I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5213 

To prohibit the Rural Utilities Service from providing assistance for the 

provision of broadband service with a download speed of less than 25 

megabits per second or an upload speed of less than 3 megabits per 

second, and clarify the broadband loan and loan guarantee authority 

provided in section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2018 

Mrs. HARTZLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, 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 the Rural Utilities Service from providing assistance for the provision of broadband service with a 

download speed of less than 25 megabits per second 

or an upload speed of less than 3 megabits per second, 

and clarify the broadband loan and loan guarantee authority provided in section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, 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 ‘‘Expanding Rural Ac3 cess to Broadband Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REQUIRED MINIMUM SPEED OF BROADBAND 

5 INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE FOR RURAL 

6 UTILITIES SERVICE BROADBAND INTERNET 

7 ACCESS SERVICE DEPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE 

8 PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) PROHIBITION.—The Rural Utilities Service may 

10 not, under section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 

11 1936, the Community Connect Broadband Grant Pro12 gram, the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan and 

13 Loan Guarantee Program, or the Distance Learning and 

14 Telemedicine Program, provide assistance for the provi15 sion of broadband service (as defined in section 601(b)(1) 

16 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936) with a download 

17 speed of less than 25 megabits per second or an upload 

18 speed of less than 3 megabits per second. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 601(e)(1) 

20 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 

21 950bb(e)(1)) is amended— 

22 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘4’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘25’’; and 

24 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘1’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘3’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF BROADBAND LOAN AND LOAN 

2 GUARANTEE AUTHORITY. 

3 Section 601(c)(1) of the Rural Electrification Act of 

4 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(c)(1)) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘make or guarantee loans’’ and inserting ‘‘shall make 

6 loans and shall guarantee loans’’. 

7 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

8 Within 12 months after the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act, the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Serv10 ice (in this section referred to as the ‘‘RUS’’) shall submit 

11 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

13 and Forestry of the Senate a written report on the effec14 tiveness of RUS loan and loan guarantee programs for 

15 the purpose of expanding broadband to rural areas (as de16 fined in RUS regulations), which shall— 

17 (1) identify administrative and legislative op18 tions for incentivizing private investment by utilizing 

19 RUS loan guarantee programs for the purpose of ex20 panding broadband to rural areas; 

21 (2) evaluate the existing borrower and lending 

22 guidelines for RUS loan and loan guarantee appli23 cants to incentivize participation in both programs; 

24 and 

25 (3) evaluate the loan and loan guarantee appli26 cation processes for lenders and borrowers by elimiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Mar 16, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5213.IH H5213

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1 nating burdensome and unnecessary steps in the ap2 plication process and providing a more streamlined 

3 process to decrease the complexity of the application 

4 and the timeline from application to approval or de5 nial. 

Æ 


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