I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5497 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Office 

of Rural Telecommunications, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 12, 2018 

Mr. PETERSON (for himself and Mr. CRAMER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Office of Rural Telecommunications, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Rural Tele5 communications Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF RURAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 

9 shall establish an Office of Rural Telecommunications. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5497 IH

1 (b) DUTIES.—The Office shall have the following du2 ties: 

3 (1) Coordinate efforts with the Rural Utilities 

4 Service of the Department of Agriculture and the 

5 National Telecommunications and Information Ad6 ministration to ensure the mutual and complemen7 tary success of the Commission’s initiatives and the 

8 programs overseen by these other agencies. 

9 (2) Coordinate with the Universal Service Ad10 ministrative Company to maintain updated informa11 tion regarding Connect America Fund programs 

12 that deploy rural broadband. 

13 (3) Coordinate with other agencies to remove 

14 barriers to broadband deployment. 

15 (4) Assess and publish the impact of the actions 

16 of the Commission on rural consumers before the ac17 tions are voted upon or taken. 

18 (5) Measure broadband adoption rates in rural 

19 areas. 

20 (6) Coordinate with other bureaus and offices 

21 of the Commission and other agencies to ensure con22 sistency and updating of broadband mapping in 

23 rural areas. 

24 (7) Not less frequently than annually, report to 

25 Congress on the efforts of the Office to promote and 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5497 IH

1 sustain quality and affordable rural communications, 

2 including voice and broadband. 

3 (8) Dedicate a representative to address stake4 holder questions and concerns. 

5 (c) NO ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 Nothing in this section shall create any additional report7 ing requirement for a broadband provider. 

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 

10 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, 

11 United States Code. 

12 (2) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ 

13 means— 

14 (A) a mass-market retail service by wire or 

15 radio that provides the capability to transmit 

16 data to and receive data from all or substan17 tially all internet endpoints, including any capa18 bilities that are incidental to and enable the op19 eration of the communications service, but ex20 cluding dial-up internet access service; and 

21 (B) any service that the Commission finds 

22 to be providing a functional equivalent of the 

23 service described in subparagraph (A). 

24 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

25 means the Federal Communications Commission. 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5497 IH

1 (4) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of2 fice of Rural Telecommunications established pursu3 ant to subsection (a). 

4 (5) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ 

5 means any area other than— 

6 (A) a city, town, or incorporated area that 

7 has a population of more than 20,000 inhab8 itants; or 

9 (B) an urbanized area contiguous and ad10 jacent to a city or town that has a population 

11 of more than 50,000 inhabitants. 

Æ 


lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS