II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 436 

To provide Federal matching funding for State-level broadband programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide Federal matching funding for State-level 

broadband programs. 

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 ‘‘American Broadband 

5 Buildout Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist9 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

10 Commerce for Communications and Information. 


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1 (2) BROADBAND AVAILABILITY MAPS.—The 

2 term ‘‘broadband availability maps’’ means the maps 

3 created by the Federal Communications Commission 

4 under section 802(c)(1) of the Communications Act 

5 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)). 

6 (3) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.— 

7 The term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’— 

8 (A) means mass-market retail service by 

9 wire or radio that provides the capability to 

10 transmit data to and receive data from all or 

11 substantially all internet endpoints, including 

12 any capabilities that are incidental to and en13 able the operation of the communications serv14 ice, but excluding dial-up internet access serv15 ice; and 

16 (B) includes any service that the Commis17 sion finds to be providing a functional equiva18 lent of the service described in subparagraph 

19 (A) or that is used to evade the protections set 

20 forth in part 8 of title 47, Code of Federal Reg21 ulations, or any successor thereto. 

22 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

23 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

24 (5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti25 ty’’ means— 


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1 (A) a State; or 

2 (B) an entity authorized by a State to 

3 spend funds for a purpose described in section 

4 3 or 4. 

5 (6) LAST-MILE INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

6 ‘‘last-mile infrastructure’’ means infrastructure the 

7 predominant purpose of which is to provide 

8 broadband internet access service to end users or 

9 end user devices, including households, businesses, 

10 community anchor institutions, public safety entities, 

11 and critical community facilities. 

12 (7) OVERBUILDING.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

14 subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘overbuilding’’ 

15 means deploying broadband infrastructure in an 

16 area— 

17 (i) that already has— 

18 (I) facilities capable of providing 

19 standard broadband service; or 

20 (II) broadband infrastructure 

21 that was built using funds from a 

22 Federal or State program that were 

23 provided for the express purpose of 

24 deploying broadband infrastructure; 


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1 (ii) where Federal or State funding 

2 has already been committed for the deploy3 ment of facilities capable of providing 

4 standard broadband service, even if such 

5 service is not yet available, provided that 

6 the funding recipient is meeting any appli7 cable buildout deadlines; or 

8 (iii) with respect to which a broad9 band internet access service provider has 

10 already made enforceable commitments to 

11 a Federal agency or State to deploy facili12 ties capable of providing standard broad13 band service, even if such service is not yet 

14 available, provided that the broadband 

15 internet access service provider is meeting 

16 any applicable buildout deadlines. 

17 (B) INTERCONNECT POINTS.—The term 

18 ‘‘overbuilding’’ does not include deploying 

19 broadband infrastructure in an area described 

20 in subparagraph (A) if the infrastructure is de21 ployed for the purpose of reaching interconnect 

22 points of standard broadband service to meet 

23 the needs of broadband users in another area 

24 that is an unserved area. 


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1 (8) QUALIFYING PROJECT.—The term ‘‘quali2 fying project’’ means a project— 

3 (A) to construct last-mile infrastructure 

4 that will provide broadband internet access 

5 service at a speed of not less than 100 megabits 

6 per second for downloads and 10 megabits per 

7 second for uploads in an unserved area, without 

8 engaging in overbuilding; and 

9 (B) that is funded by a public-private part10 nership in which— 

11 (i)(I) the State in which the project is 

12 located provides a portion of the funds; or 

13 (II) the State in which the project is 

14 located and another entity, which may be 

15 a political subdivision of the State in which 

16 the project is located, together provide not 

17 less than 25 percent of the funds; and 

18 (ii) the private company or electric co19 operative that will provide broadband 

20 internet access service to customers con21 nected to the last-mile infrastructure pro22 vides not less than 25 percent of the funds. 

23 (9) STANDARD BROADBAND SERVICE.—The 

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1 band internet access service with a speed of not less 

2 than— 

3 (A) 25 megabits per second for downloads; 

4 and 

5 (B) 3 megabits per second for uploads. 

6 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean7 ing given the term in section 3 of the Communica8 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

9 (11) UNSERVED AREA.—The term ‘‘unserved 

10 area’’ means a census block in which standard 

11 broadband service is not available to all households 

12 according to— 

13 (A) the broadband availability maps; or 

14 (B) if the maps described in subparagraph 

15 (A) have not been completed at the time when 

16 the relevant grant is being awarded, any exist17 ing broadband availability data of the Commis18 sion, as well as any relevant data from the Na19 tional Broadband Availability Map produced by 

20 the Assistant Secretary. 

21 SEC. 3. LAST-MILE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE. 

22 (a) GRANTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall award 

24 grants to eligible entities for qualifying projects. 


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1 (2) ADVISORY ROLE OF NTIA.—The Commis2 sion shall carry out paragraph (1) in consultation 

3 with the Assistant Secretary, including by soliciting 

4 and taking into account the advice of the Assistant 

5 Secretary. 

6 (b) PRIORITIZATION.—The Commission shall give 

7 priority to qualifying projects in States in which, accord8 ing to the broadband availability maps— 

9 (1) less than 68 percent of households subscribe 

10 to fixed terrestrial broadband internet access service 

11 with a speed of not less than— 

12 (A) 10 megabits per second for downloads; 

13 and 

14 (B) 1 megabit per second for uploads; and 

15 (2) less than 40.5 percent of households sub16 scribe to fixed terrestrial standard broadband serv17 ice. 

18 (c) HIGH-COST, GEOGRAPHICALLY CHALLENGED

19 AREAS.—The Commission shall ensure that not less than 

20 15 percent of the amounts awarded under this section are 

21 used in unserved areas that are high-cost and geographi22 cally challenged, as determined by the Commission. 

23 (d) POPULATION-BASED ALLOCATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 

25 this section, the Commission shall allocate not less 


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1 than $5,000,000,000 among the States based on the 

2 proportion that the population of each State bears to 

3 the population of all States. 

4 (2) EXCESS FUNDS.—If the amount allocated 

5 for a State under paragraph (1) exceeds the allow6 able Federal share of the costs of projects of the 

7 State (or other eligible entity acting on behalf of the 

8 State) that are eligible for funding under this sec9 tion, the Commission shall withhold the excess 

10 amount, which shall revert to the general fund of the 

11 Treasury. 

12 (3) FAILURE TO APPLY.—If an eligible entity 

13 does not apply for a grant under this section by the 

14 last day of fiscal year 2022, the amount that would 

15 have been awarded to the eligible entity under para16 graph (1) shall revert to the general fund of the 

17 Treasury. 

18 SEC. 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS; DIGITAL LIT19 ERACY PROGRAMS. 

20 The Commission shall award grants to eligible enti21 ties— 

22 (1) to carry out public awareness campaigns de23 signed to highlight the value and benefits of 

24 broadband internet access service, in order to inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436

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1 crease the adoption of broadband internet access 

2 service; and 

3 (2) to support digital literacy programs in areas 

4 in which a qualifying project that receives funding 

5 under section 3 is located. 

6 SEC. 5. FEDERAL SHARE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the cost of 

8 a project, campaign, or program that receives funding 

9 under this Act shall be not more than 50 percent. 

10 (b) USE OF CERTAIN FEDERAL FUNDS FOR NON11 FEDERAL SHARE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State may use any 

13 amounts described in paragraph (2) for the non14 Federal share of the cost of a project, campaign, or 

15 program that receives funding under this Act. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE AMOUNTS.—The amounts re17 ferred to in paragraph (1) are amounts received 

18 from— 

19 (A) the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

20 Development under the community development 

21 block grant program under title I of the Hous22 ing and Community Development Act of 1974 

23 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 


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1 (B) the Appalachian Regional Commission 

2 established under section 14301(a) of title 40, 

3 United States Code; 

4 (C) the Economic Development Adminis5 tration of the Department of Commerce; 

6 (D) any rural telehealth program of the 

7 Commission; or 

8 (E) the Northern Border Regional Com9 mission established under section 15301(a)(3) 

10 of title 40, United States Code. 

11 SEC. 6. TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY REQUIRED. 

12 The Commission shall award grants to eligible enti13 ties under this Act in a manner that does not favor the 

14 use of any particular technology. 

15 SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 

16 (a) LAST-MILE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE

17 GRANTS.—For grants awarded under section 3, the Com18 mission shall establish transparency and accountability 

19 rules under which— 

20 (1) after receiving an application for a grant to 

21 carry out a qualifying project in an area, the Com22 mission shall determine whether the area is served 

23 or unserved using accurate and granular information 

24 regarding the availability of broadband internet ac25 cess service at the sub-census block level; 


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1 (2) the Commission shall— 

2 (A) permit a person or entity to challenge 

3 an initial determination of the Commission 

4 under paragraph (1); and 

5 (B) provide a period of not less than 45 

6 days, after the Commission makes an initial de7 termination under paragraph (1) with respect 

8 to an area, during which a provider of broad9 band internet access service may voluntarily 

10 submit information concerning the broadband 

11 internet access service that the provider offers 

12 in the area; 

13 (3) the Commission shall provide the public 

14 with notice of— 

15 (A) an initial determination with respect to 

16 an area under paragraph (1); 

17 (B) the final determination of whether an 

18 area is served or unserved after the process for 

19 challenging the initial determination, as de20 scribed in paragraph (2), has concluded; 

21 (C) the entities that have applied for a 

22 grant; and 

23 (D) the results of any decision regarding a 

24 grant application, including by identifying— 


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1 (i) each eligible entity that was award2 ed a grant; 

3 (ii) the areas that each grantee will 

4 serve using the grant funds; 

5 (iii) the nature of the service that 

6 each grantee will provide in each area de7 scribed in clause (ii); and 

8 (iv) the amount that the Commission 

9 has authorized each grantee to use to carry 

10 out a qualifying project in each unserved 

11 area; and 

12 (4) the Commission shall establish— 

13 (A) broadband buildout milestones and 

14 periodic certifications that a grantee must sub15 mit to demonstrate compliance with the broad16 band buildout milestones; 

17 (B) a maximum buildout timeframe of 5 

18 years from the date on which the Commission 

19 first awards a grant to an eligible entity; 

20 (C) requirements for grantees to submit to 

21 the Commission and to the broadband office or 

22 other applicable authority of the State in which 

23 the grantee is carrying out the project periodic 

24 reports that identify— 


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1 (i) the nature of the service provided 

2 in each unserved area; and 

3 (ii) the latitude and longitude coordi4 nates of each location to which the grantee 

5 has provided broadband internet access 

6 service in each census block; 

7 (D) penalties for noncompliance with— 

8 (i) the broadband buildout milestones 

9 under subparagraph (A); 

10 (ii) the certification requirements 

11 under subparagraph (A); and 

12 (iii) the reporting requirements under 

13 subparagraph (C); 

14 (E) procedures through which the Commis15 sion may recover grant funds, in whole or in 

16 part, from a grantee if the grantee defaults or 

17 does not comply with the requirements under 

18 this Act; and 

19 (F) any additional methods or reporting 

20 necessary to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse 

21 within the grant program. 

22 (b) PUBLIC AWARENESS AND DIGITAL LITERACY

23 GRANTS.—For grants awarded under section 4, the Com24 mission shall establish transparency and accountability 

25 rules that— 


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1 (1) require the Commission to provide the pub2 lic with notice of— 

3 (A) the entities that have applied for a 

4 grant; and 

5 (B) the results of any decision regarding a 

6 grant application, including by— 

7 (i) identifying each eligible entity that 

8 was awarded a grant; 

9 (ii) identifying the areas that each 

10 grantee will serve using the grant funds; 

11 (iii) providing a summary of the 

12 projects that each grantee will carry out in 

13 each area described in clause (ii); and 

14 (iv) the amount that the Commission 

15 has authorized a grantee to use to carry 

16 out a public awareness campaign or sup17 port digital literacy programs in each area 

18 described in clause (ii); and 

19 (2) establish— 

20 (A) project milestones and periodic certifi21 cations that a grantee must submit to dem22 onstrate compliance with the project milestones; 

23 (B) a maximum project completion time24 frame of 5 years from the date on which the 


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1 Commission first awards a grant to an eligible 

2 entity; 

3 (C) periodic reporting requirements for 

4 grantees to demonstrate progress in meeting 

5 the project milestones under subparagraph (A); 

6 (D) penalties for noncompliance with— 

7 (i) the project milestones under sub8 paragraph (A); 

9 (ii) the certification requirements 

10 under subparagraph (A); and 

11 (iii) the reporting requirements under 

12 subparagraph (C); 

13 (E) procedures through which the Commis14 sion may recover grant funds, in whole or in 

15 part, from a grantee if the grantee defaults or 

16 does not comply with the requirements under 

17 this Act; and 

18 (F) any additional methods or reporting 

19 necessary to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse 

20 within the grant program. 

21 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com23 mission to carry out this Act for fiscal year 2021, 

24 $15,000,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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