project costs of any project 

15 selected under section 3203; or 

16 (C) to refinance long-term project obliga17 tions or Federal credit instruments, if the refi18 nancing provides additional funding capacity for 

19 the completion, enhancement, or expansion of 

20 any project that— 

21 (i) is selected under section 3203; or 

22 (ii) otherwise meets the requirements 

23 of section 3203. 

24 (2) LIMITATION ON REFINANCING OF INTERIM

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1 graph (1) shall not refinance interim construction fi2 nancing under paragraph (1)(B)— 

3 (A) if the maturity of such interim con4 struction financing is later than 1 year after 

5 the substantial completion of the project; and 

6 (B) later than 1 year after the date of sub7 stantial completion of the project. 

8 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.—Before entering into 

9 an agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

10 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the 

11 Office of Management and Budget, shall determine 

12 an appropriate capital reserve subsidy amount for 

13 each secured loan, taking into account each rating 

14 letter provided by a rating agency under section 

15 3203(b)(2)(A)(ii) or, in the case of a small project, 

16 the alternative documentation provided under section 

17 3203(b)(2)(B). 

18 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A secured loan under this 

20 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

21 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

22 representations, warranties, and requirements (in23 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

24 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 


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1 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a se2 cured loan under this section shall not exceed the 

3 lesser of 49 percent of the reasonably anticipated eli4 gible project costs or, if the secured loan is not for 

5 a small project and does not receive an investment6 grade rating, the amount of the senior project obli7 gations. 

8 (3) PAYMENT.—A secured loan under this sec9 tion— 

10 (A) shall— 

11 (i) be payable, in whole or in part, 

12 from— 

13 (I) amounts charged to— 

14 (aa) subscribers of 

15 broadband service for such serv16 ice; or 

17 (bb) subscribers of any re18 lated service provided over the 

19 same infrastructure for such re20 lated service; 

21 (II) user fees; 

22 (III) payments owing to the obli23 gor under a public-private partner24 ship; or 


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1 (IV) other dedicated revenue 

2 sources that also secure the senior 

3 project obligations; and 

4 (ii) include a coverage requirement or 

5 similar security feature supporting the 

6 project obligations; and 

7 (B) may have a lien on revenues described 

8 in subparagraph (A), subject to any lien secur9 ing project obligations. 

10 (4) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate on a 

11 secured loan under this section shall be not less than 

12 the yield on United States Treasury securities of a 

13 similar maturity to the maturity of the secured loan 

14 on the date of execution of the loan agreement. 

15 (5) MATURITY DATE.—The final maturity date 

16 of the secured loan shall be the lesser of— 

17 (A) 35 years after the date of substantial 

18 completion of the project; and 

19 (B) if the useful life of the infrastructure 

20 for the provision of broadband service being fi21 nanced is of a lesser period, the useful life of 

22 the infrastructure. 

23 (6) NONSUBORDINATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (B), the secured loan shall not be 


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1 subordinated to the claims of any holder of 

2 project obligations in the event of bankruptcy, 

3 insolvency, or liquidation of the obligor. 

4 (B) PREEXISTING INDENTURE.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec6 retary shall waive the requirement under 

7 subparagraph (A) for a public agency bor8 rower that is financing ongoing capital 

9 programs and has outstanding senior 

10 bonds under a preexisting indenture, if— 

11 (I) the secured loan— 

12 (aa) is rated in the A cat13 egory or higher; or 

14 (bb) in the case of a small 

15 project, meets an alternative 

16 standard that the Assistant Sec17 retary shall establish under sec18 tion 3206 for purposes of this 

19 subclause; 

20 (II) the secured loan is secured 

21 and payable from pledged revenues 

22 not affected by project performance, 

23 such as a tax-backed revenue pledge 

24 or a system-backed pledge of project 

25 revenues; and 


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1 (III) the BIFIA program share 

2 of eligible project costs is 33 percent 

3 or less. 

4 (ii) LIMITATION.—If the Assistant 

5 Secretary waives the nonsubordination re6 quirement under this subparagraph— 

7 (I) the maximum credit subsidy 

8 to be paid by the Federal Government 

9 shall be not more than 10 percent of 

10 the principal amount of the secured 

11 loan; and 

12 (II) the obligor shall be respon13 sible for paying the remainder of the 

14 subsidy cost, if any. 

15 (7) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may estab16 lish fees at a level sufficient to cover all or a portion 

17 of the costs to the Federal Government of making 

18 a secured loan under this section. 

19 (8) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The proceeds of a 

20 secured loan under the BIFIA program, if the loan 

21 is repayable from non-Federal funds— 

22 (A) may be used for any non-Federal share 

23 of project costs required under this subtitle; 

24 and 


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1 (B) shall not count toward the total Fed2 eral assistance provided for a project for pur3 poses of paragraph (9). 

4 (9) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.—The 

5 total Federal assistance provided for a project re6 ceiving a loan under the BIFIA program shall not 

7 exceed 80 percent of the total project cost. 

8 (c) REPAYMENT.— 

9 (1) SCHEDULE.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

10 establish a repayment schedule for each secured loan 

11 under this section based on— 

12 (A) the projected cash flow from project 

13 revenues and other repayment sources; and 

14 (B) the useful life of the infrastructure for 

15 the provision of broadband service being fi16 nanced. 

17 (2) COMMENCEMENT.—Scheduled loan repay18 ments of principal or interest on a secured loan 

19 under this section shall commence not later than 5 

20 years after the date of substantial completion of the 

21 project. 

22 (3) DEFERRED PAYMENTS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—If, at any time after 

24 the date of substantial completion of the 

25 project, the project is unable to generate suffiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00156 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 cient revenues to pay the scheduled loan repay2 ments of principal and interest on the secured 

3 loan, the Assistant Secretary may, subject to 

4 subparagraph (C), allow the obligor to add un5 paid principal and interest to the outstanding 

6 balance of the secured loan. 

7 (B) INTEREST.—Any payment deferred 

8 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

9 (i) continue to accrue interest in ac10 cordance with subsection (b)(4) until fully 

11 repaid; and 

12 (ii) be scheduled to be amortized over 

13 the remaining term of the loan. 

14 (C) CRITERIA.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any payment defer16 ral under subparagraph (A) shall be con17 tingent on the project meeting criteria es18 tablished by the Assistant Secretary. 

19 (ii) REPAYMENT STANDARDS.—The 

20 criteria established pursuant to clause (i) 

21 shall include standards for reasonable as22 surance of repayment. 

23 (4) PREPAYMENT.— 

24 (A) USE OF EXCESS REVENUES.—Any ex25 cess revenues that remain after satisfying 


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1 scheduled debt service requirements on the 

2 project obligations and secured loan and all de3 posit requirements under the terms of any trust 

4 agreement, bond resolution, or similar agree5 ment securing project obligations may be ap6 plied annually to prepay the secured loan with7 out penalty. 

8 (B) USE OF PROCEEDS OF REFI9 NANCING.—The secured loan may be prepaid at 

10 any time without penalty from the proceeds of 

11 refinancing from non-Federal funding sources. 

12 (d) SALE OF SECURED LOANS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), as 

14 soon as practicable after substantial completion of a 

15 project and after notifying the obligor, the Assistant 

16 Secretary may sell to another entity or reoffer into 

17 the capital markets a secured loan for the project if 

18 the Assistant Secretary determines that the sale or 

19 reoffering can be made on favorable terms. 

