Tribal Connect Act of 2017

To improve access by Indian tribes to support from the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support program (E-rate) of the Federal Communications Commission, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Tribal Connect Act of 2017 2. Eligibility of tribal libraries and qualifying anchor institutions for E-rate support Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 254 (1) in subsection (h)(4), by inserting , except as provided in subsection (m), is a library or library consortium (2) by adding at the end the following: (m) Eligibility of tribal libraries and qualifying anchor institutions for E-Rate support (1) Definitions In this subsection— (A) the term broadband Internet access service (B) the term E-rate program (C) the term E-rate support (D) the term Indian tribe (E) the term qualifying anchor institution (2) Eligibility of tribal libraries for E-rate support (A) Designation of tribal libraries as libraries eligible for E-rate support (i) In general An Indian tribe that is eligible for support under section 261 of the Library Services and Technology Act ( 20 U.S.C. 9161 20 U.S.C. 9121 (ii) Rule of construction Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed to exempt a tribal library from any requirement under the E-rate program not described in that clause, including the other requirements relating to eligible recipients under section 54.501 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation). (B) Tribal Anchor Institution Demonstration Program (i) In general The Commission, in consultation with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and any other agency with relevant responsibilities, shall establish a pilot program to be known as the Tribal Anchor Institution Program (ii) Eligibility (I) In general To be eligible to obtain E-rate support under this subparagraph, a tribal government shall not have an existing tribal library eligible for the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support program within the tribal community. (II) Requirements E-rate support obtained under this subparagraph shall only be available for an Indian tribe if— (aa) the proposed qualifying anchor institution is exclusively owned by the Indian tribe; and (bb) the proposed qualifying anchor institution intends to deliver publicly available Internet access to students, teachers, librarians, and members of the community for educational purposes. (III) Rule of construction Nothing in this clause shall be construed to provide the Commission with the authority to modify the eligibility requirements described in this clause. (iii) Use of contributions Of the amount collected for the Universal Service Fund under subsection (d), $20,000,000 shall be made available for each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of the Tribal Connect Act of 2017 (3) Training and technical assistance for tribal schools and libraries (A) Annual reports The Commission shall direct the Administrator of the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support program to submit an annual report to the Commission regarding the actions of the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support program to ensure that tribal schools and libraries can participate fully and effectively in the E-rate program, including— (i) outreach efforts targeted to tribal schools and libraries to promote awareness of the E-rate program; (ii) specific E-rate training programs for tribal schools and libraries; and (iii) other technical assistance initiatives regarding the program’s application process that are available to tribal schools and libraries. (B) Review of annual reports The Commission shall review each annual report required under subparagraph (A) to determine whether additional steps are necessary to ensure that tribal schools and libraries can participate fully and effectively in the E-rate program. (4) Coordination and performance measurement The Commission shall— (A) improve the reliability of the data of the Commission relating to institutions that receive E-rate support by defining the term tribal (B) (i) develop performance goals and measures to track progress on achieving the strategic objective of the Commission of ensuring that all tribal libraries have affordable access to broadband Internet access service technologies for educational purposes for students, teachers, librarians, and members of the community; and (ii) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, submit to Congress and make public a report on the goals and measures developed under clause (i). .

Summary: Tribal Connect Act of 2017 This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to expand the Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support (E-rate) program to include support for Indian tribal libraries that are eligible for support under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), without regard to whether the libraries are eligible for assistance from state library administrative agencies under the LSTA. The E-rate program provides discounted telecommunications services to certain schools and libraries. The Federal Communications Commission must establish a pilot Tribal Anchor Institution Program to provide E-rate support to tribes for institutions that are not schools or libraries, such as community centers. E-rate support may be provided to institutions designated by tribes if: (1) the tribes do not have existing libraries that are eligible for E-rate support; (2) the institutions are exclusively owned by the tribes; and (3) the institutions intend to deliver publicly available Internet access to students, teachers, librarians, and community members for educational purposes.