I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4459 

To prohibit Federal funds from being used to purchase communications equipment or services posing national security risks, to provide for the establishment of a reimbursement program for the replacement of communications equipment or services posing such risks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. WALDEN, Ms. MATSUI, and Mr. GUTHRIE) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 

Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prohibit Federal funds from being used to purchase communications equipment or services posing national security risks, to provide for the establishment of a reimbursement program for the replacement of communications equipment or services posing such risks, 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 ‘‘Secure and Trusted 

3 Communications Networks Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DETERMINATION OF COMMUNICATIONS EQUIP5 MENT OR SERVICES POSING NATIONAL SECU6 RITY RISKS. 

7 (a) PUBLICATION OF COVERED COMMUNICATIONS

8 EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES LIST.—Not later than 1 year 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis10 sion shall publish on its website a list of covered commu11 nications equipment or services. 

12 (b) DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION.—The Com13 mission shall place on the list published under subsection 

14 (a) any communications equipment or service, if and only 

15 if the Commission determines that such equipment or 

16 service— 

17 (1) is produced or provided by— 

18 (A) Huawei Technologies Co. Limited, 

19 Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment 

20 Corporation, or any subsidiary or affiliate of ei21 ther such entity; 

22 (B) any successor to any entity described 

23 in subparagraph (A); or 

24 (C) any other entity, if the Commission de25 termines, based exclusively on the determina26 tions described in paragraphs (1) through (4) 


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1 of subsection (c), that such equipment or serv2 ice produced or provided by such entity poses 

3 an unacceptable risk to the national security of 

4 the United States or the security and safety of 

5 United States persons; and 

6 (2) is capable of— 

7 (A) routing or redirecting user data traffic 

8 or permitting visibility into any user data or 

9 packets that such equipment or service trans10 mits or otherwise handles; or 

11 (B) causing the network of a provider of 

12 advanced communications service to be dis13 rupted remotely. 

14 (c) RELIANCE ON CERTAIN OTHER DETERMINA15 TIONS.—In making a determination under subsection 

16 (b)(1)(C), the Commission shall rely solely on one or more 

17 of the following determinations: 

18 (1) A specific determination made by any exec19 utive branch interagency body with appropriate na20 tional security expertise, including the Federal Ac21 quisition Security Council established under section 

22 1322(a) of title 41, United States Code. 

23 (2) A specific determination made by the Bu24 reau of Industry and Security of the Department of 

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1 tained by the Bureau and set forth in Supplement 

2 No. 4 to part 744 of the Export Administration 

3 Regulations (subchapter C of chapter VII of title 15, 

4 Code of Federal Regulations). 

5 (3) A specific determination made pursuant to 

6 Executive Order 13873 (84 Fed. Reg. 22689; relat7 ing to securing the information and communications 

8 technology and services supply chain), including any 

9 determination made by the Department of Com10 merce pursuant to regulations promulgated to imple11 ment such Executive order. 

12 (4) The communications equipment or service 

13 being covered telecommunications equipment or serv14 ices, as defined in section 889(f)(3) of the John S. 

15 McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fis16 cal Year 2019 (Public Law 115–232; 132 Stat. 

17 1918). 

18 (d) UPDATING OF LIST.—The Commission shall peri19 odically update the list published under subsection (a), as 

20 necessary to protect national security and to address 

21 changes in the determinations described in paragraphs (1) 

22 through (4) of subsection (c). For each 12-month period 

23 during which the list is not updated, the Commission shall 

24 notify the public that no updates were necessary during 


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1 such period to protect national security or to address 

2 changes in such determinations. 

3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) PROHIBITION.—Federal funds may not be 

6 used to purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise obtain 

7 any covered communications equipment or service or 

8 to maintain any covered communications equipment 

9 or service previously purchased, rented, leased, or 

10 otherwise obtained. 

11 (2) TIMING.—Paragraph (1) shall apply with 

12 respect to any covered communications equipment or 

13 service beginning on the date that is 60 days after 

14 the date on which the Commission places such 

15 equipment or service on the list required by section 

16 2(a). In the case of any covered communications 

17 equipment or service that is on the initial list pub18 lished under such section, such equipment or service 

19 shall be treated as being placed on the list on the 

20 date on which such list is published. 

21 (b) COMPLETION OF PROCEEDING.—Not later than 

22 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

23 Commission shall adopt a Report and Order in the matter 

24 of Protecting Against National Security Threats to the 

25 Communications Supply Chain Through FCC Programs 


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1 (WC Docket No. 18–89) that implements subsection (a), 

2 to the extent such subsection applies to a program admin3 istered by the Commission. 

4 (c) APPLICATION TO OTHER AGENCIES.—Not later 

5 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

6 the head of each Federal agency that administers a pro7 gram through which Federal funds are made available 

8 shall update the regulations for the program to comply 

9 with subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 4. SECURE AND TRUSTED COMMUNICATIONS NET11 WORKS REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall establish a 

13 reimbursement program, to be known as the ‘‘Secure and 

14 Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Pro15 gram’’, to make reimbursements to providers of advanced 

16 communications service to replace covered communica17 tions equipment or services. 

18 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—The Commission may not make a 

19 reimbursement under the Program to a provider of ad20 vanced communications service unless the provider— 

21 (1) has 2,000,000 or fewer customers; and 

22 (2) makes all of the certifications required by 

23 subsection (d)(5). 

24 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a reimburse2 ment under the Program shall use reimbursement 

3 funds solely for the purposes of— 

4 (A) permanently removing covered commu5 nications equipment or services purchased, 

6 rented, leased, or otherwise obtained before Au7 gust 14, 2018, and replacing such equipment or 

8 services with communications equipment or 

9 services that are not covered communications 

10 equipment or services; and 

11 (B) disposing of the equipment or services 

12 removed as described in subparagraph (A) in 

13 accordance with the requirements under sub14 section (d)(8). 

15 (2) LIMITATIONS.—A recipient of a reimburse16 ment under the Program may not use reimburse17 ment funds to— 

18 (A) remove, replace, or dispose of any cov19 ered communications equipment or service pur20 chased, rented, leased, or otherwise obtained on 

21 or after August 14, 2018; 

22 (B) purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise ob23 tain any covered communications equipment or 

24 service, using reimbursement funds or any 


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1 other funds (including funds derived from pri2 vate sources); or 

3 (C) make network upgrades that go beyond 

4 the replacement of covered communications 

5 equipment or services, as determined by the 

6 Commission. 

7 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

8 (1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 270 days 

9 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

10 Commission shall promulgate regulations to imple11 ment the Program. 

12 (2) SUGGESTED REPLACEMENTS.— 

13 (A) DEVELOPMENT OF LIST.—The Com14 mission shall develop a list of suggested replace15 ments of both physical and virtual communica16 tions equipment, application and management 

17 software, and services. 

18 (B) NEUTRALITY.—The list developed 

19 under subparagraph (A) shall be technology 

20 neutral and may not advantage the use of reim21 bursement funds for capital expenditures over 

22 operational expenditures, to the extent that the 

23 Commission determines that communications 

24 services can serve as an adequate substitute for 

25 the installation of communications equipment. 


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1 (3) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

3 develop an application process and related 

4 forms and materials for the Program. 

5 (B) COST ESTIMATE.— 

6 (i) INITIAL ESTIMATE.—The Commis7 sion shall require an applicant to provide 

8 an initial reimbursement cost estimate at 

9 the time of application, with supporting 

10 materials substantiating the costs. 

11 (ii) UPDATES.—During and after the 

12 application review process, the Commission 

13 may require an applicant to— 

14 (I) update the initial reimburse15 ment cost estimate submitted under 

16 clause (i); and 

17 (II) submit additional supporting 

18 materials substantiating an updated 

19 cost estimate submitted under sub20 clause (I). 

21 (C) MITIGATION OF BURDEN.—In devel22 oping the application process under this para23 graph, the Commission shall take reasonable 

24 steps to mitigate the administrative burdens 

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1 ess, while taking into account the need to avoid 

2 waste, fraud, and abuse in the Program. 

