II 

Calendar No. 613 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 645 

[Report No. 115–341] 

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

OCTOBER 2 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 28), 2018 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Measuring the Eco3 nomic Impact of Broadband Act of 2017’’. 

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

5 BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT ON ECONOMY OF 

6 THE UNITED STATES. 

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

8 ‘‘broadband’’ means an Internet Protocol-based trans9 mission service that enables users to send and receive 

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

11 items. 

12 (b) ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS REQUIRED.—The 

13 Secretary of Commerce shall, acting through the Director 

14 of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, conduct an assess15 ment and analysis of the effects of broadband deployment 

16 and adoption on the economy of the United States. 

17 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the assessment 

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

19 shall consider matters relating to employment, including 

20 job creation, business headcount, online commerce, in21 come, education and distance learning, telehealth, 

22 telework, agriculture, population growth, population den23 sity, broadband speed, and geography. 

24 (d) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the assessment 

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

26 shall consult with— 


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

2 the Federal Government as the Secretary considers 

3 appropriate, including the Secretary of Agriculture, 

4 the Director of the Bureau of the Census, the Com5 missioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 

6 Small Business Administration, and the Federal 

7 Communications Commission; 

8 (2) representatives of business, including rural 

9 and urban Internet service providers and tele10 communications infrastructure providers; 

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

12 government agencies; and 

13 (4) representatives from consumer and commu14 nity organizations. 

15 (e) REPORT.— 

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

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

18 of Commerce shall submit to the appropriate com19 mittees of Congress a report on the findings of the 

20 Secretary with respect to the assessment and anal21 ysis conducted under subsection (b). 

22 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON23 GRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

24 committees of Congress’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

2 and Transportation of the Senate; 

3 (B) the Committee on Environment and 

4 Public Works of the Senate; 

5 (C) the Committee on Small Business and 

6 Entrepreneurship of the Senate; 

7 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com8 merce of the House of Representatives; 

9 (E) the Committee on Transportation and 

10 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 

11 and 

12 (F) the Committee on Small Business of 

13 the House of Representatives. 

14 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Measuring the Economic 

16 Impact of Broadband Act of 2018’’. 

17 SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS REGARDING THE EF18 FECT OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY ON THE 

19 ECONOMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

22 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

23 means— 

24 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

25 and Transportation of the Senate; 


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1 (B) the Committee on Environment and 

2 Public Works of the Senate; 

3 (C) the Committee on Small Business and 

4 Entrepreneurship of the Senate; 

5 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com6 merce of the House of Representatives; 

7 (E) the Committee on Transportation and 

8 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 

9 and 

10 (F) the Committee on Small Business of the 

11 House of Representatives. 

12 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist13 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of Com14 merce for Communications and Information. 

15 (3) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ means 

16 an Internet Protocol-based transmission service that 

17 enables users to send and receive voice, video, data, or 

18 graphics, or a combination of those items. 

19 (4) DIGITAL ECONOMY.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 

21 (B), the term ‘‘digital economy’’ has the meaning 

22 given the term by the Secretary in carrying out 

23 this section. 


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1 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing a 

2 definition for the term ‘‘digital economy’’ under 

3 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider— 

4 (i) the digital-enabling infrastructure 

5 that a computer network needs to exist and 

6 operate; and 

7 (ii) the roles of e-commerce and digital 

8 media. 

9 (5) DIGITAL MEDIA.—The term ‘‘digital media’’ 

10 means the content that participants in e-commerce 

11 create and access. 

12 (6) E-COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘e-commerce’’ 

13 means the digital transactions that take place using 

14 the infrastructure described in paragraph (4)(B)(i). 

15 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Commerce. 

17 (b) BIENNIAL ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS RE18 QUIRED.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary, in con20 sultation with the Director of the Bureau of Economic 

21 Analysis of the Department of Commerce and the Assistant 

22 Secretary, shall conduct an assessment and analysis regard23 ing the contribution of the digital economy to the economy 

24 of the United States. 


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1 (c) CONSIDERATIONS AND CONSULTATION.—In con2 ducting each assessment and analysis required under sub3 section (b), the Secretary shall— 

4 (1) consider the impact of— 

5 (A) the deployment and adoption of— 

6 (i) digital-enabling infrastructure; and 

7 (ii) broadband; 

8 (B) e-commerce and platform-enabled peer9 to-peer commerce; and 

10 (C) the production and consumption of dig11 ital media, including free media; and 

12 (2) consult with— 

13 (A) the heads of any agencies and offices of 

14 the Federal Government as the Secretary con15 siders appropriate, including the Secretary of 

16 Agriculture, the Commissioner of the Bureau of 

17 Labor Statistics, the Administrator of the Small 

18 Business Administration, and the Federal Com19 munications Commission; 

20 (B) representatives of the business commu21 nity, including rural and urban Internet service 

22 providers and telecommunications infrastructure 

23 providers; 

24 (C) representatives from State, local, and 

25 tribal government agencies; and 


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1 (D) representatives from consumer and 

2 community organizations. 

3 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the ap4 propriate committees of Congress a report regarding the 

5 findings of the Secretary with respect to each assessment 

6 and analysis conducted under subsection (b). 


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Calendar No. 613 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 645 

[Report No. 115–341] 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct 

O

poses. omy of the United States, and for other purbroadband deployment and adoption on the econan assessment and analysis of the effects of 

CTOBER 2 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 28), 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


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