II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3491 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to improve the effectiveness 

of rural health care support under section 254(h) of that Act. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 

Mr. STEVENS (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, and Mr. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to improve the 

effectiveness of rural health care support under section 

254(h) of that Act. 

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 ‘‘Telehealth for America 

5 Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES TO RURAL 

7 HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. 

8 Section 254(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 

9 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)) is amended— 


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•S 3491 IS 

1 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘telecommunications serv3 ices’’ and inserting ‘‘telecommunications serv4 ices, advanced telecommunications services and 

5 information services, and network management 

6 services’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘reasonably comparable to 

8 rates charged’’ and inserting ‘‘up to 60 percent 

9 less than rates charged’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (7)(B)(vi), by striking ‘‘clinics; 

11 and’’ and inserting ‘‘clinics and any rural health 

12 care provider, including any— 

13 ‘‘(I) private physician office or 

14 clinic; 

15 ‘‘(II) nursing home or other long16 term care facility; 

17 ‘‘(III) emergency medical service 

18 facility or location; 

19 ‘‘(IV) residential substance abuse 

20 treatment facility; 

21 ‘‘(V) hospice service facility; 

22 ‘‘(VI) home health agency; 

23 ‘‘(VII) blood bank; 

24 ‘‘(VIII) social service agency; 


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•S 3491 IS 

1 ‘‘(IX) Alaska Native, tribal, or 

2 Native Hawaiian regional or local 

3 non-profit organization providing 

4 health-related services or training; 

5 ‘‘(X) pharmacy; 

6 ‘‘(XI) dental clinic; 

7 ‘‘(XII) behavioral health facility; 

8 ‘‘(XIII) facility deemed eligible 

9 by the Department of Veterans Af10 fairs to provide health care services to 

11 veterans; or 

12 ‘‘(XIV) community center, voca13 tional rehabilitation center, or youth 

14 center offering health-related services 

15 or training; and’’. 

16 SEC. 3. INTEGRITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure the integrity and ac18 countability of all programs established under section 254 

19 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254), the 

20 Federal Communications Commission, in consultation 

21 with the Administrator of the Universal Service Adminis22 trative Company, shall, not later than 180 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, report to Congress on— 

24 (1) the nature and effectiveness of the fiscal 

25 controls and accountability standards that are apVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:58 Sep 23, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3491.IS S3491

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•S 3491 IS 

1 plied to programs under section 254 as of the date 

2 of enactment of this Act; 

3 (2) the performance goals for programs under 

4 section 254 that are used by the Commission as of 

5 the date of enactment of this Act to determine how 

6 efficiently and cost-effectively the Universal Service 

7 Administrative Company spends funds pursuant to 

8 its operation of all universal service programs; and 

9 (3) what steps, if any, should be taken to 

10 strengthen the fiscal controls, accountability stand11 ards, and performance goals for programs under sec12 tion 254 and whether the Federal Communications 

13 Commission requires additional statutory authority 

14 to implement such steps. 

15 (b) NO EFFECT ON SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES.—Ex16 cept as provided in subsection (a), nothing in this Act (or 

17 the amendments made by this Act) shall be construed as 

18 limiting, changing, modifying, or altering the amount of 

19 support or means of distribution of support under section 

20 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) 

21 for schools and libraries. 

Æ 


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