II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2578 

To provide grants and other incentives to promote new communications 

technologies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2004 

Mrs. CLINTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide grants and other incentives to promote new 

communications technologies, 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 ‘‘Broadband Expansion 

5 Grant Initiative of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Investing in a telecommunications infra9 structure for underserved rural communities will in-
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1 crease the potential for long-term economic growth 

2 in those areas. 

3 (2) Currently, too many families have to make 

4 long distance calls to connect to the Internet, and 

5 the deployment of broadband networks would make 

6 sure that connection to the Internet is more cost-ef7 fective and only a local call away. 

8 (3) Small businesses would benefit from access 

9 to high-speed Internet links that would allow them 

10 to compete on national and international levels. 

11 (4) Broadband deployment grants and loan 

12 guarantees would encourage private-sector invest13 ment in infrastructure advances. 

14 SEC. 3. FACILITATION OF DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND 

15 TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITIES TO 

16 UNDERSERVED RURAL AREAS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to facilitate the deploy18 ment by the private sector of broadband telecommuni19 cations networks and capabilities (including wireless and 

20 satellite networks and capabilities) to underserved rural 

21 areas, the Secretary of Commerce (in this section, referred 

22 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) may— 

23 (1) make grants to eligible recipients for that 

24 purpose; 
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1 (2) guarantee loans, either whole or in part, of 

2 eligible recipients the proceeds of which are to be 

3 used for that purpose; or 

4 (3) carry out activities under both paragraphs 

5 (1) and (2). 

6 (b) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—For purposes of this 

7 section, an eligible recipient of a grant or loan guarantee 

8 under subsection (a) is any person or entity selected by 

9 the Secretary in accordance with such procedures as the 

10 Secretary shall establish. 

11 (c) UNDERSERVED RURAL AREAS.—The Secretary 

12 shall identify the areas that constitute underserved rural 

13 areas for purposes of this section. 

14 (d) EMPHASIS ON PARTICULAR CAPABILITIES.—In 

15 selecting a person or entity as an eligible recipient of a 

16 grant or loan guarantee under subsection (a), the Sec17 retary shall give particular emphasis to persons or entities 

18 that propose to use the grant or the proceeds of the loan 

19 guaranteed, as the case may be, to leverage non-Federal 

20 resources to do one or more of the following: 

21 (1) Provide underserved rural areas with access 

22 to Internet service by local telephone. 

23 (2) Demonstrate new models or emerging tech24 nologies to bring broadband telecommunications 
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1 services to underserved rural areas on a cost-effec2 tive basis. 

3 (3) Use broadband telecommunications services 

4 to stimulate economic development, such as pro5 viding connections between and among industrial 

6 parks located in such areas and providing high-speed 

7 telecommunications service links to small business 

8 incubators. 

9 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary may consult 

10 with the Federal Communications Commission in carrying 

11 out activities under this section. 

12 (f) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—The amount of any 

13 grants made under this section, and the cost (as defined 

14 in section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 

15 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5)) of any loans guaranteed under 

16 this section, may not, in the aggregate, exceed 

17 $100,000,000. 

18 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Com20 merce for purposes of grants and loan guarantees under 

21 this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and such 

22 sums as are necessary for each fiscal year thereafter. 

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