II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1447 

To expand broadband deployment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 14, 2009 

Mrs. HUTCHISON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To expand broadband deployment, 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 ‘‘Connecting America Act of 2009’’. 

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. Broadband Internet investment tax credit. 

Sec. 3. Credit to holders of Broadband America Bonds. 

Sec. 4. Office of National Broadband Strategy. 

Sec. 5. Facility modifications. 

Sec. 6. Adoption incentives for broadband. 


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1 SEC. 2. BROADBAND INTERNET INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart E of part IV of chapter 

3 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to rules 

4 for computing investment credit) is amended by inserting 

5 after section 48C the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 48D. BROADBAND INTERNET INVESTMENT TAX CRED7 IT. 

8 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—For purposes of section 46, 

9 in the case of an eligible taxpayer, the broadband Internet 

10 investment tax credit for any taxable year shall be deter11 mined— 

12 ‘‘(1) in the case of a credit calculated according 

13 to the requirements under subsection (c)(1), using 

14 the subscriber service speeds available on the first 

15 day of the taxable year in which a qualified 

16 broadband provider makes a qualified investment re17 sulting in percentage increases in service speeds es18 tablished under such subsection, and 

19 ‘‘(2) in the case of a credit calculated according 

20 to the requirements under subsection (c)(2), when a 

21 qualified broadband provider makes a qualified in22 vestment resulting in a service speed threshold es23 tablished under such subsection. 

24 ‘‘(b) INVESTMENT REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes 

25 of this section— 

26 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED INVESTMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

2 investment’ means any expenditure for qualified 

3 equipment made by a qualified broadband pro4 vider during a taxable year which— 

5 ‘‘(i) in the case of a credit calculated 

6 according to the requirements under sub7 section (c)(1)— 

8 ‘‘(I) increases the available serv9 ice speeds to at least 50 megabits per 

10 second downstream during the begin11 ning of the taxable year in which the 

12 qualified broadband provider makes 

13 such investment, or 

14 ‘‘(II) results in the extension of a 

15 qualified broadband provider’s exist16 ing physical plant to unserved areas 

17 and provides broadband service speeds 

18 of at least 10 megabits per second 

19 downstream, and 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a credit calculated 

21 according to the requirements under sub22 section (c)(2), increases the available serv23 ice speeds by increasing existing service 

24 speeds to an advertised maximum service 


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1 speed of at least 50 megabits per second 

2 downstream. 

3 ‘‘(B) LOOKBACK PERIOD.—Such term shall 

4 include any investment made during the 9- 

5 month period ending with the date of the enact6 ment of this section is eligible for the 

7 broadband Internet investment tax credit if 

8 such investment meets all other requirements of 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE TAXPAYER.—The term ‘eligible 

11 taxpayer’ means any qualified broadband provider 

12 regardless of the technology used to deploy 

13 broadband services. 

14 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED BROADBAND PROVIDER.—The 

15 term ‘qualified broadband provider’ means any— 

16 ‘‘(A) cable operator, 

17 ‘‘(B) commercial mobile service carrier, 

18 ‘‘(C) open video system operator, 

19 ‘‘(D) satellite carrier, 

20 ‘‘(E) telecommunications carrier, or 

21 ‘‘(F) other wireless carrier, 

22 offering broadband service to subscribers through 

23 qualified equipment. 


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1 ‘‘(4) UNSERVED AREA.—The term ‘unserved 

2 area’ means any political subdivision of a State, in3 cluding any city, municipality, township, or village— 

4 ‘‘(A) in which no non-residential sub5 scribers maintaining a permanent place of busi6 ness and no residential subscribers in a fixed 

7 dwelling have access to a terrestrial broadband 

8 service, and 

9 ‘‘(B) which is certified by such State as an 

10 unserved area not later than 180 days after the 

11 date of the enactment of this section. 

12 ‘‘(5) SERVICE PROVISION.—An entity identified 

13 in paragraph (3) shall be considered to be a provider 

14 offering broadband service to subscribers if— 

15 ‘‘(A) such subscriber has been passed by 

16 the provider’s equipment and may be connected 

17 to such equipment for a fee, and 

18 ‘‘(B) the provider is physically able to de19 liver broadband service. 

20 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED EQUIPMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

22 equipment’ means any property— 

23 ‘‘(i) used to provide broadband serv24 ice, 


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1 ‘‘(ii) which meets the eligibility re2 quirements of subparagraph (B), and 

3 ‘‘(iii) for which depreciation (or amor4 tization in lieu of depreciation) is allow5 able. 