3 (4) APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS.— 

4 (A) DEADLINE.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

6 in clause (ii) and subparagraph (B), the 

7 Commission shall approve or deny an ap8 plication for a reimbursement under the 

9 Program not later than 90 days after the 

10 date of the submission of the application. 

11 (ii) ADDITIONAL TIME NEEDED BY

12 COMMISSION.—If the Commission deter13 mines that, because an excessive number of 

14 applications have been filed at one time, 

15 the Commission needs additional time for 

16 employees of the Commission to process 

17 the applications, the Commission may ex18 tend the deadline described in clause (i) for 

19 not more than 45 days. 

20 (B) OPPORTUNITY FOR APPLICANT TO

21 CURE DEFICIENCY.—If the Commission deter22 mines that an application is materially deficient 

23 (including by lacking an adequate cost estimate 

24 or adequate supporting materials), the Commis25 sion shall provide the applicant a 15-day period 


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1 to cure the defect before denying the applica2 tion. If such period would extend beyond the 

3 deadline under subparagraph (A) for approving 

4 or denying the application, such deadline shall 

5 be extended through the end of such period. 

6 (C) EFFECT OF DENIAL.—Denial of an ap7 plication for a reimbursement under the Pro8 gram shall not preclude the applicant from re9 submitting the application or submitting a new 

10 application for a reimbursement under the Pro11 gram at a later date. 

12 (5) CERTIFICATIONS.—An applicant for a reim13 bursement under the Program shall, in the applica14 tion of such applicant, certify to the Commission 

15 that— 

16 (A) beginning on the date of the submis17 sion of the application, the applicant will not 

18 purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise obtain cov19 ered communications equipment or services, 

20 using reimbursement funds or any other funds 

21 (including funds derived from private sources); 

22 and 

23 (B) as of the date of the submission of the 

24 application, the applicant— 

25 (i) has developed a plan for— 


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1 (I) the permanent removal and 

2 replacement of any covered commu3 nications equipment or services that 

4 are in the communications network of 

5 the applicant as of such date; and 

6 (II) the disposal of the equip7 ment or services removed as described 

8 in subclause (I) in accordance with 

9 the requirements under paragraph 

10 (8); 

11 (ii) has developed a specific timeline 

12 (subject to paragraph (7)) for the perma13 nent removal, replacement, and disposal of 

14 the covered communications equipment or 

15 services identified under clause (i), which 

16 timeline shall be submitted to the Commis17 sion as part of the application; 

18 (iii) has taken, or will immediately 

19 take, all necessary steps to mitigate the se20 curity threat the covered communications 

21 equipment or services identified under 

22 clause (i) could pose to the network of the 

23 applicant until the equipment or services 

24 can be permanently removed and replaced 


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1 in accordance with the timeline described 

2 in clause (ii); and 

3 (iv) in developing and tailoring the 

4 risk management practices of such appli5 cant, will consult and consider the stand6 ards, guidelines, and best practices set 

7 forth in the cybersecurity framework devel8 oped by the National Institute of Stand9 ards and Technology. 

10 (6) DISTRIBUTION OF REIMBURSEMENT

11 FUNDS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

13 make reasonable efforts to ensure that reim14 bursement funds are distributed as equitably as 

15 possible among all applicants for reimburse16 ments under the Program according to the 

17 needs of the applicants, as identified by the ap18 plications of the applicants. 

19 (B) NOTIFICATION.—If, at any time dur20 ing the implementation of the Program, the 

21 Commission determines that the funds made 

22 available to the Commission to carry out the 

23 Program will not be sufficient to fully fund all 

24 approved applications for reimbursements under 


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1 the Program, the Commission shall immediately 

2 notify— 

3 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

4 Commerce and the Committee on Appro5 priations of the House of Representatives; 

6 and 

7 (ii) the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation and the Com9 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate. 