20 (2) CONSENT OF OBLIGOR.—In making a sale 

21 or reoffering under paragraph (1), the Assistant 

22 Secretary may not change the original terms and 

23 conditions of the secured loan without the written 

24 consent of the obligor. 

25 (e) LOAN GUARANTEES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

2 may provide a loan guarantee to a lender in lieu of 

3 making a secured loan under this section if the As4 sistant Secretary determines that the budgetary cost 

5 of the loan guarantee is substantially the same as 

6 that of a secured loan. 

7 (2) TERMS.—The terms of a loan guarantee 

8 under paragraph (1) shall be consistent with the 

9 terms required under this section for a secured loan, 

10 except that the rate on the guaranteed loan and any 

11 prepayment features shall be negotiated between the 

12 obligor and the lender, with the consent of the As13 sistant Secretary. 

14 (f) STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

16 shall develop one or more expedited application proc17 esses, available at the request of entities seeking se18 cured loans under the BIFIA program, that use a 

19 set or sets of conventional terms established pursu20 ant to this section. 

21 (2) TERMS.—In establishing the streamlined 

22 application process required by this subsection, the 

23 Assistant Secretary may allow for an expedited ap24 plication period and include terms such as those that 

25 require— 


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1 (A) that the project be a small project; 

2 (B) the secured loan to be secured and 

3 payable from pledged revenues not affected by 

4 project performance, such as a tax-backed rev5 enue pledge, tax increment financing, or a sys6 tem-backed pledge of project revenues; and 

7 (C) repayment of the loan to commence 

8 not later than 5 years after disbursement. 

9 SEC. 3205. LINES OF CREDIT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

11 (1) AGREEMENTS.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

12 through (4), the Assistant Secretary may enter into 

13 agreements to make available to one or more obli14 gors lines of credit in the form of direct loans to be 

15 made by the Assistant Secretary at future dates on 

16 the occurrence of certain events for any project se17 lected under section 3203. 

18 (2) USE OF PROCEEDS.—The proceeds of a line 

19 of credit made available under this section shall be 

20 available to pay debt service on project obligations 

21 issued to finance eligible project costs, extraordinary 

22 repair and replacement costs, operation and mainte23 nance expenses, and costs associated with unex24 pected Federal or State environmental restrictions. 

25 (3) RISK ASSESSMENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), before entering into an 

3 agreement under this subsection, the Assistant 

4 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of 

5 the Office of Management and Budget and each 

6 rating agency providing a preliminary rating 

7 opinion letter under section 3203(b)(2)(A), 

8 shall determine an appropriate capital reserve 

9 subsidy amount for each line of credit, taking 

10 into account the rating opinion letter. 

11 (B) SMALL PROJECTS.—Before entering 

12 into an agreement under this subsection to 

13 make available a line of credit for a small 

14 project, the Assistant Secretary, in consultation 

15 with the Director of the Office of Management 

16 and Budget, shall determine an appropriate 

17 capital reserve subsidy amount for each such 

18 line of credit, taking into account the alter19 native documentation provided under section 

20 3203(b)(2)(B) instead of preliminary rating 

21 opinion letters provided under section 

22 3203(b)(2)(A). 

23 (4) INVESTMENT-GRADE RATING REQUIRE24 MENT.—The funding of a line of credit under this 

25 section shall be contingent on— 


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1 (A) the senior obligations of the project re2 ceiving an investment-grade rating from 2 rat3 ing agencies; or 

4 (B) in the case of a small project, the 

5 project meeting an alternative standard that the 

6 Assistant Secretary shall establish under section 

7 3206 for purposes of this paragraph. 

8 (b) TERMS AND LIMITATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A line of credit under this 

10 section with respect to a project shall be on such 

11 terms and conditions and contain such covenants, 

12 representations, warranties, and requirements (in13 cluding requirements for audits) as the Assistant 

14 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

15 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—The total amount of 

16 a line of credit under this section shall not exceed 

17 33 percent of the reasonably anticipated eligible 

18 project costs. 

19 (3) DRAWS.—Any draw on a line of credit 

20 under this section shall— 

21 (A) represent a direct loan; and 

22 (B) be made only if net revenues from the 

23 project (including capitalized interest, but not 

24 including reasonably required financing reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00162 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 serves) are insufficient to pay the costs speci2 fied in subsection (a)(2). 

3 (4) INTEREST RATE.—The interest rate on a 

4 direct loan resulting from a draw on the line of cred5 it shall be not less than the yield on 30-year United 

6 States Treasury securities, as of the date of execu7 tion of the line of credit agreement. 

8 (5) SECURITY.—A line of credit issued under 

9 this section— 

10 (A) shall— 

11 (i) be payable, in whole or in part, 

12 from— 

13 (I) amounts charged to— 

14 (aa) subscribers of 

15 broadband service for such serv16 ice; or 

17 (bb) subscribers of any re18 lated service provided over the 

19 same infrastructure for such re20 lated service; 

21 (II) user fees; 

22 (III) payments owing to the obli23 gor under a public-private partner24 ship; or 


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1 (IV) other dedicated revenue 

2 sources that also secure the senior 

3 project obligations; and 

4 (ii) include a coverage requirement or 

5 similar security feature supporting the 

6 project obligations; and 

7 (B) may have a lien on revenues described 

8 in subparagraph (A), subject to any lien secur9 ing project obligations. 

10 (6) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The full 

11 amount of a line of credit under this section, to the 

12 extent not drawn upon, shall be available during the 

13 10-year period beginning on the date of substantial 

14 completion of the project. 

15 (7) RIGHTS OF THIRD-PARTY CREDITORS.— 

16 (A) AGAINST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—A 

17 third-party creditor of the obligor shall not have 

18 any right against the Federal Government with 

19 respect to any draw on a line of credit under 

20 this section. 

21 (B) ASSIGNMENT.—An obligor may assign 

22 a line of credit under this section to— 

23 (i) one or more lenders; or 

24 (ii) a trustee on the behalf of such a 

25 lender. 


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1 (8) NONSUBORDINATION.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

3 subparagraph (B), a direct loan under this sec4 tion shall not be subordinated to the claims of 

5 any holder of project obligations in the event of 

6 bankruptcy, insolvency, or liquidation of the ob7 ligor. 

8 (B) PRE-EXISTING INDENTURE.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Sec10 retary shall waive the requirement of sub11 paragraph (A) for a public agency bor12 rower that is financing ongoing capital 

13 programs and has outstanding senior 

14 bonds under a preexisting indenture, if— 

15 (I) the line of credit— 

16 (aa) is rated in the A cat17 egory or higher; or 

18 (bb) in the case of a small 

19 project, meets an alternative 

20 standard that the Assistant Sec21 retary shall establish under sec22 tion 3206 for purposes of this 

23 subclause; 

24 (II) the BIFIA program loan re25 sulting from a draw on the line of 


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1 credit is payable from pledged reve2 nues not affected by project perform3 ance, such as a tax-backed revenue 

4 pledge or a system-backed pledge of 

5 project revenues; and 

6 (III) the BIFIA program share 

7 of eligible project costs is 33 percent 

8 or less. 

9 (ii) LIMITATION.—If the Assistant 

10 Secretary waives the nonsubordination re11 quirement under this subparagraph— 

12 (I) the maximum credit subsidy 

13 to be paid by the Federal Government 

14 shall be not more than 10 percent of 

15 the principal amount of the secured 

16 loan; and 

17 (II) the obligor shall be respon18 sible for paying the remainder of the 

19 subsidy cost. 

20 (9) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may estab21 lish fees at a level sufficient to cover all or a portion 

22 of the costs to the Federal Government of providing 

23 a line of credit under this section. 

24 (10) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER CREDIT INSTRU25 MENTS.—A project that receives a line of credit 


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1 under this section also shall not receive a secured 

2 loan or loan guarantee under section 3204 in an 

3 amount that, combined with the amount of the line 

4 of credit, exceeds 49 percent of eligible project costs. 

5 (c) REPAYMENT.— 

6 (1) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Assistant 

7 Secretary shall establish repayment terms and condi8 tions for each direct loan under this section based 

9 on— 

10 (A) the projected cash flow from project 

11 revenues and other repayment sources; and 

12 (B) the useful life of the infrastructure for 

13 the provision of broadband service being fi14 nanced. 

15 (2) TIMING.—All repayments of principal or in16 terest on a direct loan under this section shall be 

17 scheduled— 

18 (A) to commence not later than 5 years 

19 after the end of the period of availability speci20 fied in subsection (b)(6); and 

21 (B) to conclude, with full repayment of 

22 principal and interest, by the date that is 25 

23 years after the end of the period of availability 

24 specified in subsection (b)(6). 


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1 SEC. 3206. ALTERNATIVE PRUDENTIAL LENDING STAND2 ARDS FOR SMALL PROJECTS. 

3 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish 

5 alternative, streamlined prudential lending standards for 

6 small projects receiving credit assistance under the BIFIA 

7 program to ensure that such projects pose no additional 

8 risk to the Federal Government, as compared with 

9 projects that are not small projects. 

10 SEC. 3207. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION. 

11 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The Assistant Secretary shall 

12 establish a uniform system to service the Federal credit 

13 instruments made available under the BIFIA program. 

14 (b) FEES.—The Assistant Secretary may collect and 

15 spend fees, contingent on authority being provided in ap16 propriations Acts, at a level that is sufficient to cover— 

17 (1) the costs of services of expert firms retained 

18 pursuant to subsection (d); and 

19 (2) all or a portion of the costs to the Federal 

20 Government of servicing the Federal credit instru21 ments. 

22 (c) SERVICER.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 

24 may appoint a financial entity to assist the Assistant 

25 Secretary in servicing the Federal credit instru26 ments. 


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1 (2) DUTIES.—A servicer appointed under para2 graph (1) shall act as the agent for the Assistant 

3 Secretary. 

4 (3) FEE.—A servicer appointed under para5 graph (1) shall receive a servicing fee, subject to ap6 proval by the Assistant Secretary. 

7 (d) ASSISTANCE FROM EXPERT FIRMS.—The Assist8 ant Secretary may retain the services of expert firms, in9 cluding counsel, in the field of municipal and project fi10 nance to assist in the underwriting and servicing of Fed11 eral credit instruments. 

12 (e) EXPEDITED PROCESSING.—The Assistant Sec13 retary shall implement procedures and measures to econo14 mize the time and cost involved in obtaining approval and 

15 the issuance of credit assistance under the BIFIA pro16 gram. 

17 (f) ASSISTANCE TO SMALL PROJECTS.—Of the 

18 amount appropriated under section 3210(a), and after the 

19 set-aside for administrative expenses under section 

20 3210(b), not less than 20 percent shall be made available 

21 for the Assistant Secretary to use in lieu of fees collected 

22 under subsection (b) for small projects. 

23 SEC. 3208. STATE AND LOCAL PERMITS. 

24 The provision of credit assistance under the BIFIA 

25 program with respect to a project shall not— 


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1 (1) relieve any recipient of the assistance of any 

2 obligation to obtain any required State or local per3 mit or approval with respect to the project; 

4 (2) limit the right of any unit of State or local 

5 government to approve or regulate any rate of re6 turn on private equity invested in the project; or 

7 (3) otherwise supersede any State or local law 

8 (including any regulation) applicable to the construc9 tion or operation of the project. 

10 SEC. 3209. REGULATIONS. 

11 The Assistant Secretary may promulgate such regula12 tions as the Assistant Secretary determines to be appro13 priate to carry out the BIFIA program. 

14 SEC. 3210. FUNDING. 

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Secretary 

17 $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 to carry out this sub18 title, and such amount is authorized to remain available 

19 through fiscal year 2026. 

20 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amount 

21 appropriated under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary 

22 may use not more than 5 percent for the administration 

23 of the BIFIA program. 


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1 SEC. 3211. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there4 after, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

5 report summarizing the financial performance of the 

6 projects that are receiving, or have received, assistance 

7 under the BIFIA program, including a recommendation 

8 as to whether the objectives of the BIFIA program are 

9 best served by— 

10 (1) continuing the program under the authority 

11 of the Assistant Secretary; or 

12 (2) establishing a Federal corporation or feder13 ally sponsored enterprise to administer the program. 

14 (b) APPLICATION PROCESS REPORT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

17 thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to 

18 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

19 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

20 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen21 ate a report that includes a list of all of the letters 

22 of interest and applications received for assistance 

23 under the BIFIA program during the preceding fis24 cal year. 

25 (2) INCLUSIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each report under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, a 

3 description of, with respect to each letter of in4 terest and application included in the report— 

5 (i) the date on which the letter of in6 terest or application was received; 

7 (ii) the date on which a notification 

8 was provided to the applicant regarding 

9 whether the application was complete or 

10 incomplete; 

11 (iii) the date on which a revised and 

12 completed application was submitted (if 

13 applicable); 

14 (iv) the date on which a notification 

15 was provided to the applicant regarding 

16 whether the project was approved or dis17 approved; and 

18 (v) if the project was not approved, 

19 the reason for the disapproval. 

20 (B) CORRESPONDENCE.—Each report 

21 under paragraph (1) shall include copies of any 

22 correspondence provided to the applicant in ac23 cordance with section 3203(d). 


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1 Subtitle C—Wi-Fi on School Buses 

2 SEC. 3301. E-RATE SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL BUS WI-FI. 

3 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘school 

4 bus’’ means a passenger motor vehicle that is— 

5 (1) designed to carry a driver and not less than 

6 5 passengers; and 

7 (2) used significantly to transport early child 

8 education, elementary school, or secondary school 

9 students to or from school or an event related to 

10 school. 

11 (b) RULEMAKING.—Notwithstanding the limitations 

12 under paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(A) of section 254(h) of 

13 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)) re14 garding the authorized recipients and uses of discounted 

15 telecommunications services, not later than 180 days after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

17 commence a rulemaking to make the provision of Wi-Fi 

18 access on school buses eligible for support under the E19 rate program of the Commission set forth under subpart 

20 F of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations. 

21 Subtitle D—Healthcare Broadband 

22 Expansion. 

23 SEC. 3401. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this subtitle: 


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1 (1) ELIGIBLE EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

2 equipment’’ means the equipment described in sec3 tion 54.613 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 

4 or any successor regulation. 

5 (2) ELIGIBLE SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

6 ‘‘eligible service provider’’ means a provider de7 scribed in section 54.608 of title 47, Code of Federal 

8 Regulations, or any successor regulation. 

9 (3) FUNDING YEAR.—The term ‘‘funding year’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 54.600(a) 

11 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc12 cessor regulation. 

13 (4) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

14 ‘‘health care provider’’ has the meaning given the 

15 term in section 54.600(b) of title 47, Code of Fed16 eral Regulations, or any successor regulation. 

17 (5) HEALTHCARE CONNECT FUND PROGRAM.— 

18 The term ‘‘Healthcare Connect Fund Program’’ 

19 means the program described in section 54.602(b) of 

20 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc21 cessor regulation. 

22 (6) MULTI-YEAR COMMITMENTS.—The term 

23 ‘‘multi-year commitments’’ means the commitments 

24 described in section 54.620(c) of title 47, Code of 

25 Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation. 


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1 (7) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has 

2 the meaning given the term in section 54.600(e) of 

3 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc4 cessor regulation. 

5 (8) RURAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM.—The 

6 term ‘‘Rural Health Care Program’’ means the pro7 gram described in subpart G of part 54 of title 47, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regu9 lation. 

10 (9) RURAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The 

11 term ‘‘rural health care provider’’ has the meaning 

12 given the term in section 54.600(f) of title 47, Code 

13 of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation. 

14 (10) TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM.—The 

15 term ‘‘Telecommunications Program’’ has the mean16 ing given the term in section 54.602(a) of title 47, 

17 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regu18 lation. 

19 (11) UPFRONT PAYMENTS.—The term ‘‘upfront 

20 payments’’ means the payments described in section 

21 54.616 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or 

22 any successor regulation. 

23 SEC. 3402. EXPANSION OF RURAL HEALTH CARE PROGRAM. 

24 (a) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS REQUIRED.— 

25 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 


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1 this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations 

2 modifying the requirements in subpart G of part 54 of 

3 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, in the following 

4 manner: 

5 (1) A health care provider not located in a rural 

6 area shall be treated as a rural health care provider 

7 in funding years 2022, 2023, and 2024 for the pur8 poses of the Healthcare Connect Fund Program. 

9 (2) The discount rate for an eligible expense 

10 through the Healthcare Connect Fund Program (as 

11 described in section 54.611(a) of title 47, Code of 

12 Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation) 

13 shall be increased to 85 percent in funding years 

14 2022, 2023, and 2024 for eligible equipment pur15 chased or eligible services rendered in such funding 

16 years, including for eligible equipment, upfront pay17 ments, and multi-year commitments without limita18 tion. 

19 (3) A temporary, mobile, or satellite health care 

20 delivery site shall be treated as a health care pro21 vider or an eligible site of a health care provider in 

22 funding years 2022, 2023, and 2024 for purposes of 

23 determining eligibility for the Healthcare Connect 

24 Fund Program or the Telecommunications Program. 


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1 (4) The adoption and implementation of a roll2 ing application process to allow a health care pro3 vider to apply for funding. 

4 (5) The following changes to certain bidding re5 quirements: 

6 (A) Modification of the requirements in 

7 section 54.622 of title 47, Code of Federal Reg8 ulations, or any successor regulation, to— 

9 (i) provide that bid evaluation criteria 

10 may give additional consideration to the 

11 speed with which an eligible service pro12 vider can initiate service; and 

13 (ii) encourage applicants to consider 

14 bids from different providers to provide 

15 service to different locations of such appli16 cants, if considering bids in this manner 

17 would expedite the overall timeline for ini18 tiating or expanding service to individual 

19 locations. 

20 (6) Issuance of a decision on each application 

21 for funding not later than 60 days after the date on 

22 which the application is filed. 

23 (7) Release of funding not later than 30 days 

24 after the date on which an invoice is submitted with 

25 respect to an application that is approved, applicable 


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1 services have been provided, and required invoices 

2 have been submitted as required under program 

3 rules. 

4 (b) ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO RURAL HEALTH CARE

5 PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) RELEASE OF FUNDING FOR OUTSTANDING

7 FUNDING REQUESTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

9 ensure the release of funding for all requests 

10 (outstanding as of the date of enactment of this 

11 Act) under the Rural Health Care Program not 

12 later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, except that for outstanding funding 

14 requests that are subject to a review of the ap15 plicable urban and rural rates, the Commission 

16 shall ensure the release of interim funding not 

17 later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, disbursed at 65 percent of the fund19 ing request, subject to a true-up following the 

20 completion of such review. 

21 (B) LIMITATION.—This paragraph shall 

22 not apply to any party or successor-in-interest 

23 to any party to which the Commission, during 

24 the period beginning on the date that is 1 year 

25 before the date of enactment of this Act and 


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1 ending on January 31, 2022, has issued a Let2 ter of Inquiry, Notice of Apparent Liability, or 

3 Forfeiture Order relating to the party’s partici4 pation in the Rural Health Care Program, pur5 suant to section 503(b) of the Communications 

6 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)). 

7 (C) REQUIRED REPAYMENT.—In the case 

8 of an eligible service provider that receives 

9 funding through the Rural Health Care Pro10 gram pursuant to this paragraph to which the 

11 eligible service provider is not entitled, the 

12 Commission shall require the eligible service 

13 provider to repay such funds. 

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS.—The regu15 lations required under subsection (a) shall take effect on 

16 the date on which the regulations are promulgated. 

17 (d) TELEHEALTH CONNECTIVITY FUND.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

19 the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 

20 known as the Telehealth Connectivity Fund. 

21 (2) APPROPRIATION.—There is appropriated to 

22 the Telehealth Connectivity Fund, out of any money 

23 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

24 $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, to remain 

25 available through fiscal year 2026. 


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1 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Tele2 health Connectivity Fund shall be available to the 

3 Commission to carry out the Rural Health Care Pro4 gram, as modified by the regulations promulgated 

5 under subsection (a). 

6 (4) RELATIONSHIP TO UNIVERSAL SERVICE

7 CONTRIBUTIONS.—Support provided under the regu8 lations required by paragraphs (1) through (3) of 

9 subsection (a) shall be— 

10 (A) provided from amounts made available 

11 under paragraph (3) of this subsection and not 

12 from contributions under section 254(d) of the 

13 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

14 254(d)); and 

15 (B) in addition to, and not in replacement 

16 of, funds authorized by the Commission for the 

17 Rural Health Care Program as of the date of 

18 enactment of this Act from contributions under 

19 section 254(d) of the Communications Act of 

20 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)). 

21 (e) LABOR REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—All laborers and mechanics 

23 employed by contractors or subcontractors in the 

24 performance of construction, alteration or repair 

25 work carried out, in whole or in part, with assistance 


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1 made available through the Rural Health Care pro2 gram shall be paid wages at rates not less than 

3 those prevailing on projects of a similar character in 

4 the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor 

5 in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of 

6 title 40, United States Code. 

7 (2) AUTHORITY AND FUNCTIONS OF SEC8 RETARY OF LABOR.—With respect to the labor 

9 standards described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

10 of Labor shall have the authority and functions set 

11 forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 

12 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of 

13 title 40, United States Code. 

14 (f) NEUTRALITY REQUIREMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a recipient of 

16 funding through the Rural Health Care Program 

17 that is an employer, the employer shall remain neu18 tral with respect to the exercise of employees and 

19 labor organizations of the right to organize and bar20 gain under the National Labor Relations Act (29 

21 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

22 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

23 terms ‘‘employee’’, ‘‘employer’’, and ‘‘labor organiza24 tion’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 


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1 2 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 

2 152). 

3 (g) REFERRAL OF ALLEGED VIOLATIONS OF APPLI4 CABLE FEDERAL LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAWS.—The 

5 Commission shall refer any alleged violation of an applica6 ble labor and employment law to the appropriate Federal 

7 agency for investigation and enforcement, and shall refer 

8 any alleged violation of subsection (e) or (f) to the Na9 tional Labor Relations Board for investigation and en10 forcement. 

11 Subtitle E—Internet Exchange and 

12 Submarine Cable Grants. 

13 SEC. 3501. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this subtitle: 

15 (1) CORE BASED STATISTICAL AREA.—The 

16 term ‘‘core based statistical area’’ has the meaning 

17 given the term by the Office of Management and 

18 Budget in the Notice of Decision entitled ‘‘2010 

19 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and 

20 Micropolitan Statistical Areas’’, published in the 

21 Federal Register on June 28, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 

22 37246), or any successor to that Notice. 

23 (2) COVERED GRANT.—The term ‘‘covered 

24 grant’’ means a grant awarded under section 

25 3502(a). 


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1 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian 

2 Tribe’’— 

3 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec4 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

5 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); 

6 and 

7 (B) includes a Native Hawaiian organiza8 tion, as that term is defined in section 6207 of 

9 the Native Hawaiian Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

10 7517). 

11 (4) INTERNET EXCHANGE FACILITY.—The term 

12 ‘‘internet exchange facility’’ means physical infra13 structure through which internet service providers 

14 and content delivery networks exchange internet 

15 traffic between their networks. 

16 (5) SUBMARINE CABLE LANDING STATION.— 

17 The term ‘‘submarine cable landing station’’ means 

18 a cable landing station, as that term is used in sec19 tion 1.767(a)(5) of title 47, Code of Federal Regula20 tions (or any successor regulation), that can be uti21 lized to land a submarine cable by an entity that has 

22 obtained a license under the first section of the Act 

23 entitled ‘‘An Act relating to the landing and oper24 ation of submarine cables in the United States’’, apVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00183 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 proved May 27, 1921 (47 U.S.C. 34) (commonly 

2 known as the ‘‘Cable Landing Licensing Act’’). 

3 SEC. 3502. INTERNET EXCHANGE FACILITY GRANTS. 

4 (a) GRANTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

5 on which amounts are made available under section 3505, 

6 the Assistant Secretary shall award grants to entities to 

7 acquire real property and necessary equipment to— 

8 (1) establish a new internet exchange facility in 

9 a core based statistical area in which, at the time 

10 the grant is awarded, there are no existing internet 

11 exchange facilities; or 

12 (2) expand operations at an existing internet 

13 exchange facility in a core based statistical area in 

14 which, at the time the grant is awarded, there is 

15 only 1 internet exchange facility. 

16 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a covered 

17 grant, an entity shall— 

18 (1) have sufficient interest from third party en19 tities that will use the internet exchange facility to 

20 be funded by the grant once the facility is estab21 lished or operations are expanded, as applicable; 

22 (2) have sovereign control over the land or 

23 building in which the internet exchange facility is to 

24 be housed; 


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1 (3) provide evidence of direct conduit, duct, and 

2 manhole access to public rights-of-way; 

3 (4) have a plan to establish security protocols 

4 for the internet exchange facility to prevent physical 

5 or electronic intrusion from unauthorized users; and 

6 (5) provide other information required by the 

7 Assistant Secretary to protect against waste, fraud, 

8 or abuse. 

9 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

10 total cost of the establishment of, or expansion of oper11 ations at, an internet exchange facility for which a covered 

12 grant is awarded may not exceed 50 percent. 

13 (d) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a covered 

14 grant may not exceed $3,000,000. 

15 (e) APPLICATIONS.— 

16 (1) RULES AND TIMELINES.—Not later than 1 

17 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the As18 sistant Secretary shall establish rules and timelines 

19 for applications for— 

20 (A) covered grants; and 

21 (B) grants under section 3503. 

22 (2) THIRD PARTY REVIEW.—To prevent fraud 

23 in the covered grant program, the Assistant Sec24 retary shall enter into a contract with an inde25 pendent third party under which the third party reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00185 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 views an application for a covered grant not later 

2 than 60 days after the date on which the application 

3 is submitted to ensure that only an entity that is eli4 gible for a covered grant receives a covered grant. 

5 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec6 tion shall be construed to authorize the Assistant Sec7 retary to regulate, issue guidance for, or otherwise inter8 fere with the activities at an internet exchange facility. 

9 SEC. 3503. SUBMARINE CABLE LANDING STATION GRANTS. 

10 Not later than 1 year after the date on which 

11 amounts are made available under section 3505, and in 

12 accordance with the rules and timelines established under 

13 section 3502(e)(1), the Assistant Secretary shall award 

14 grants to States and Indian Tribes to build infrastructure 

15 and acquire necessary equipment to establish or expand 

16 an open-access, carrier-neutral submarine cable landing 

17 station that serves a military facility. 

18 SEC. 3504. REPORT. 

19 Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the Assist21 ant Secretary shall submit a report on outcomes of grants 

22 awarded under this subtitle to— 

23 (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

24 Transportation of the Senate; and 


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1 (2) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

2 the House of Representatives. 

3 SEC. 3505. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro5 priated $35,000,000 to carry out sections 3502 and 3503. 

6 (b) LIMITATION.—The Assistant Secretary may not 

7 use more than 10 percent of the amounts made available 

8 under subsection (a) to administer and report on the out9 comes of grants awarded under this subtitle. 

10 SEC. 3506. RETURN OF CERTAIN GRANT AMOUNTS. 

11 The Assistant Secretary may require a recipient of 

12 a grant awarded under section 3502 or 3503 to return 

13 all or a portion of the grant amount if there is evidence 

14 of waste, fraud, or abuse of grant funds by the recipient. 

15 TITLE IV—COMMUNITY 

16 BROADBAND 

17 SEC. 4001. STATE, LOCAL, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, 

18 AND CO-OP BROADBAND SERVICES. 

19 Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 

20 (47 U.S.C. 1302) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub22 section (e) and inserting after subsection (c) the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(d) STATE, LOCAL, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNER2 SHIP, AND CO-OP ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CA3 PABILITY AND SERVICES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No State statute, regula5 tion, or other State legal requirement may prohibit 

6 or have the effect of prohibiting any public provider, 

7 public-private partnership provider, or cooperatively 

8 organized provider from providing, to any person or 

9 any public or private entity, advanced telecommuni10 cations capability or any service that utilizes the ad11 vanced telecommunications capability provided by 

12 such provider. 

13 ‘‘(2) ANTIDISCRIMINATION SAFEGUARDS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC PROVIDERS.—To the extent 

15 any public provider regulates competing private 

16 providers of advanced telecommunications capa17 bility or services that utilize advanced tele18 communications capability, such public provider 

19 shall apply its ordinances and rules without dis20 crimination in favor of itself or any provider 

21 that it owns of services that utilize advanced 

22 telecommunications capability. 

