II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 326 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assessment and analysis 

of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on the economy 

of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2021 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. KING, 

Mr. BOOZMAN, and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assessment and analysis of the effects of broadband deployment 

and adoption on the economy of the United States, 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 ‘‘Measuring the Eco5 nomic Impact of Broadband Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS REGARDING THE EF2 FECT OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY ON THE 

3 ECONOMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON6 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con7 gress’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

9 and Transportation of the Senate; 

10 (B) the Committee on Environment and 

11 Public Works of the Senate; 

12 (C) the Committee on Small Business and 

13 Entrepreneurship of the Senate; 

14 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com15 merce of the House of Representatives; 

16 (E) the Committee on Transportation and 

17 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 

18 and 

19 (F) the Committee on Small Business of 

20 the House of Representatives. 

21 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist22 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

23 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

24 (3) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ 

25 means an Internet Protocol-based transmission serv26 ice that enables users to send and receive voice, 


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1 video, data, or graphics, or a combination of those 

2 items. 

3 (4) DIGITAL ECONOMY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (B), the term ‘‘digital economy’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term by the Secretary in car7 rying out this section. 

8 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing a 

9 definition for the term ‘‘digital economy’’ under 

10 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall con11 sider— 

12 (i) the digital-enabling infrastructure 

13 that a computer network needs to exist 

14 and operate; and 

15 (ii) the roles of e-commerce and dig16 ital media. 

17 (5) DIGITAL MEDIA.—The term ‘‘digital media’’ 

18 means the content that participants in e-commerce 

19 create and access. 

20 (6) E-COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘e-commerce’’ 

21 means the digital transactions that take place using 

22 the infrastructure described in paragraph (4)(B)(i). 

23 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Commerce. 


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1 (b) BIENNIAL ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS RE2 QUIRED.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary, 

4 in consultation with the Director of the Bureau of Eco5 nomic Analysis of the Department of Commerce and the 

6 Assistant Secretary, shall conduct an assessment and 

7 analysis regarding the contribution of the digital economy 

8 to the economy of the United States. 

9 (c) CONSIDERATIONS AND CONSULTATION.—In con10 ducting each assessment and analysis required under sub11 section (b), the Secretary shall— 

12 (1) consider the impact of— 

13 (A) the deployment and adoption of— 

14 (i) digital-enabling infrastructure; and 

15 (ii) broadband; 

16 (B) e-commerce and platform-enabled 

17 peer-to-peer commerce; and 

18 (C) the production and consumption of 

19 digital media, including free media; and 

20 (2) consult with— 

21 (A) the heads of any agencies and offices 

22 of the Federal Government as the Secretary 

23 considers appropriate, including the Secretary 

24 of Agriculture, the Commissioner of the Bureau 

25 of Labor Statistics, the Administrator of the 


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1 Small Business Administration, and the Federal 

2 Communications Commission; 

3 (B) representatives of the business commu4 nity, including rural and urban internet service 

5 providers and telecommunications infrastruc6 ture providers; 

7 (C) representatives from State, local, and 

8 tribal government agencies; and 

9 (D) representatives from consumer and 

10 community organizations. 

11 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the ap12 propriate committees of Congress a report regarding the 

13 findings of the Secretary with respect to each assessment 

14 and analysis conducted under subsection (b). 

Æ 


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