10 (7) REMOVAL, REPLACEMENT, AND DISPOSAL

11 TERM.— 

12 (A) DEADLINE.—The permanent removal, 

13 replacement, and disposal of any covered com14 munications equipment or services identified 

15 under paragraph (5)(B)(i) shall be completed 

16 not later than 1 year after the date on which 

17 the Commission approves the application. 

18 (B) GENERAL EXTENSION.—The Commis19 sion may grant an extension of the deadline de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) for 6 months to all 

21 recipients of reimbursements under the Pro22 gram if the Commission— 

23 (i) finds that the supply of replace24 ment communications equipment or serv25 ices needed by the recipients to achieve the 


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1 purposes of the Program is inadequate to 

2 meet the needs of the recipients; and 

3 (ii) provides notice and a detailed jus4 tification for granting the extension to— 

5 (I) the Committee on Energy and 

6 Commerce of the House of Represent7 atives; and 

8 (II) the Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation of 

10 the Senate. 

11 (C) INDIVIDUAL EXTENSION.— 

12 (i) PETITION.—A recipient of a reim13 bursement under the Program may peti14 tion the Commission for an extension for 

15 such recipient of the deadline described in 

16 subparagraph (A) or, if the Commission 

17 has granted an extension of such deadline 

18 under subparagraph (B), such deadline as 

19 so extended. 

20 (ii) GRANT.—The Commission may 

21 grant a petition filed under clause (i) by 

22 extending, for the recipient that filed the 

23 petition, the deadline described in subpara24 graph (A) or, if the Commission has grant25 ed an extension of such deadline under 


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1 subparagraph (B), such deadline as so ex2 tended, for a period of not more than 6 

3 months if the Commission finds that, due 

4 to no fault of such recipient, such recipient 

5 is unable to complete the permanent re6 moval, replacement, and disposal described 

7 in subparagraph (A). 

8 (8) DISPOSAL OF COVERED COMMUNICATIONS

9 EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES.—The Commission shall 

10 include in the regulations promulgated under para11 graph (1) requirements for the disposal by a recipi12 ent of a reimbursement under the Program of cov13 ered communications equipment or services identi14 fied under paragraph (5)(B)(i) and removed from 

15 the network of the recipient in order to prevent such 

16 equipment or services from being used in the net17 works of providers of advanced communications serv18 ice. 

19 (9) STATUS UPDATES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently 

21 than once every 90 days beginning on the date 

22 on which the Commission approves an applica23 tion for a reimbursement under the Program, 

24 the recipient of the reimbursement shall submit 

25 to the Commission a status update on the work 


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1 of the recipient to permanently remove, replace, 

2 and dispose of the covered communications 

3 equipment or services identified under para4 graph (5)(B)(i). 

5 (B) PUBLIC POSTING.—The Commission 

6 shall make public on the website of the Com7 mission each status update submitted under 

8 subparagraph (A). 

9 (C) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not less fre10 quently than once every 180 days beginning on 

11 the date on which the Commission first makes 

12 funds available to a recipient of a reimburse13 ment under the Program, the Commission shall 

14 prepare and submit to the Committee on En15 ergy and Commerce of the House of Represent16 atives and the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a re18 port on— 

19 (i) the implementation of the Program 

20 by the Commission; and 

21 (ii) the work by recipients of reim22 bursements under the Program to perma23 nently remove, replace, and dispose of cov24 ered communications equipment or services 

25 identified under paragraph (5)(B)(i). 


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1 (e) MEASURES TO AVOID WASTE, FRAUD, AND

2 ABUSE.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall take 

4 all necessary steps to avoid waste, fraud, and abuse 

5 with respect to the Program. 

6 (2) SPENDING REPORTS.—The Commission 

7 shall require recipients of reimbursements under the 

8 Program to submit to the Commission on a regular 

9 basis reports regarding how reimbursement funds 

10 have been spent, including detailed accounting of the 

11 covered communications equipment or services per12 manently removed and disposed of, and the replace13 ment equipment or services purchased, rented, 

14 leased, or otherwise obtained, using reimbursement 

15 funds. 