23 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PRO24 VIDERS.—To the extent any State or local enti25 ty that is part of a public-private partnership 


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1 provider regulates competing private providers 

2 of advanced telecommunications capability or 

3 services that utilize advanced telecommuni4 cations capability, such State or local entity 

5 shall apply its ordinances and rules without dis6 crimination in favor of such public-private part7 nership provider or any provider that such 

8 State or local entity or public-private partner9 ship provider owns of services that utilize ad10 vanced telecommunications capability. 

11 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub12 section shall exempt a public provider, public-private 

13 partnership provider, or cooperatively organized pro14 vider from any Federal or State telecommunications 

15 law or regulation that applies to all providers of ad16 vanced telecommunications capability or services 

17 that utilize such advanced telecommunications capa18 bility.’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (e), as redesignated— 

20 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

21 by striking ‘‘this subsection’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘this section’’; 

23 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

24 paragraph (3); 


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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVELY ORGANIZED PROVIDER.— 

4 The term ‘cooperatively organized provider’ means 

5 an entity that is treated as a cooperative under Fed6 eral tax law and that provides advanced tele7 communications capability, or any service that uti8 lizes such advanced telecommunications capability, 

9 to any person or public or private entity.’’; and 

10 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC PROVIDER.—The term ‘public pro12 vider’ means a State or local entity that provides ad13 vanced telecommunications capability, or any service 

14 that utilizes such advanced telecommunications ca15 pability, to any person or public or private entity. 

16 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PRO17 VIDER.—The term ‘public-private partnership pro18 vider’ means a public-private partnership, between a 

19 State or local entity and a private entity, that pro20 vides advanced telecommunications capability, or any 

21 service that utilizes such advanced telecommuni22 cations capability, to any person or public or private 

23 entity. 

24 ‘‘(6) STATE OR LOCAL ENTITY.—The term 

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1 division thereof, any agency, authority, or instru2 mentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, 

3 or an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4(e) of the 

4 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

5 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e))).’’. 

6 TITLE V—BROADBAND INFRA7 STRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT 

8 SEC. 5001. BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCY.—The term 

11 ‘‘appropriate State agency’’ means a State govern12 mental agency that is recognized by the executive 

13 branch of the State as having the experience nec14 essary to evaluate and facilitate the installation and 

15 operation of broadband infrastructure within the 

16 State. 

17 (2) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ has 

18 the meaning given the term ‘‘advanced telecommuni19 cations capability’’ in section 706 of the Tele20 communications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302). 

21 (3) BROADBAND CONDUIT.—The term 

22 ‘‘broadband conduit’’ means a conduit or innerduct 

23 for fiber optic cables (or successor technology of 

24 greater quality and speed) that supports the provi25 sion of broadband. 


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1 (4) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

2 ‘‘broadband infrastructure’’ means any buried or un3 derground facility and any wireless or wireline con4 nection that enables the provision of broadband. 

5 (5) BROADBAND PROVIDER.—The term 

6 ‘‘broadband provider’’ means an entity that provides 

7 broadband to any person or facilitates provision of 

8 broadband to any person, including, with respect to 

9 such entity— 

10 (A) a corporation, company, association, 

11 firm, partnership, nonprofit organization, or 

12 any other private entity; 

13 (B) a State or local broadband provider; 

14 (C) an Indian Tribe; and 

15 (D) a partnership between any of the enti16 ties described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

17 (C). 

18 (6) COVERED HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

19 PROJECT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

21 highway construction project’’ means, without 

22 regard to ownership of a highway, a project to 

23 construct a new highway or an additional lane 

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1 ing highway, or new construction, including for 

2 a paved shoulder. 

3 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered 

4 highway construction project’’ excludes any 

5 project— 

6 (i) awarded before the date on which 

7 regulations required under subsection (b) 

8 take effect; 

9 (ii) that does not include work beyond 

10 the edge of pavement or current paved 

11 shoulder; or 

12 (iii) that does not require excavation. 

13 (7) DIG ONCE REQUIREMENT.—The term ‘‘dig 

14 once requirement’’ means a requirement designed to 

15 reduce the cost and accelerate the deployment to 

16 broadband by minimizing the number and scale of 

17 repeated excavations for the installation and mainte18 nance of broadband conduit or broadband infrastruc19 ture in rights-of-way. 

20 (8) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ has the 

21 meaning given such term in section 101 of title 23, 

22 United States Code. 

23 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Transportation. 


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1 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean2 ing given such term in section 401 of title 23, 

3 United States Code. 

4 (11) STATE OR LOCAL BROADBAND PRO5 VIDER.—The term ‘‘State or local broadband pro6 vider’’ means a State or political subdivision thereof, 

7 or any agency, authority, or instrumentality of a 

8 State or political subdivision thereof, that provides 

9 broadband to any person or facilitates the provision 

10 of broadband to any person in that State. 

11 (12) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

12 government’’ means the recognized governing body 

13 of an Indian Tribe or any agency, authority, or in14 strumentality of such governing body or such Indian 

15 Tribe. 

16 (b) DIG ONCE REQUIREMENT.—To facilitate the in17 stallation of broadband infrastructure, the Secretary shall, 

18 not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of 

19 this Act, promulgate regulations to ensure that each State 

20 that receives funds under chapter 1 of title 23, United 

21 States Code, meets the following requirements: 

22 (1) BROADBAND PLANNING.—The State depart23 ment of transportation, in consultation with appro24 priate State agencies, shall— 


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1 (A) identify a broadband coordinator, who 

2 may have additional responsibilities in the State 

3 department of transportation or in another 

4 State agency, that is responsible for facilitating 

5 the broadband infrastructure right-of-way ef6 forts within the State; and 

7 (B) review existing State broadband plans, 

8 including existing dig once requirements of the 

9 State, municipal governments incorporated 

10 under State law, and Tribal governments within 

11 the State, to determine opportunities to coordi12 nate projects occurring within or across high13 way rights-of-way with planned broadband in14 frastructure projects. 

15 (2) NOTICE OF PLANNED CONSTRUCTION FOR

16 BROADBAND PROVIDERS.— 

17 (A) NOTICE.—The State department of 

18 transportation, in consultation with appropriate 

19 State agencies, shall establish a process— 

20 (i) for the registration of broadband 

21 providers that seek to be included in the 

22 advance notification of, and opportunity to 

23 participate in, broadband infrastructure 

24 right-of-way facilitation efforts within the 

25 State; and 


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1 (ii) to electronically notify all 

2 broadband providers registered under 

3 clause (i)— 

4 (I) of the State transportation 

5 improvement program on at least an 

6 annual basis; and 

7 (II) of projects within the high8 way right-of-way for which Federal 

9 funding is expected to be obligated in 

10 the subsequent fiscal year. 

11 (B) WEBSITE.—A State department of 

12 transportation shall be considered to meet the 

13 requirements of subparagraph (A) if such State 

14 department of transportation publishes on a 

15 public website— 

16 (i) the State transportation improve17 ment program on at least an annual basis; 

18 and 

19 (ii) projects within the highway right20 of-way for which Federal funding is ex21 pected to be obligated in the subsequent 

22 fiscal year. 

23 (C) COORDINATION.—The State depart24 ment of transportation, in consultation with ap25 propriate State agencies, shall establish a procVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00196 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745

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1 ess for a broadband provider to commit to in2 stalling broadband conduit or broadband infra3 structure as part of any project. 

4 (3) REQUIRED INSTALLATION OF CONDUIT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The State department 

6 of transportation shall install broadband con7 duit, in accordance with this paragraph, except 

8 as described in subparagraph (F), as part of 

9 any covered highway construction project, un10 less a broadband provider has committed to in11 stall broadband conduit or broadband infra12 structure as part of such project in a process 

13 described under paragraph (2)(C). 

14 (B) INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS.—The 

15 State department of transportation shall ensure 

16 that— 

17 (i) an appropriate number of 

18 broadband conduits, as determined in con19 sultation with the appropriate State agen20 cies, are installed along the highway of a 

21 covered highway construction project to ac22 commodate multiple broadband providers, 

23 with consideration given to the availability 

24 of existing conduits; 


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1 (ii) the size of each such conduit is 

2 consistent with industry best practices and 

3 is sufficient to accommodate potential de4 mand, as determined in consultation with 

5 the appropriate State agencies; 

6 (iii) hand holes and manholes nec7 essary for fiber access and pulling with re8 spect to such conduit are placed at inter9 vals consistent with standards determined 

10 in consultation with the appropriate State 

11 agencies (which may differ by type of road, 

12 topologies, and rurality) and consistent 

13 with safety requirements; 

14 (iv) each broadband conduit installed 

15 pursuant to this paragraph includes a pull 

16 tape and is capable of supporting fiber 

17 optic cable placement techniques consistent 

18 with best practices; and 

19 (v) is placed at a depth consistent 

20 with requirements of the covered highway 

21 construction project and best practices and 

22 that, in determining the depth of place23 ment, consideration is given to the location 

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1 quirements of State and local electrical 

2 codes. 

3 (C) GUIDANCE FOR THE INSTALLATION OF

4 BROADBAND CONDUIT.—The Secretary, in con5 sultation with the Assistant Secretary, shall 

6 issue guidance for best practices related to the 

7 installation of broadband conduit as described 

8 in this paragraph and of conduit and similar in9 frastructure for intelligent transportation sys10 tems (as such term is defined in section 501 of 

11 title 23, United States Code) that may utilize 

12 broadband conduit installed pursuant to this 

13 paragraph. 

14 (D) ACCESS.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The State depart16 ment of transportation shall ensure that 

17 any requesting broadband provider has ac18 cess to each broadband conduit installed 

19 pursuant to this paragraph, on a competi20 tively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, 

21 and in accordance with State permitting, 

22 licensing, leasing, or other similar laws and 

23 regulations. 

24 (ii) FEE SCHEDULE.—The State de25 partment of transportation, in consultation 


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1 with appropriate State agencies, shall pub2 lish a fee schedule for a broadband pro3 vider to access conduit installed pursuant 

4 to this paragraph. Fees in such schedule— 

5 (I) shall be consistent with the 

6 fees established pursuant to section 

7 224 of the Communications Act of 

8 1934 (47 U.S.C. 224); 

9 (II) may vary by topography, lo10 cation, type of road, rurality, and 

11 other factors in the determination of 

12 the State; and 

13 (III) may be updated not more 

14 frequently than annually. 

15 (iii) IN-KIND COMPENSATION.—The 

16 State department of transportation may 

17 negotiate in-kind compensation with any 

18 broadband provider requesting access to 

19 broadband conduit installed under the pro20 visions of this paragraph as a replacement 

21 for part or all of, but not to exceed, the 

22 relevant fee in the fee schedule described 

23 in clause (ii). 

24 (iv) SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS.—The 

25 State department of transportation shall 


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1 require of broadband providers a process 

2 for safe access to the highway right-of-way 

3 during installation and on-going mainte4 nance of the broadband fiber optic cables 

5 including a traffic control safety plan. 

6 (v) COMMUNICATION.—A broadband 

7 provider with access to the conduit in8 stalled pursuant to this subsection shall 

9 notify and receive permission from the rel10 evant agencies of State responsible for the 

11 installation of such broadband conduit 

12 prior to accessing any highway or highway 

13 right-of-way, in accordance with applicable 

14 Federal requirements. 

15 (E) TREATMENT OF PROJECTS.—Notwith16 standing any other provision of law, broadband 

17 conduit and broadband infrastructure installa18 tion projects under this paragraph shall comply 

19 with section 113(a) of title 23, United States 

20 Code. 

21 (F) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—A State department 

23 of transportation may waive the required 

24 installation of broadband conduit for part 

25 or all of any covered highway construction 


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1 project under this paragraph if, in the de2 termination of the State— 

3 (I) broadband infrastructure, ter4 restrial broadband infrastructure, aer5 ial broadband fiber cables, or 

6 broadband conduit is present near a 

7 majority of the length of the covered 

8 highway construction project; 

9 (II) the installation of conduit in10 creases overall costs of a covered high11 way construction project by 1.5 per12 cent or greater; 

13 (III) the installation of 

14 broadband conduit associated with 

15 covered highway construction project 

16 will not be utilized or connected to fu17 ture broadband infrastructure in the 

18 next 20 years, in the determination of 

19 the State department of transpor20 tation, in consultation with appro21 priate State agencies and potentially 

22 affected local governments and Tribal 

23 governments; 

24 (IV) the requirements of this 

25 paragraph would require installation 


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1 of conduit redundant with a dig once 

2 requirement of a local or Tribal gov3 ernment; 

4 (V) there exists a circumstance 

5 involving force majeure; or 

6 (VI) other relevant factors, as de7 termined by the Secretary in consulta8 tion with the Assistant Secretary 

9 through regulation, warrant a waiver. 

10 (ii) CONTENTS OF WAIVER.—A waiver 

11 authorized under this subparagraph 

12 shall— 

13 (I) identify the covered highway 

14 construction project; and 

15 (II) include a brief description of 

16 the determination of the State for 

17 issuing such waiver. 

18 (iii) AVAILABILITY OF WAIVER.—A 

19 waiver authorized under this subparagraph 

20 shall be included in the plans, specifica21 tions, and estimates for the associated 

22 project, as long as such info is publicly 

23 available. 

24 (4) PRIORITY.—If a State provides for the in25 stallation of broadband infrastructure or broadband 


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1 conduit in the right-of-way of an applicable project 

2 under this subsection, the State department of 

3 transportation, along with appropriate State agen4 cies, shall carry out appropriate measures to ensure 

5 that any existing broadband providers are afforded 

6 equal opportunity access, as compared to other 

7 broadband providers, with respect to the program 

8 under this subsection. 

9 (5) CONSULTATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—In promulgating regu11 lations required by this subsection or to imple12 ment any part of this section, the Secretary 

13 shall consult— 

14 (i) the Assistant Secretary; 

15 (ii) the Commission; 

16 (iii) State departments of transpor17 tation; 

18 (iv) appropriate State agencies; 

19 (v) agencies of local governments re20 sponsible for transportation and rights-of21 way, utilities, and telecommunications and 

22 broadband; 

23 (vi) Tribal governments; 

24 (vii) broadband providers; and 


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1 (viii) manufacturers of optical fiber, 

2 conduit, pull tape, and related items. 

3 (B) BROADBAND USERS.—The Secretary 

4 shall ensure that the entities consulted under 

5 clauses (iii) through (vi) of subparagraph (A) 

6 include rural areas and populations with limited 

7 access to broadband infrastructure. 

8 (C) BROADBAND PROVIDERS.—The Sec9 retary shall ensure that the entities consulted 

10 under clause (vii) of subparagraph (A) include 

11 entities who provide broadband to rural areas 

12 and populations with limited access to 

13 broadband infrastructure. 

