II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4515 

To provide funding for internet-connected devices and associated internet 

connectivity services. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2020 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations 

A BILL 

To provide funding for internet-connected devices and 

associated internet connectivity services. 

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 ‘‘Accelerating Connected 

5 Care and Education Support Services on the Internet 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘ACCESS the Internet Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. EDUCATION. 

8 (a) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.—Out of amounts in the 

9 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro10 priated to the Elementary and Secondary School EmerVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4515.IS S4515

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1 gency Relief Fund established under section 18001(b)(2) 

2 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136), 

3 $1,300,000,000 to make elementary and secondary school 

4 emergency relief grants to State educational agencies, in 

5 accordance with subsection (b), for the purchase of inter6 net-connected devices and associated internet connectivity 

7 services to support distance learning at elementary schools 

8 and secondary schools. The Secretary of Education shall 

9 make such grants not later than 30 days after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act. 

11 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.— 

12 (1) RURAL SCHOOLS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts 

14 made available for this section, the Secretary 

15 shall use $260,000,000 to allocate funds to 

16 each State that received funds under the Rural 

17 and Low-Income School Program under subpart 

18 2 of part B of title V of the Elementary and 

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

20 7351 et seq.) in the same proportion as each 

21 such State received funds under that subpart 

22 for fiscal year 2019. 

23 (B) SUBGRANTS.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after receipt of funds under this paragraph, a 

25 State educational agency shall allocate those 


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1 funds to rural local educational agencies in the 

2 State in the same proportion as each rural local 

3 educational agency received funds under the 

4 Rural and Low-Income School Program under 

5 subpart 2 of part B of title V of the Elemen6 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 7351 et seq.) for fiscal year 2019 to en8 able those rural local educational agencies to 

9 carry out the activities described in subsection 

10 (a). 

11 (2) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts 

13 made available to carry out this section, the 

14 Secretary shall use $1,040,000,000 to allocate 

15 funds to each State in the same proportion as 

16 each State received funds under part A of title 

17 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

18 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for fiscal 

19 year 2019. 

20 (B) SUBGRANTS.—Not later than 30 days 

21 after receipt of funds under this paragraph, a 

22 State educational agency shall allocate those 

23 funds to local educational agencies in the State 

24 in proportion to the amount of funds such local 

25 educational agencies received under part A of 


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1 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for 

3 fiscal year 2019. 

4 (c) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds pro5 vided under this section shall be used to supplement, not 

6 supplant, other Federal or State funds available to carry 

7 out activities described in this section. 

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ESEA.—The terms ‘‘elementary school’’, 

10 ‘‘local educational agency’’, ‘‘secondary school’’, 

11 ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State educational agen12 cy’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

13 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

14 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

15 (2) RURAL LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.— 

16 The term ‘‘rural local educational agency’’ means a 

17 local educational agency that is eligible for funds 

18 under the Rural and Low-Income School Program 

19 under subpart 2 of part B of title V of the Elemen20 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

21 U.S.C. 7351 et seq.). 

22 (e) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided under 

24 this section are designated as an emergency requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4515.IS S4515

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1 ment pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay2 As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

3 (2) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, 

4 this section is designated as an emergency require5 ment pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 

6 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on 

7 the budget for fiscal year 2018. 

8 SEC. 3. LIBRARY SERVICES. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘li10 brary’’, ‘‘State’’, and ‘‘State library administrative agen11 cy’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 213 

12 of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 

13 9122). 

14 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

15 (1) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.—Out of amounts 

16 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is 

17 appropriated to the Institute of Museum and Li18 brary Services $200,000,000 to carry out the pilot 

19 program under this section. Not later than 21 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this section, the Di21 rector of the Institute of Museum and Library Serv22 ices shall establish a 2-year pilot program, through 

23 which the Director shall— 

24 (A) reserve 2.5 percent of the amounts ap25 propriated to carry out this section to make 


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1 grants to Indian Tribes and to organizations 

2 that primarily serve and represent Native Ha3 waiians (as the term is defined in section 6207 

4 of the Native Hawaiian Education Act (20 

5 U.S.C. 7517)) to enable such tribes and organi6 zations to carry out the activities described in 

7 subsection (c); and 

8 (B) allocate grant funds to States in ac9 cordance with paragraph (2) to enable States, 

10 through the State library administrative agency, 

11 as appropriate, to carry out the activities de12 scribed in subsection (c). 

13 (2) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.— 

14 (A) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

16 this subsection, the minimum allotment for 

17 each State shall be $1,600,000, except that 

18 the minimum allotment shall be $160,000 

19 in the case of the United States Virgin Is20 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com21 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands, the Republic of the Marshall Is23 lands, the Federated States of Micronesia, 

24 and the Republic of Palau. 


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1 (ii) RATABLE REDUCTION.—Notwith2 standing clause (i), if the sum appro3 priated to carry out this section is insuffi4 cient to fully satisfy the requirement of 

5 clause (i), each of the minimum allotments 

6 under such clause shall be reduced ratably. 

7 (B) REMAINDER.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—From the remain9 der of any sums not reserved or allotted 

10 under subparagraph (A), the Director shall 

11 award grants to each State in an amount 

12 that bears the same relation to such re13 mainder as the population of the State 

14 bears to the population of all States. 

15 (ii) DATA.—The population of each 

16 State and of all the States shall be deter17 mined by the Director on the basis of the 

18 most recent data available from the Bu19 reau of the Census. 