16 (3) AUDITS, REVIEWS, AND FIELD INVESTIGA17 TIONS.—The Commission shall conduct— 

18 (A) regular audits and reviews of reim19 bursements under the Program to confirm that 

20 recipients of such reimbursements are com21 plying with this Act; and 

22 (B) random field investigations to ensure 

23 that recipients of reimbursements under the 

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1 ments made in the applications of such recipi2 ents for reimbursements under the Program, in3 cluding the permanent removal, replacement, 

4 and disposal of the covered communications 

5 equipment or services identified under sub6 section (d)(5)(B)(i). 

7 (4) FINAL CERTIFICATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

9 require a recipient of a reimbursement under 

10 the Program to submit to the Commission, in 

11 a form and at an appropriate time to be deter12 mined by the Commission, a certification stat13 ing that the recipient— 

14 (i) has fully complied with (or is in 

15 the process of complying with) all terms 

16 and conditions of the Program; 

17 (ii) has fully complied with (or is in 

18 the process of complying with) the commit19 ments made in the application of the re20 cipient for the reimbursement; 

21 (iii) has permanently removed from 

22 the communications network of the recipi23 ent, replaced, and disposed of (or is in the 

24 process of permanently removing, replac25 ing, and disposing of) all covered commuVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Sep 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4459.IH H4459

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1 nications equipment or services that were 

2 in the network of the recipient as of the 

3 date of the submission of the application of 

4 the recipient for the reimbursement; and 

5 (iv) has fully complied with (or is in 

6 the process of complying with) the timeline 

7 submitted by the recipient under subpara8 graph (B)(ii) of paragraph (5) of sub9 section (d) and the other requirements of 

10 such paragraph. 

11 (B) UPDATED CERTIFICATION.—If, at the 

12 time when a recipient of a reimbursement under 

13 the Program submits a certification under sub14 paragraph (A), the recipient has not fully com15 plied as described in clause (i), (ii), or (iv) of 

16 such subparagraph or has not completed the 

17 permanent removal, replacement, and disposal 

18 described in clause (iii) of such subparagraph, 

19 the Commission shall require the recipient to 

20 file an updated certification when the recipient 

21 has fully complied as described in such clause 

22 (i), (ii), or (iv) or completed such permanent re23 moval, replacement, and disposal. 

24 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING TIMING OF

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1 strued to prohibit the Commission from making a reim2 bursement under the Program to a provider of advanced 

3 communications service before the provider incurs the cost 

4 of the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal of 

5 the covered communications equipment or service for 

6 which the application of the provider has been approved 

7 under this section. 

8 (g) EDUCATION EFFORTS.—The Commission shall 

9 engage in education efforts with providers of advanced 

10 communications service to— 

11 (1) encourage such providers to participate in 

12 the Program; and 

13 (2) assist such providers in submitting applica14 tions for the Program. 

15 (h) SEPARATE FROM FEDERAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE

16 PROGRAMS.—The Program shall be separate from any 

17 Federal universal service program established under sec18 tion 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

19 254). 

20 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

21 authorized to be appropriated to the Commission 

22 $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 to carry out the Pro23 gram. Such amount is authorized to remain available 

24 through fiscal year 2029. 


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1 SEC. 5. HOLD HARMLESS. 

2 In the case of a person who is a winner of the Con3 nect America Fund Phase II auction, has not yet been 

4 authorized to receive Connect America Fund Phase II sup5 port, and demonstrates an inability to reasonably meet the 

6 build-out and service obligations of such person under 

7 Connect America Fund Phase II without using equipment 

8 or services prohibited under this Act, such person may 

9 withdraw the application of such person for Connect 

10 America Fund Phase II support without being found in 

11 default or subject to forfeiture. 

12 SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT. 

13 (a) VIOLATIONS.—A violation of this Act or a regula14 tion promulgated under this Act shall be treated as a vio15 lation of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 

16 et seq.) or a regulation promulgated under such Act, re17 spectively. The Commission shall enforce this Act and the 

18 regulations promulgated under this Act in the same man19 ner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

20 powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and pro21 visions of the Communications Act of 1934 were incor22 porated into and made a part of this Act. 