14 (6) PROHIBITION ON UNFUNDED MANDATE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—This subsection shall 

16 apply only to projects for which Federal obliga17 tions or expenditures are initially approved on 

18 or after the date regulations required under this 

19 subsection take effect. 

20 (B) NO MANDATE.—Absent an available 

21 and dedicated Federal source of funding— 

22 (i) nothing in this subsection estab23 lishes a mandate or requirement that a 

24 State install broadband conduit in a high25 way right-of-way; and 


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1 (ii) nothing in paragraph (3) shall es2 tablish any requirement for a State. 

3 (7) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

4 (A) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this sub5 section shall be construed to require a State to 

6 install or allow the installation of broadband 

7 conduit or broadband infrastructure— 

8 (i) that is otherwise inconsistent with 

9 what is allowable under State law; or 

10 (ii) where the State lacks the author11 ity or property easement necessary for 

12 such installation. 

13 (B) NO REQUIREMENT FOR INSTALLATION

14 OF MOBILE SERVICES EQUIPMENT.—Nothing in 

15 this section shall be construed to require a 

16 State, a municipal government incorporated 

17 under State law, or an Indian Tribe to install 

18 or allow for the installation of equipment essen19 tial for the provision of commercial mobile serv20 ices (as defined in section 332(d) of the Com21 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d))) 

22 or commercial mobile data service (as defined in 

23 section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief 

24 and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 

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1 ciated equipment described in paragraph 

2 (3)(B). 

3 (c) RELATION TO STATE DIG ONCE REQUIRE4 MENTS.—Nothing in subsection (b) or any regulations 

5 promulgated under subsection (b) shall be construed to 

6 alter or supersede any provision of a State law or regula7 tion that provides for a dig once requirement that includes 

8 similar or more stringent requirements to the provisions 

9 of subsection (b) and any regulations promulgated under 

10 subsection (b). 

11 (d) DIG ONCE FUNDING TASK FORCE.— 

12 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 

13 independent task force on funding the nationwide 

14 dig once requirement described in this section to be 

15 known as the ‘‘Dig Once Funding Task Force’’ 

16 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

17 (2) DUTIES.—The duties of the Task Force 

18 shall be to— 

19 (A) estimate the annual cost for imple20 menting and administering a nationwide dig 

21 once requirement; and 

22 (B) propose and evaluate options for fund23 ing a nationwide dig once requirement described 

24 in this section that includes— 


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1 (i) a discussion of the role and poten2 tial share of costs of— 

3 (I) the Federal Government; 

4 (II) State, local, and Tribal gov5 ernments; and 

6 (III) broadband providers; and 

7 (ii) consideration of the role of exist8 ing dig once requirements of State, local, 

9 and Tribal governments and private 

10 broadband investment, with a goal to not 

11 discourage or disincentivize such dig once 

12 requirements or such investment. 

13 (3) REPORTS.— 

14 (A) INTERIM REPORT AND BRIEFING.— 

15 Not later than 9 months after the date of en16 actment of this Act, the Task Force shall sub17 mit an interim report to Congress and provide 

18 briefings for Congress on the findings of the 

19 Task Force. 

20 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 12 

21 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 the Task Force shall submit a final report to 

23 Congress on the findings of the Task Force. 

24 (4) MEMBERS.— 


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1 (A) APPOINTMENTS.—The Task Force 

2 shall consist of 14 members, consisting of— 

3 (i) the two co-chairs described in sub4 paragraph (B); 

5 (ii) six members jointly appointed by 

6 the Speaker and minority leader of the 

7 House of Representatives, in consultation 

8 with the respective Chairs and Ranking 

9 Members of the— 

10 (I) the Committee on Transpor11 tation and Infrastructure of the 

12 House of Representatives; 

13 (II) the Committee on Energy 

14 and Commerce of the House of Rep15 resentatives; and 

16 (III) the Committee on Appro17 priations of the House of Representa18 tives; and 

19 (iii) six members jointly appointed by 

20 the majority leader and minority leader of 

21 the Senate, in consultation with the respec22 tive Chairs and Ranking Members of the— 

23 (I) the Committee on Environ24 ment and Public Works of the Senate; 


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1 (II) the Committee on Com2 merce, Science, and Transportation of 

3 the Senate; and 

4 (III) the Committee on Appro5 priations of the Senate. 

6 (B) CO-CHAIRS.—The Task Force shall be 

7 co-chaired by the Secretary and the Assistant 

8 Secretary, or their designees. 

9 (C) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall 

10 include at least— 

11 (i) one representative from a State de12 partment of transportation; 

13 (ii) one representative from a local 

14 government; 

15 (iii) one representative from a Tribal 

16 government; 

17 (iv) one representative from a 

18 broadband provider; 

19 (v) one representative from a State or 

20 local broadband provider; 

21 (vi) one representative from a labor 

22 union; and 

23 (vii) one representative from a public 

24 interest organization. 


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1 (D) APPOINTMENT DEADLINE.—Members 

2 shall be appointed to the Task Force not later 

3 than 60 days after the date of enactment of 

4 this Act. 

5 (E) EFFECT OF LACK OF APPOINTMENT

6 BY APPOINTMENT DATE.—If one or more ap7 pointments required under subparagraph (A) is 

8 not made by the appointment date specified in 

9 subparagraph (D), the authority to make such 

10 appointment or appointments shall expire and 

11 the number of members of the Task Force shall 

12 be reduced by the number equal to the number 

13 of appointments so expired. 

14 (F) TERMS.—Members shall be appointed 

15 for the life of the Task Force. A vacancy in the 

16 Task Force shall not affect its powers and shall 

17 be filled in the same manner as the initial ap18 pointment was made. 

19 (5) CONSULTATIONS.—In carrying out the du20 ties required under this subsection, the Task Force 

21 shall consult, at a minimum— 

22 (A) the Commission; 

23 (B) agencies of States including— 

24 (i) State departments of transpor25 tation; and 


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1 (ii) appropriate State agencies; 

2 (C) agencies of local governments respon3 sible for transportation and rights of way, utili4 ties, and telecommunications and broadband; 

5 (D) Tribal governments; 

6 (E) broadband providers and other tele7 communications providers; 

8 (F) labor unions; and 

9 (G) State or local broadband providers and 

10 Tribal governments that act as broadband pro11 viders. 

12 (6) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.— 

13 (A) EXPENSES FOR NON-FEDERAL MEM14 BERS.—Non-Federal members of the Task 

15 Force shall be allowed travel expenses, includ16 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au17 thorized for employees under subchapter I of 

18 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

19 away from their homes or regular places of 

20 business in the performance of services for the 

21 Task Force. 

22 (B) STAFF.—Staff of the Task Force shall 

23 comprise detailees with relevant expertise from 

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1 ministration, or another Federal agency the co2 chairpersons consider appropriate, with the con3 sent of the head of the Federal agency, and 

4 such detailee shall retain the rights, status, and 

5 privileges of his or her regular employment 

6 without interruption. 

7 (C) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The 

8 Secretary and Assistant Secretary shall provide 

9 to the Task Force on a reimbursable basis ad10 ministrative support and other services for the 

11 performance of the functions of the Task Force. 

12 (7) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall ter13 minate not later than 90 days after issuance of the 

14 final report required under paragraph (3)(B). 

Æ 


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