20 (3) GRANTS FOR INDIAN TRIBES.—An Indian 

21 tribe that is eligible for support under section 261 

22 of the Library Services and Technology Act (20 

23 U.S.C. 9161) may designate a tribal library or tribal 

24 library consortium as a library or consortium that is 

25 eligible for grant funds under this section, without 


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1 regard to whether the library or library consortium 

2 is eligible for assistance from a State Library Ad3 ministrative Agency under the Library Services and 

4 Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 9121 et seq.), if the li5 brary or library consortium is eligible for support 

6 from an Indian tribe under such section 261. 

7 (c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Each State, Indian 

8 Tribe, or other entity receiving a grant, contract, or coop9 erative agreement under this section shall use funding 

10 under this section to— 

11 (1) expand digital network access by purchasing 

12 and distributing internet-connected devices, such as 

13 hotspots, to libraries in low-income and rural areas 

14 so that those libraries can allow individuals to bor15 row internet-connected devices for home use and in16 stall or upgrade public Wi-Fi access points for use 

17 on or near library grounds; 

18 (2) provide libraries with funds to pay the other 

19 expenses associated with such devices and services, 

20 such as processing, training, associated connectivity, 

21 hardware and support, and other necessary expenses 

22 related to the retention of these devices and provi23 sion of these services; or 

24 (3) encourage existing and new partnerships be25 tween State and local governments, libraries, nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4515.IS S4515

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1 profit entities, agencies including the Federal Com2 munications Commission, and telecommunication, 

3 broadband, and internet service providers to coordi4 nate the distribution of hotspots and other internet5 connected devices and services. 

6 (d) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, OR COOPERATIVE AGREE7 MENTS.—From amounts appropriated to carry out this 

8 section, $1,000,000 shall be made available for the Direc9 tor of the Institute of Museum and Library Services for 

10 grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with Federal 

11 agencies, public and private organizations, and other enti12 ties determined to be eligible by the Director to enable 

13 those agencies, organizations, and entities to carry out the 

14 activities described in subsection (c). 

15 (e) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided under 

17 this section are designated as an emergency require18 ment pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay19 As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

20 (2) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, 

21 this section is designated as an emergency require22 ment pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 

23 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on 

24 the budget for fiscal year 2018. 


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1 SEC. 4. FCC COVID–19 TELEHEALTH PROGRAM. 

2 (a) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.—Out of amounts in the 

3 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro4 priated to the Federal Communications Commission 

5 $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 to carry out the 

6 COVID–19 Telehealth Program established by the Com7 mission under the authority provided under the heading 

8 ‘‘SALARIES AND EXPENSES’’ under the heading ‘‘FEDERAL

9 COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION’’ under the heading 

10 ‘‘INDEPENDENT AGENCIES’’ in title V of division B 

11 of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136; 134 Stat. 281), 

12 to remain available until expended. 

13 (b) LIMITATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than $80,000,000 

15 of the amounts made available under subsection (a) 

16 shall be used to assist health care providers that— 

17 (A) are located in a rural area (as defined 

18 in section 54.600 of title 47, Code of Federal 

19 Regulations, or any successor regulation); and 

20 (B) have fewer than 500 employees. 

21 (2) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT EXEMP22 TION.—A collection of information conducted or 

23 sponsored under regulations required to implement 

24 paragraph (1)(B) shall not constitute a collection of 

25 information for the purposes of subchapter I of 

26 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (comVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Aug 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4515.IS S4515

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1 monly referred to as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

2 Act’’). 

3 (c) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided under 

5 this section are designated as an emergency require6 ment pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay7 As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

8 (2) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, 

9 this section is designated as an emergency require10 ment pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 

11 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on 

12 the budget for fiscal year 2018. 

13 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS FOR DEPARTMENT OF VET14 ERANS AFFAIRS TO PURCHASE, MAINTAIN, 

15 AND REFRESH DEVICES AND SERVICES FOR 

16 PROVISION OF TELEHEALTH SERVICES. 

17 (a) DIRECT APPROPRIATION.—Out of amounts in the 

18 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there is appro19 priated to the Department of Veterans Affairs 

20 $100,000,000 for Telehealth and Connected Care, Con21 nected Care Program Funding: Sustainment and Expan22 sion, Home and Community Based Services, to be used— 

23 (1) to furnish internet-connected devices (such 

24 as tablets) and associated internet access services to 

25 veterans for purposes of providing such veterans 


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1 with access to telehealth services from the Depart2 ment; and 

3 (2) to maintain and refresh such devices and 

4 services and any such devices and services previously 

5 provided to veterans for such purposes. 

6 (b) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts appro7 priated under subsection (a) shall remain available for ob8 ligation until September 30, 2022. 

9 (c) PRIORITY.—In expending amounts to furnish, 

10 maintain, and refresh devices and internet access services 

11 for veterans as described in subsection (a), the Secretary 

12 of Veterans Affairs shall prioritize— 

13 (1) veterans who are in unserved and under14 served areas; 

15 (2) veterans who reside in rural and highly 

16 rural areas, as defined in the Rural-Urban Com17 muting Areas coding system of the Department of 

18 Agriculture; 

19 (3) low-income veterans; and 

20 (4) any other veterans that the Secretary con21 siders to be at a higher risk for suicide and mental 

22 health concerns during isolation periods due to a 

23 public health emergency. 

24 (d) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided under 

2 this section are designated as an emergency require3 ment pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay4 As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)). 

5 (2) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the Senate, 

6 this section is designated as an emergency require7 ment pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 

8 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on 

9 the budget for fiscal year 2018. 

Æ 


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