I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4781 

To authorize the Secretary of Labor to make grants for the establishment 

of information technology centers in rural areas. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2006 

Mrs. CAPITO (for herself and Mr. GILLMOR) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Labor to make grants for 

the establishment of information technology centers in 

rural areas. 

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 ‘‘Rural Information 

5 Technology Investment Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR RURAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 

7 CENTERS. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall make 

9 grants of not more than $250,000 to eligible entities for 


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1 the establishment of information technology centers in 

2 rural areas. 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Eligible recipients may be 

4 any small business or not for profit organization or busi5 nesses operating in a rural area. 

6 (c) APPLICATION.—To receive a grant under this Act, 

7 an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Sec8 retary in such time and manner, and having such content, 

9 as the Secretary may by rule require. 

10 (d) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this Act, the 

11 Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that— 

12 (1) promote information technology research 

13 and development at colleges and universities in rural 

14 areas; 

15 (2) are located in a county with an unemploy16 ment rate, as determined on the basis the most re17 cent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statis18 tics, of at least 1.1 times the national unemployment 

19 rate for the period to which such data relate; 

20 (3) are certified by the Small Business Admin21 istration as a qualified HUBZone small business; or 

22 (4) work in conjunction with a local Workforce 

23 Investment Board (established pursuant to section 

24 117 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 

25 U.S.C. 2832)). 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 As used in this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the secretary 

4 of Labor; 

5 (2) the term ‘‘information technology’’ means 

6 the use of hardware, software, services, and sup7 porting infrastructure to manage and deliver infor8 mation using voice, data, and video by means of a 

9 computer or data network or networks; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘information technology center’’ 

11 means a for profit or not for profit business venture 

12 that offers information technology services including 

13 application maintenance and support, application de14 velopment, help desk services, personal computer 

15 maintenance and support, network management, 

16 data center management, database management, 

17 server management, or web hosting, and is designed 

18 to expand high tech job opportunities in rural areas; 

19 and 

20 (4) the term ‘‘rural area’’ means a territory 

21 outside an urbanized area or urban cluster, as such 

22 terms are defined by the Census Bureau. 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 

3 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2009 to carry out 

4 this Act. 

Æ 


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