II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 645 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assessment and analysis 

of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on the economy 

of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 15, 2017 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. KING, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. 

BOOZMAN, Mr. FRANKEN, and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assessment and analysis of the effects of broadband deployment 

and adoption on the economy of the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Measuring the Eco5 nomic Impact of Broadband Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF 

2 BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT ON ECONOMY OF 

3 THE UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) BROADBAND DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

5 ‘‘broadband’’ means an Internet Protocol-based trans6 mission service that enables users to send and receive 

7 voice, video, data, or graphics, or a combination of those 

8 items. 

9 (b) ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS REQUIRED.—The 

10 Secretary of Commerce shall, acting through the Director 

11 of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, conduct an assess12 ment and analysis of the effects of broadband deployment 

13 and adoption on the economy of the United States. 

14 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the assessment 

15 and analysis required by subsection (b), the Secretary 

16 shall consider matters relating to employment, including 

17 job creation, business headcount, online commerce, in18 come, education and distance learning, telehealth, 

19 telework, agriculture, population growth, population den20 sity, broadband speed, and geography. 

21 (d) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the assessment 

22 and analysis required by subsection (b), the Secretary 

23 shall consult with— 

24 (1) the heads of such agencies and offices of 

25 the Federal Government as the Secretary considers 

26 appropriate, including the Secretary of Agriculture, 


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1 the Director of the Bureau of the Census, the Com2 missioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 

3 Small Business Administration, and the Federal 

4 Communications Commission; 

5 (2) representatives of business, including rural 

6 and urban Internet service providers and tele7 communications infrastructure providers; 

8 (3) representatives from State, local, and tribal 

9 government agencies; and 

10 (4) representatives from consumer and commu11 nity organizations. 

12 (e) REPORT.— 

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

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

15 of Commerce shall submit to the appropriate com16 mittees of Congress a report on the findings of the 

17 Secretary with respect to the assessment and anal18 ysis conducted under subsection (b). 

19 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON20 GRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

21 committees of Congress’’ means— 

22 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

23 and Transportation of the Senate; 

24 (B) the Committee on Environment and 

25 Public Works of the Senate; 


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1 (C) the Committee on Small Business and 

2 Entrepreneurship of the Senate; 

3 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com4 merce of the House of Representatives; 

5 (E) the Committee on Transportation and 

6 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 

7 and 

8 (F) the Committee on Small Business of 

9 the House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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