6 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—Not later than 1 year 

7 after the date of the enactment of this section, 

8 the Secretary shall publish and maintain elec9 tronic guidance for qualified broadband pro10 viders that includes examples of the types of 

11 equipment that qualify for the broadband Inter12 net investment tax credit and examples of 

13 equipment and uses that do not qualify for such 

14 credit. Such guidance shall be placed on the In15 ternal Revenue Service Internet site. 

16 ‘‘(C) LIMITATIONS ON ELIGIBLE EQUIP17 MENT.—Equipment meeting the criteria estab18 lished in this section shall be eligible for the 

19 broadband Internet investment tax credit in 

20 taxable years beginning after December 31, 

21 2008, and before January 1, 2104: 

22 ‘‘(i) Equipment that extends from the 

23 last point of switching to a subscriber loca24 tion in the case of a telecommunications 

25 carrier or broadband-over-power-line operVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:42 Jul 14, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1447.IS S1447

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1 ator, or extends from the subscriber side of 

2 the head end to the subscriber location in 

3 the case of a cable operator or open video 

4 system operator. 

5 ‘‘(ii) Equipment that extends from a 

6 transmission/receive antenna (including 

7 such antenna) which transmits and re8 ceives signals to or from multiple sub9 scribers, to a transmission/receive antenna 

10 (including such antenna) on the outside of 

11 subscriber location that is owned or leased 

12 in the case of a satellite carrier or other 

13 wireless carrier. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Equipment used to route traffic 

15 between the head ends, central offices, 

16 transmission/receive antennas, or other ag17 gregation points. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Supporting technological equip19 ment used to increase the bandwidth avail20 able to subscribers, enable higher quality 

21 video resolution or more efficient utiliza22 tion of other qualifying equipment, or allow 

23 deployment of more content over a greater 

24 distance. Such supporting technological 

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1 trical and optical networking equipment, 

2 next generation network service routers 

3 and Internet protocol routers, supporting 

4 network router management systems, the 

5 software contained within the equipment, 

6 and other supporting technological equip7 ment deemed eligible by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(v) Transmission facilities and other 

9 equipment used to connect broadband net10 works to Internet backbone facilities, 

11 where terrestrial facilities for such connec12 tions do not already exist. 

13 ‘‘(7) CABLE OPERATOR.—The term ‘cable oper14 ator’ has the meaning given such term by section 

15 602(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

16 U.S.C. 522(5)). 

17 ‘‘(8) COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE CAR18 RIER.—The term ‘commercial mobile service carrier’ 

19 means any person or entity authorized to provide 

20 commercial mobile radio service as defined in section 

21 20.3 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

22 ‘‘(9) OPEN VIDEO SYSTEM OPERATOR.—The 

23 term ‘open video system operator’ means any person 

24 or entity authorized to provide services under section 


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1 653 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

2 573). 

3 ‘‘(10) SATELLITE CARRIER.—The term ‘sat4 ellite carrier’ means any person or entity using the 

5 facilities of a satellite or satellite service, licensed by 

6 the Federal Communications Commission to operate 

7 in the Fixed-Satellite Service area under part 25 of 

8 title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations or the 

9 Direct Broadcast Satellite Service under part 100 of 

10 such title, to establish an operate a channel of com11 munications for distribution of signals, and owning 

12 or leasing a capacity or service on a satellite for the 

13 purpose of providing point-to-multipoint distribution. 

14 ‘‘(11) TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER.—The 

15 term ‘telecommunications carrier’ has the meaning 

16 provided in section 3(44) of the Communications Act 

17 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153 (44)), but— 

18 ‘‘(A) includes all members of an affiliated 

19 group of which a telecommunications carrier is 

20 a member, and 

21 ‘‘(B) does not include any commercial mo22 bile service carrier. 

23 ‘‘(12) OTHER WIRELESS CARRIER.—The term 

24 ‘other wireless carrier’ means any person or entity 

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1 cial mobile service carrier, cable operator, open video 

2 system operator, or satellite carrier) offering 

3 broadband service to subscribers through the radio 

4 transmission of energy. 

5 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF CREDIT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN SERVICE

7 SPEED; AVAILABILITY TO UNSERVED AREAS.—The 

8 broadband Internet investment tax credit for any 

9 taxable year calculated according to the require10 ments under this paragraph shall be— 

11 ‘‘(A) 15 percent of the qualified investment 

12 for such taxable year which increases existing 

13 service speeds for current subscribers by at 

14 least 50 percent above the service speeds avail15 able on the first day of the taxable year, 

16 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of such qualified invest17 ment which increases existing service speeds for 

18 current subscribers to at least 100 percent 

19 above such service speeds, 

20 ‘‘(C) 25 percent of such qualified invest21 ment which increases existing service speeds for 

22 current subscribers to at least 200 percent 

23 above such service speeds, and 

24 ‘‘(D) 30 percent of such qualified invest25 ment which results in the availability of service 


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1 to an unserved area, but only if such service is 

2 at speeds of at least 10 megabits per second 

3 downstream. 

4 ‘‘(2) INCREASE TO ADVERTISED MAXIMUM.— 

5 The broadband Internet investment tax credit for 

6 any taxable year calculated according to the require7 ments under this paragraph shall be— 

8 ‘‘(A) 15 percent of the qualified investment 

9 for such taxable year which improves service 

10 speeds to an advertised maximum of at least 50 

11 megabits per second downstream, 

12 ‘‘(B) 20 percent of the qualified invest13 ment for such taxable year which improves serv14 ice speeds to an advertised maximum of at least 

15 75 megabits per second downstream, and 

16 ‘‘(C) 25 percent of the qualified investment 

17 for such taxable year which improves service 

18 speeds to an advertised maximum of at least 

19 100 megabits per second downstream. 

20 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

21 than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this sec22 tion, the Secretary shall promulgate rules setting forth the 

23 information a qualified broadband provider claiming a 

24 credit under this section must provide to certify service 

25 speeds available at the beginning of the taxable year and 


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1 the available service speeds following the qualified invest2 ment. The rules shall require at a minimum that a quali3 fied broadband provider submit an affidavit of a corporate 

4 officer attesting to the truthfulness and accuracy of the 

5 speed certifications and level of investment. 

6 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF PERSON NOT ABLE TO USE

7 CREDIT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro9 vided in this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(A) any credit allowable under subsection 

11 (a) with respect to qualified equipment pur12 chased or installed by a qualified broadband 

13 provider may be transferred to, and used by, a 

14 third party as provided in this subsection, and 

15 ‘‘(B) the determination as to whether the 

16 credit is allowable shall be made without regard 

17 to the taxable or tax-exempt status of the per18 son. 

19 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF CREDIT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person unable to 

21 use the credit allowable under subsection (a) 

22 may transfer such credit to another person, for 

23 use by such person, in consideration for the 

24 purchase or installation of qualified equipment. 


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1 Such transfer may be revoked only with the 

2 consent of the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

4 prescribe such regulations and reporting re5 quirements as necessary to ensure that any 

6 credit allowable under subsection (a) is claimed 

7 once and not reassigned by such other person. 

8 ‘‘(C) TRANSFER PROCEEDS TREATED AS

9 ARISING FROM ESSENTIAL GOVERNMENT FUNC10 TION.—Any proceeds derived by a State, local, 

11 or Indian tribal governmental unit, agency, or 

12 instrumentality from the transfer of any credit 

13 under subparagraph (A) shall be treated as 

14 arising from the exercise of an essential govern15 ment function. 

16 ‘‘(D) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN NONTAX17 PAYERS.—This paragraph shall not apply to— 

18 ‘‘(i) any Federal, State, or local gov19 ernment (or any political subdivision, agen20 cy, or instrumentality thereof), 

21 ‘‘(ii) any organization described in 

22 section 501(c) and exempt from tax under 

23 section 501(a), and 

24 ‘‘(iii) any partnership or other pass25 thru entity in which an entity described in 


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1 clause (i) or (ii) (or such entities in the ag2 gregate) hold a partnership (or equity or 

3 profits) interest of at least 50 percent. 

4 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT AS INCOME.—Any proceeds 

5 from a transfer under paragraph (2) of any credit 

6 shall be treated as income to the transferor of the 

7 credit (and deductible to the transferee) for purposes 

8 of this subtitle. 

9 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

10 expenditures in taxable years beginning after December 

11 31, 2013.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) Section 46(a) of the Internal Revenue Code 

14 of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

15 paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end of 

16 paragraph (5) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding 

17 at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(6) the broadband Internet investment tax 

19 credit.’’. 

20 (2) The table of sections for subpart E of part 

21 IV of chapter 1 of such Code is amended by insert22 ing after the item relating to section 48C the fol23 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 48D. Broadband Internet investment tax credit.’’. 

24 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

25 this section shall apply to periods after the date of the 


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1 enactment of this Act, under rules similar to the rules of 

2 section 48(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 

3 in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of 

4 the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990). 

5 SEC. 3. CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF BROADBAND AMERICA 

6 BONDS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart I of part IV of sub8 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

9 1986 (relating to qualified tax credit bonds) is amended 

10 by adding at the end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 54G. CREDIT TO HOLDERS OF BROADBAND AMERICA 

12 BONDS. 

13 ‘‘(a) BROADBAND AMERICA BOND.—For purposes of 

14 this subpart, the term ‘Broadband America Bond’ means 

15 any private activity bond issued as part of an issue if— 

16 ‘‘(1) 100 percent of the available project pro17 ceeds of such issue are to be used for expenditures 

18 incurred by any non-governmental entity in the de19 ployment of broadband services which meet the re20 quirements of this section, 

21 ‘‘(2) the bond is issued by a qualified issuer, 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(3) the issuer designates such bond for pur24 poses of this section. 


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1 For purposes of this section, the term ‘available project 

2 proceeds’ has the meaning given such term by section 

3 54A(e)(4) (determined by substituting ‘1 percent’ for ‘2 

4 percent’ in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof). 

5 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF BONDS DES6 IGNATED.— 

7 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL LIMITATION.—There is a na8 tional Broadband America Bond limitation for the 4- 

9 year period beginning on the date of the enactment 

10 of this section of $1,000,000,000, and zero there11 after, to be made available from amounts appro12 priated under the American Recovery and Reinvest13 ment Act of 2009 to the Broadband Technology Op14 portunities Program established under section 6001 

15 of division B of such Act. 

16 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF LIMITATION.—The na17 tional Broadband America Bond limitation shall be 

18 allocated by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

19 Secretary of Commerce, among Broadband America 

20 Bond projects to ensure that no qualified issuer may 

21 issue Broadband America Bonds in a face amount 

22 exceeding $5,000,000. 

23 ‘‘(c) OTHER ALLOCATION LIMITATIONS.—In making 

24 any allocation under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall 

25 comply with the following guidelines: 


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1 ‘‘(1) LIMIT BASED ON EXISTING SERVICE

2 AVAILABILITY.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An allocation shall not 

4 be made to an issuer for a Broadband America 

5 Bond project unless the geographic area of such 

6 project qualifies as an unserved area. 

7 ‘‘(B) UNSERVED AREA.—For purposes of 

8 subparagraph (A), the term ‘unserved area’ 

9 means any political subdivision of a State, in10 cluding any city, municipality, township, or vil11 lage— 

12 ‘‘(i) in which no non-residential sub13 scribers maintaining a permanent place of 

14 business and no residential subscribers in a 

15 fixed dwelling have access to a terrestrial 

16 broadband service, and 

17 ‘‘(ii) which is certified by such State 

18 as an unserved area not later than 180 

19 days after the date of the enactment of 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) LIMIT BASED ON PROJECT SCOPE.—An al22 location shall not be made to an issuer for a 

23 Broadband America Bond project unless the project 

24 funds, when combined with private investment by a 

25 provider receiving the project proceeds, will result in 


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1 the availability of broadband services to at least 70 

2 percent of the potential subscribers in the geo3 graphic area of such project. For purposes of the 

4 preceding sentence, the term ‘potential subscribers’ 

5 includes all non-residential subscribers maintaining a 

6 permanent place of business and residential sub7 scribers in a fixed dwelling in the project area. 

8 ‘‘(3) LIMIT BASED ON TRANSMISSION SPEED.— 

9 An allocation shall not be made to an issuer for a 

10 Broadband America Bond project unless the project 

11 provides broadband subscribers with access to the 

12 Internet in the normal course of operations at trans13 mission speeds of at least 10 megabits per second 

14 downstream. 

15 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED ISSUER; SELECTION OF PROVIDERS; 

16 NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO BID.— 

17 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED ISSUER.—The term ‘qualified 

18 issuer’ means a governmental body (as defined in 

19 section 54C(d)(3)). 

20 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF PROVIDER.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The qualified issuer, 

22 by means of a competitive bidding process es23 tablished under subparagraph (B), shall select 

24 1 or more broadband providers as recipients of 

25 the available project proceeds of an issue and 


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1 shall contract for the construction of infrastruc2 ture providing service to at least 70 percent of 

3 all non-residential subscribers maintaining a 

4 permanent place of business and residential 

5 subscribers in a fixed dwelling in the project 

6 area. Not later than 120 days after the date of 

7 the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

8 shall provide procedures for selecting a 

9 broadband provider through a competitive bid10 ding process. A governmental body (as defined 

11 in section 54C(d)(3)) is not eligible to receive or 

12 utilize the proceeds of a bond offering to con13 struct, or own, infrastructure for the provision 

14 of broadband services. 

15 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY FOR SELECTION AND

16 PROHIBITION ON CONDITIONS.—All broadband 

17 providers shall be eligible to bid for a contract 

18 under subparagraph (A), regardless of the tech19 nology used to deliver the broadband service, 

20 and selection and receipt of available project 

21 proceeds may not be conditioned on adoption of 

22 open access or non-discrimination principles. 

23 ‘‘(C) NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO BID.— 

24 At least 60 days prior to conducting a bond of25 fering under this section, a qualified issuer shall 


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1 publish notice in each newspaper with circula2 tion in the proposed project area, and furnish 

3 notice on all government Internet sites in the 

4 proposed project area. The Secretary shall pro5 vide an area on the agency’s Internet site list6 ing all proposed projects with contact informa7 tion for the local government official responsible 

8 for the proposed bond offering to allow inter9 ested bidders to contact the qualified issuer. 

10 ‘‘(e) RATABLE PRINCIPAL AMORTIZATION RE11 QUIRED.—A bond shall not be treated as a Broadband 

12 America Bond unless it is part of an issue which provides 

13 for an equal amount of principal to be paid by the quali14 fied issuer during each 12-month period that the issue is 

15 outstanding (other than the first 12-month period).’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

17 (1) Paragraph (1) of section 54A(d) of the In18 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (D), by inserting 

20 ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (E), and by insert21 ing after subparagraph (E) the following new sub22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(F) a Broadband America Bond.’’. 

24 (2) Subparagraph (C) of section 54A(d)(2) of 

25 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 


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1 of clause (iv), by striking the period at the end of 

2 clause (v) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at 

3 the end the following new clause: 

4 ‘‘(vi) in the case of a Broadband 

5 America Bond, a purpose specified in sec6 tion 54G(a)(1).’’. 

7 (3) The table of sections for subpart I of part 

8 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following new 

10 item: 

‘‘Sec. 54G. Credit to holders of Broadband America Bonds.’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall apply to obligations issued after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF NATIONAL BROADBAND STRATEGY. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

16 the National Telecommunications and Information Ad17 ministration of the Department of Commerce the Office 

18 of National Broadband Strategy. 

19 (b) DUTIES.—The Office of National Broadband 

20 Strategy shall— 

21 (1) contain an ombudsman function to provide 

22 technical assistance to any entity that is applying for 

23 funds under any 1 of the following: 

24 (A) Public Telecommunications Facili25 ties—Planning and Construction grant program 


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1 administered by the National Telecommuni2 cations and Information Administration of the 

3 Department of Commerce. 

4 (B) Broadband Technology Opportunities 

5 Program administered by the National Tele6 communications and Information Administra7 tion of the Department of Commerce. 

8 (C) Investments for Public Works and 

9 Economic Development Facilities grant pro10 gram administered by the Economic Develop11 ment Administration of the Department of 

12 Commerce. 

13 (D) Rural Telephone Loans and Loan 

14 Guarantee program administered by the Rural 

15 Utilities Service of the Department of Agri16 culture. 

17 (E) Distance Learning and Telemedicine 

18 Loans and Grant program administered by the 

19 Rural Utilities Service of the Department of 

20 Agriculture. 

21 (F) Rural Broadband Access Loan and 

22 Loan Guarantee Program administered by the 

23 Rural Utilities Service of the Department of 

24 Agriculture. 


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1 (G) Community Connect Broadband Grant 

2 program administered by the Rural Utilities 

3 Service of the Department of Agriculture. 

4 (H) Education Technology State Grant 

5 program administered by the Office of Elemen6 tary and Secondary Education of the Depart7 ment of Education. 

8 (I) Ready to Teach grant program admin9 istered by the Office of the Assistant Secretary 

10 of Education for Educational Research and Im11 provement of the Department of Education. 

12 (J) Special Education—Technology and 

13 Media Services for Individuals with Disabilities 

14 grant program administered by the Office of 

15 Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 

16 of the Department of Education. 

17 (K) Telehealth Network Grant program 

18 administered by the Health Resources and 

19 Services Administration of the Department of 

20 Health and Human Services. 

21 (L) Medical Library Assistance program 

22 administered by the National Library of Medi23 cine of the National Institutes of Health of the 

24 Department of Health and Human Services. 


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1 (M) State Library Program administered 

2 by the Office of Library Services of the Insti3 tute of Museum and Library Services of the 

4 National Foundation on the Arts and Human5 ities. 

6 (N) Native American and Native Hawaiian 

7 Library Services program administered by the 

8 Office of Library Services of the Institute of 

9 Museum and Library Services of the National 

10 Foundation on the Arts and Humanities. 

11 (O) Appalachian Area Development grant 

12 program administered by the Appalachian Re13 gional Commission established under chapter 

14 143 of title 40, United States Code. 

15 (P) Delta Area Economic Development 

16 grant program administered by the Delta Re17 gional Authority established under section 382B 

18 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop19 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 2009aa–1). 

20 (Q) Denali Commission Program adminis21 tered by the Denali Commission established 

22 under the Denali Commission Act of 1998 (42 

23 U.S.C. 3121 note); and 


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1 (2) establish and maintain a webpage that con2 tains links to the programs described under para3 graph (1); 

4 (3) provide technical assistance to any new pro5 gram that offers or otherwise makes available fund6 ing for broadband deployment; and 

7 (4) update the webpage established under para8 graph (2) to include any new program described 

9 under paragraph (3). 

10 (c) NATIONAL ADVISORY PANEL.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Office 

13 of National Broadband Strategy shall establish an 

14 National Advisory Panel on broadband deployment 

15 and adoption comprised of representatives of rel16 evant sectors of the business community, public in17 terest groups, and other appropriate groups and 

18 Federal agencies to review and evaluate— 

19 (A) the status of industry efforts to pro20 mote broadband in underserved and unserved 

21 areas; 

22 (B) the effectiveness of Federal Govern23 ment programs that provide funding for the de24 ployment of broadband, including any program 

25 described under subsection (b)(1); 


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1 (C) the effect of broadband deployment 

2 levels within the United States on national eco3 nomic competitiveness with respect to member 

4 countries of the Organization for Economic Co5 operation and Development; and 

6 (D) the feasibility of creating a single ap7 plication process for all Federal broadband 

8 grant programs leveraging available technology. 

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

10 date that National Advisory Panel is established 

11 under paragraph (1), and for each year thereafter, 

12 the Panel shall submit a report to Congress that— 

13 (A) describes in detail any legislative, ad14 ministrative, or regulatory recommendations to 

15 improve broadband in underserved and 

16 unserved areas, including any information re17 lated to such recommendations; and 

18 (B) includes recommendations as to what 

19 reforms to Federal Government programs could 

20 increase the effectiveness of such programs, in21 cluding changes to eligibility criteria for pro22 gram applicants, funding levels, and stream23 lining application procedures. 

24 (3) FACA NOT APPLICABLE.—The Federal Ad25 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 


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1 apply to the activities of the National Advisory 

2 Panel established under paragraph (1). 

3 (d) DEFINITION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—For 

4 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘technical assistance’’ 

5 includes the provision of— 

6 (1) general information about the operation and 

7 eligibility requirements of programs described under 

8 subsection (b); 

9 (2) advice and assistance in completing grant or 

10 program application materials; and 

11 (3) any other assistance deemed appropriate by 

12 the Secretary of Commerce. 

13 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 

16 2014. 

17 SEC. 5. FACILITY MODIFICATIONS. 

18 Notwithstanding section 704 of the Telecommuni19 cations Act of 1996, or any regulation pursuant thereto, 

20 or any other provision of law, a State or local government 

21 may not deny, and shall approve, any eligible facilities re22 quest for a modification of an existing wireless tower that 

23 does not substantially change the physical dimensions of 

24 such tower. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the 


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1 term ‘‘eligible facilities request’’ means any request for 

2 modification of an existing wireless tower that involves— 

3 (1) collocation of new transmission equipment; 

4 (2) removal of transmission equipment; and 

5 (3) replacement of transmission equipment. 

6 SEC. 6. ADOPTION INCENTIVES FOR BROADBAND. 

7 (a) TELEHEALTH IMPROVEMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 254(h) of the Com9 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘telecommunications 

13 services’’ and inserting ‘‘telecommuni14 cations services, advanced telecommuni15 cations services and information services, 

16 and network management services’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘reasonably com18 parable to rates charged’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘not to exceed 60 percent less than rates 

20 charged’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (7)(B)(vi), by striking 

22 ‘‘clinics; and’’ and inserting ‘‘clinics and any 

23 rural healthcare provider, including any— 

24 ‘‘(I) private physician office or 

25 clinic; 


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1 ‘‘(II) nursing home or other long 

2 term care facility; 

3 ‘‘(III) hospice service facility; 

4 ‘‘(IV) pharmacy; 

5 ‘‘(V) dental clinic; 

6 ‘‘(VI) behavioral health facility; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(VII) facility deemed eligible by 

9 the Department of Veterans Affairs to 

10 provide health care services to vet11 erans;’’. 

12 (2) REQUIRED FCC ACTIONS.—In carrying out 

13 the pilot program to fund the construction of 

14 broadband infrastructure to connect rural health 

15 care providers, as such program was established in 

16 In the matter of Rural Health Care Support Mecha17 nism, WC Docket No. 02–60, the Federal Commu18 nications Commission shall abolish the 85 percent 

19 cost limitation requirement set forth in paragraph 

20 14 of such Order. 

21 (b) PLUGGED IN PROGRAMS.— 

22 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (A) ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

24 OR AGENCY.—The term ‘‘eligible educational in25 stitution or agency’’ means— 


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1 (i) a secondary school, as such term is 

2 defined in section 9101 of the Elementary 

3 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 7801); 

5 (ii) a 2-year institution of higher edu6 cation, as such term is defined in section 

7 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 

9 (iii) an adult education center that is 

10 operated by, or on behalf of, a State; or 

11 (iv) a State educational agency, as 

12 such term is defined in section 9101 of the 

13 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

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

15 (B) PLUGGED IN PROGRAM.—The term 

16 ‘‘PlugGED In program’’ means a program of 

17 education that— 

18 (i) leads to a recognized equivalent of 

19 a secondary school diploma; 

20 (ii) integrates the instruction for such 

21 recognized equivalent with training in tech22 nology skills; 

23 (iii) integrates instruction related to 

24 the resources available through broadband 


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1 Internet usage for educational development 

2 and career development; and 

3 (iv) is sponsored by a private tech4 nology company that will provide 1 or 

5 more of the following: 

6 (I) Educational materials for the 

7 program curriculum. 

8 (II) Assistance in designing the 

9 program curriculum. 

10 (III) Matching funds for the pro11 gram, in an amount of not less than 

12 10 percent of the amount of the grant 

13 funds provided under this subsection 

14 to the eligible educational institution 

15 or agency receiving the grant. 

16 (C) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

17 means the Secretary of Education, acting 

18 through the Assistant Secretary of the Office of 

19 Vocational and Adult Education. 

20 (2) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts 

21 appropriated under this subsection, the Secretary 

22 shall administer a grant program that awards grants 

23 to eligible educational institutions or agencies to en24 able such eligible educational institutions and agen25 cies to carry out PlugGED In programs. 


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1 (3) APPLICATION.—An eligible educational in2 stitution or agency desiring a grant under this sub3 section shall submit an application to the Secretary 

4 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

5 information as the Secretary may provide, includ6 ing— 

7 (A) a description of the private technology 

8 company that will be a sponsor of the PlugGED 

9 In program and the type of assistance the spon10 sor will provide; and 

11 (B) an assurance that the eligible edu12 cational institution or agency will annually sub13 mit to the Secretary information on the number 

14 of participants in the PlugGED In program 

15 who have obtained employment within 6 months 

16 after completing the program, and the types of 

17 such employment. 

18 (4) COMPILATION OF DATA.—The Secretary 

19 shall annually prepare and submit to the Committee 

20 on Education and Labor of the House of Represent21 atives and the Committee on Health, Education, 

22 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a compilation of 

23 the data described in subsection (3)(B). 

24 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

25 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 


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1 this subsection $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

2 years 2010 through 2014. 

Æ 


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