23 (b) ADDITIONAL PENALTIES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), in addition to penalties under the Com26 munications Act of 1934, a recipient of a reimburseVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Sep 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4459.IH H4459

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1 ment under the Program found to have violated sec2 tion 4, the regulations promulgated under such sec3 tion, or the commitments made by the recipient in 

4 the application for the reimbursement— 

5 (A) shall repay to the Commission all reim6 bursement funds provided to the recipient 

7 under the Program; 

8 (B) shall be barred from further participa9 tion in the Program; 

10 (C) shall be referred to all appropriate law 

11 enforcement agencies or officials for further ac12 tion under applicable criminal and civil laws; 

13 and 

14 (D) may be barred by the Commission 

15 from participation in other programs of the 

16 Commission, including the Federal universal 

17 service support programs established under sec18 tion 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 

19 (47 U.S.C. 254). 

20 (2) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE.—The 

21 penalties described in paragraph (1) shall not apply 

22 to a recipient of a reimbursement under the Pro23 gram unless— 

24 (A) the Commission provides the recipient 

25 with notice of the violation; and 


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1 (B) the recipient fails to cure the violation 

2 within 180 days after the Commission provides 

3 such notice. 

4 (c) RECOVERY OF FUNDS.—The Commission shall 

5 immediately take action to recover all reimbursement 

6 funds awarded to a recipient of a reimbursement under 

7 the Program in any case in which such recipient is re8 quired to repay reimbursement funds under subsection 

9 (b)(1)(A). 

10 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.— 

13 The term ‘‘advanced communications service’’ has 

14 the meaning given the term ‘‘advanced telecommuni15 cations capability’’ in section 706 of the Tele16 communications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302). 

17 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

18 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

19 (3) COVERED COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT OR

20 SERVICE.—The term ‘‘covered communications 

21 equipment or service’’ means any communications 

22 equipment or service that is on the list published by 

23 the Commission under section 2(a). 


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1 (4) CUSTOMERS.—The term ‘‘customers’’ 

2 means, with respect to a provider of advanced com3 munications service— 

4 (A) the customers of such provider; and 

5 (B) the customers of any affiliate (as de6 fined in section 3 of the Communications Act of 

7 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153)) of such provider. 

8 (5) EXECUTIVE BRANCH INTERAGENCY

9 BODY.—The term ‘‘executive branch interagency 

10 body’’ means an interagency body established in the 

11 executive branch. 

12 (6) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

13 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 

14 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 

15 (7) FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

16 funds’’ means— 

17 (A) funds from a Federal universal service 

18 support program established under section 254 

19 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

20 254); 

21 (B) any other Federal grants, subsidies, or 

22 loans to support the deployment of communica23 tions networks in the United States; and 

24 (C) any private loans— 


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1 (i) the purpose of which is to support 

2 the deployment of communications net3 works in the United States; and 

4 (ii) that are— 

5 (I) obtained using a loan guar6 antee from the Federal Government; 

7 or 

8 (II) secured in whole or in part 

9 by other funds from the Federal Gov10 ernment. 

11 (8) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in12 dividual or entity. 

13 (9) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

14 the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks 

15 Reimbursement Program established under section 

16 4(a). 

17 (10) PROVIDER OF ADVANCED COMMUNICA18 TIONS SERVICE.—The term ‘‘provider of advanced 

19 communications service’’ means a person who pro20 vides advanced communications service to United 

21 States customers. 

22 (11) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘recipient’’ means 

23 any provider of advanced communications service the 

24 application of which for a reimbursement under the 

25 Program has been approved by the Commission, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:23 Sep 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4459.IH H4459

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 4459 IH

1 gardless of whether the provider has received reim2 bursement funds. 

3 (12) REIMBURSEMENT FUNDS.—The term ‘‘re4 imbursement funds’’ means any reimbursement re5 ceived under the Program. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS