II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1023 

To provide for the establishment of a Digital Opportunity Investment Trust. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2005 

Mr. DODD (for himself, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. BURNS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a Digital Opportunity 

Investment Trust. 

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 ‘‘Digital Opportunity 

5 Investment Trust Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a nonprofit 

8 corporation to be known as the ‘‘Digital Opportunity In9 vestment Trust’’ (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Trust’’) 

10 which shall not be an agency or establishment of the 
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1 United States Government. The Trust shall be subject to 

2 the provisions of this section, and, to the extent consistent 

3 with this section, to the District of Columbia Nonprofit 

4 Corporation Act (D.C. Code, section 29–501 et seq.). 

5 (b) FUNDING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

7 Treasury a separate fund to be known as the ‘‘Dig8 ital Opportunity Investment Trust Fund’’ (referred 

9 to in this Act as the ‘‘Trust Fund’’). The Trust 

10 Fund shall contain such amounts as are transferred 

11 to the Trust Fund under paragraph (2) and any in12 terest earned on the investment of amounts in the 

13 Trust Fund under section 4. 

14 (2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of 

15 the Treasury shall in each fiscal quarter through the 

16 last quarter of fiscal year 2028, transfer from the 

17 General Fund of the Treasury to the Trust Fund, 

18 an amount equal to 30 percent of the proceeds re19 ceived by the Federal Government during the pre20 ceding fiscal quarter from any use (including any 

21 auction, sale, fee derived from, or other revenue gen22 erated from) of the electromagnetic spectrum con23 ducted under section 309 (or any other section) of 

24 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309 
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1 (j)) (or any other provision of Federal law) after 

2 September 30, 2007. 

3 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS; FUNCTIONS, AND DU4 TIES.— 

5 (1) BOARD.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A board of directors of 

7 the Trust (referred to in this Act as the 

8 ‘‘Board’’) shall be established to oversee the ad9 ministration of the Trust. Such Board shall 

10 consist of 9 members to be appointed by the 

11 President, by and with the advice and consent 

12 of the Senate, who— 

13 (i) reflect representation from the 

14 public and private sectors; 

15 (ii) are not regular full-time employ16 ees of the Federal Government; 

17 (iii) are eminent in such fields as tele18 communications including public television, 

19 information technology, labor and work20 force development, education, cultural and 

21 civic affairs, or the arts and humanities; 

22 (iv) shall provide, as nearly as prac23 ticable, a broad representation of various 

24 regions of the United States, various pro25 fessions and occupations, and various 
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1 kinds of talent and experience appropriate 

2 to the functions and responsibilities of the 

3 Trust; and 

4 (v) shall be responsible for estab5 lishing the priorities and funding obliga6 tions of the Trust. 

7 (B) INITIAL MEMBERS.—The initial mem8 bers of the Board shall serve as incorporators 

9 of the Trust and shall take whatever actions are 

10 necessary to establish the Trust under the Dis11 trict of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act 

12 (D.C. Code, section 29–501 et seq.). 

13 (C) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Majority 

14 Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of 

15 the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Rep16 resentatives, and the Minority Leader of the 

17 House of Representatives shall jointly submit to 

18 the President recommendations of individuals, 

19 selected from nominations submitted to Con20 gress from associations representing the fields 

21 of science and learning relative to the work of 

22 the Board, to serve as members of the Board. 

23 (D) TERMS OF APPOINTMENT.— 
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1 (i) DATE.—Members of the Board 

2 shall be appointed not later than 90 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (ii) TERMS.— 

5 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro6 vided in subclause (II), each member 

7 of the Board shall be appointed for a 

8 6-year term with terms set to expire 

9 in non-Federal election years. 

10 (II) STAGGERED TERMS.—With 

11 respect to the initial members of the 

12 Board— 

13 (aa) 3 members shall serve 

14 for a term of 6 years; 

15 (bb) 3 members shall serve 

16 for a term of 4 years; and 

17 (cc) 3 members shall serve 

18 for a term of 2 years. 

19 (iii) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the 

20 membership of the Board shall not affect 

21 the Board’s powers, and shall be filled in 

22 the same manner as the original member 

23 was appointed. 

24 (E) CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR.— 
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1 (i) SELECTION.—The Board shall se2 lect, from among the members of the 

3 Board, an individual to serve for a 2-year 

4 term as Chair of the Board and an indi5 vidual to serve for a 2-year term as vice6 Chair of the Board. 

7 (ii) CONSECUTIVE TERMS.—An indi8 vidual may not serve for more than 2 con9 secutive terms as Chair of the Board. 

10 (F) MEETINGS.— 

11 (i) FIRST MEETING.—Not later than 

12 30 days after the date on which all of the 

13 members of the Board have been con14 firmed by the Senate, the Chair of the 

15 Board shall call the first meeting of the 

16 Board. 

17 (ii) QUORUM.—A majority of the 

18 members of the Board shall constitute a 

19 quorum, but a lesser number of members 

20 may hold hearings. 

21 (G) BOARD PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

22 (i) COMPENSATION.—Members of the 

23 Board shall not receive compensation, al24 lowances, or benefits by reason of the 

25 members’ service on the Board. 
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1 (ii) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The mem2 bers of the Board shall be allowed travel 

3 expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub4 sistence, at rates authorized for employees 

5 of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

6 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

7 away from their homes or regular places of 

8 business in the performance of services for 

9 the Board. 

10 (H) SOLICITATION OF ADVICE.—The 

11 Board from time to time may solicit advice 

12 from— 

13 (i) the Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services; 

15 (ii) the Secretary of Commerce; 

16 (iii) the Secretary of Education; 

17 (iv) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

18 (v) the Secretary of Defense; 

19 (vi) the Secretary of Energy; 

20 (vii) the Secretary of Homeland Secu21 rity; 

22 (viii) the Secretary of the Interior; 

23 (ix) the Secretary of Labor; 

24 (x) the Administrator of the National 

25 Aeronautics and Space Administration; 
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1 (xi) the Director of the National Secu2 rity Agency; 

3 (xii) the Director of the National 

4 Science Foundation; 

5 (xiii) the Director of the Office of 

6 Science and Technology Policy; 

7 (xiv) the Director of the National En8 dowment for the Arts; 

9 (xv) the Director of the National En10 dowment for the Humanities; 

11 (xvi) the Director of the Institute of 

12 Museum and Library Services; 

13 (xvii) the Librarian of Congress; and 

14 (xviii) the President and Chief Execu15 tive Officer of the Corporation for Public 

16 Broadcasting. 

17 (2) DIRECTOR.—A majority of the members of 

18 the Board shall select a Director of the Trust who 

19 shall serve at the discretion of the Board and shall 

20 be responsible for instituting procedures to carry out 

21 the policies and priorities established by the Board, 

22 and for hiring all personnel of the Trust. The rate 

23 of compensation of the Director and personnel shall 

24 be fixed by the Board. 

25 (d) TRUST FUND USES.— 
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1 (1) USES OF FUNDS.—To achieve the objectives 

2 of this Act, the Director of the Trust, after consulta3 tion with the Board, may use Trust funds— 

4 (A) to support the digitization of collec5 tions and other significant holdings of the na6 tion’s universities, museums, libraries, public 

7 television stations, and other cultural institu8 tions; 

9 (B) to support basic and applied research, 

10 including demonstrations of innovative learning 

11 and assessment systems as well as the compo12 nents and tools needed to create them; 

13 (C) to use the research results developed 

14 under subparagraph (B) to create prototype ap15 plications designed to meet learning objectives 

16 in a variety of subject areas and designed for 

17 learners with many different educational needs, 

18 including— 

19 (i) strengthening instruction in read20 ing, science, mathematics, history, and the 

21 arts in elementary and secondary schools, 

22 community colleges, and other colleges and 

23 universities; 

24 (ii) providing the training needed for 

25 people now in the workplace to advance in 
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1 a constantly changing work environment; 

2 and 

3 (iii) developing new applications for 

4 life-long learning in non-traditional learn5 ing environments such as libraries, muse6 ums, senior and community centers, and 

7 public television and radio; 

8 (D) to conduct assessments of legal, regu9 latory, and other issues that must be resolved 

10 to ensure rapid development and use of ad11 vanced learning technologies; and 

12 (E) to coordinate and disseminate informa13 tion about initiatives throughout the Federal 

14 Government that focus on uses of technology in 

15 education and learning. 

16 (2) CONTRACTS AND GRANTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry out 

18 the activities described in paragraph (1), the 

19 Director of the Trust, with the agreement of a 

20 majority of the members of the Board, may 

21 award contracts and grants to nonprofit public 

22 institutions (with or without private partners) 

23 and for-profit organizations and individuals. 

24 (B) PUBLIC DOMAIN.— 
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The research and 

2 development properties and materials asso3 ciated with a project in which a majority 

4 of the funding used to carry out the 

5 project is from a grant or contract under 

6 this Act shall be freely and nonexclusively 

7 available to the general public. 

8 (ii) EXEMPTION.—The Director of the 

9 Trust may exempt specific projects from 

10 the requirement of clause (i) if the Direc11 tor of the Trust and a majority of the 

12 members of the Board determine that the 

13 general public will benefit significantly in 

14 the long run due to the project not being 

15 freely and nonexclusively available to the 

16 general public. 

17 (C) EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS.—To the 

18 extent practicable, proposals for such contracts 

19 or grants shall be evaluated on the basis of 

20 comparative merit by panels of experts who rep21 resent diverse interests and perspectives, and 

22 who are appointed by the Director of the Trust 

23 from recommendations from the fields served 

24 and the Board of Directors. 
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1 (3) COOPERATION.—The Director of the Trust, 

2 after consultation with the Board, may cooperate 

3 with business, industry, philanthropy, noncommer4 cial education broadcast, television and radio licens5 ees and permittees, and local and national public 

6 service institutions, including in activities that seek 

7 to enhance the work of such public service institu8 tions by seeking new ways to put telecommuni9 cations and information technologies to work in their 

10 areas of interest. 

11 SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING. 

12 (a) REPORT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 30 of 

14 each year, the Director of the Trust shall prepare a 

15 report for the preceding fiscal year that contains the 

16 information described in paragraph (2). 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—A report under paragraph (1) 

18 shall include— 

19 (A) a comprehensive and detailed report of 

20 the Trust’s operations, activities, financial con21 dition, and accomplishments, and such rec22 ommendations as the Director of the Trust de23 termines appropriate; and 

24 (B) a comprehensive and detailed inventory 

25 of funds distributed from the Trust Fund dur-
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1 ing the fiscal year for which the report is being 

2 prepared. 

3 (3) STATEMENT OF THE BOARD.—Each report 

4 under paragraph (1) shall include a statement from 

5 the Board containing— 

6 (A) a clear description of the plans and 

7 priorities of the Board for the subsequent 5- 

8 year period for expenditures from the Trust 

9 Fund; and 

10 (B) an estimate of the funds that will be 

11 available for such expenditures from the Trust 

12 Fund. 

13 (4) SUBMISSION TO THE PRESIDENT AND CON14 GRESS.—A report under this subsection shall be sub15 mitted to the President and the appropriate commit16 tees of Congress. 

17 (b) TESTIMONY.—The Chair of the Board, other 

18 members of the Board, and the Director and principal offi19 cers of the Trust shall testify before the appropriate com20 mittees of Congress, upon request of such committees, 

21 with respect to— 

22 (1) a report prepared under subsection (a)(1); 

23 and 

24 (2) any other matter that such committees may 

25 determine appropriate. 
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1 SEC. 4. INVESTMENT OF TRUST FUNDS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury, 

3 after consultation with the Board, shall invest the funds 

4 of the Trust Fund in interest-bearing obligations of the 

5 United States or in obligations guaranteed as to both prin6 cipal and interest by the United States. 

7 (b) EXPENDITURES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Trust 

9 shall not undertake grant or contract activities 

10 under this Act until the Trust has received the inter11 est or other proceeds from the investment of the 

12 Trust Funds for not less than 1 year’s duration. 

13 Thereafter, upon Board approval of the annual 

14 budget of the Trust, the Director of the Trust may 

15 commence such grant or contract activities at the 

16 start of each fiscal year. 

17 (2) OBLIGATION OF FUNDS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (B), in awarding grants or con20 tracts or making other expenditures under this 

21 Act, the Director of the Trust shall not obligate 

22 funds from the Trust that exceed the proceeds 

23 received from the investment of the funds in the 

24 Trust Fund during the preceding fiscal year. 

25 (B) CARRY OVER.—Funds from the Trust 

26 Fund that are available for obligation for a fis-
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1 cal year that are not obligated for such fiscal 

2 year shall remain available for obligation for the 

3 succeeding fiscal year. 

4 SEC. 5. SPECIAL ACCOUNT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC 

5 TELEVISION STATIONS. 

6 (a) RESERVATION.—An amount equivalent to 21 per7 cent of the interest derived from the investment proceeds 

8 referred to in section 2(b)(2) shall be reserved in a special 

9 account within the Trust Fund for distribution on a reg10 ular basis to those noncommercial educational television 

11 broadcast stations (as defined in section 397(6) of the 

12 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 397(6)) that are 

13 qualified to receive grants from the Corporation for Public 

14 Broadcasting pursuant to section 396(k)(6)(B) of such 

15 Act (47 U.S.C. 396(k)(6)(B)) and to the Public Broad16 casting Service in partnership with such stations. 

17 (b) RESPONSIBILITY FOR DISTRIBUTION.—The Di18 rector of the Trust shall— 

19 (1) through a special contract, designate the 

20 Corporation for Public Broadcasting as the sole 

21 agent responsible for the distribution of funds under 

22 this section; and 

23 (2) transfer the funds referred to in subsection 

24 (a) to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on a 

25 regular basis. 
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1 (c) GRANTS.—In making the distribution referred to 

2 in subsection (a), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting 

3 shall utilize a competitive grant application process that 

4 is governed by criteria that ensures that funds are directed 

5 to the creation of locally delivered digital education and 

6 learning services and ensures that a diversity of licensee 

7 types and geographic service areas are adequately served. 

8 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting shall develop 

9 such criteria in consultation with public television licens10 ees, permitees, and representatives designated by their na11 tional organizations. 

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