I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5069
To encourage the deployment of broadband telecommunications in rural
America, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 27, 2000
Mr. MINGE
(for himself, Ms. HOOLEY
of Oregon, Mr. BAIRD, Mr.
RODRIGUEZ, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. BOSWELL, Ms. KAPTUR,
Mr. OLVER, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. THOMPSON of
California, Mr. DEFAZIO, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, and in addition
to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Agriculture, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
A BILL
To encourage the deployment of broadband
telecommunications in rural America, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive Rural
Telecommunications Act’’.
TITLE I—RURAL TELEWORK
SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) many rural communities and Indian res-
ervations have not benefited from the historic eco-
nomic expansion in recent years, and high levels of
unemployment and underemployment persist in the
rural communities and reservations;
(2) many economic opportunities, especially in
information technology fields, are located away from
many rural communities and reservations;
(3) the United States has a significant and
growing need for skilled information technology
workers;
(4) unemployed and underemployed rural em-
ployees represent a potential workforce to fill infor-
mation technology jobs;
(5) teleworking allows rural employees to per-
form skill intensive information technology jobs from
their communities for firms located outside rural
communities; and
(6) employing a rural teleworkforce in informa-
tion technology fields will require—
(A) employers that are willing to hire rural
residents or contract for work to be performed
in rural communities;
(B) recruitment and training of rural resi-
dents appropriate for work in information tech-
nology fields;
(C) means of connecting employers with
employees 
through 
advanced 
telecommuni-
cations services; and
(D) innovative approaches and collabo-
rative models to create rural technology busi-
ness opportunities and facilitate the employ-
ment of rural individuals.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to
make competitive grants to establish National Cen-
ters for Distance Working in rural areas to provide
assistance to individuals in rural communities to
support the use of teleworking in information tech-
nology fields;
(2) to promote teleworking arrangements, small
electronic business development, and creation of in-
formation technology jobs in rural areas for the pur-
pose of creating sustainable economic opportunities
in rural communities;
(3) to promote the practice of teleworking to in-
formation technology jobs among rural, urban, and
suburban residents, Indian tribes, job training and
workforce development providers, educators, and em-
ployers;
(4) to meet the needs of information technology
and other industries for skilled employees by accel-
erating the training and hiring of rural employees to
fill existing and future jobs from rural communities
and Indian reservations;
(5) to promote teleworking and small electronic
business as sustainable income sources for rural
communities and Indian tribes; and
(6) to study, collect information, and develop
best practices for rural teleworking employment
practices.
SEC. 102. NATIONAL CENTERS FOR DISTANCE WORKING
PROGRAM.
Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1981 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 376. NATIONAL CENTERS FOR DISTANCE WORKING
PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) CENTER.—The term ‘Center’ means a Na-
tional Center for Distance Working established
under subsection (b) that receives a grant under this
section.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘eli-
gible organization’ means a nonprofit entity, an edu-
cational institution, a tribal government, or any
other organization that meets the requirements of
this section and such other requirements as are es-
tablished by the Secretary.
‘‘(3) INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY.—The term
‘information technology’ means any equipment, or
interconnected system or subsystem of equipment,
that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage,
manipulation, management, movement, control, dis-
play, switching, interchange, transmission, or recep-
tion of data or information, including a computer,
ancillary equipment, software, firmware and similar
procedures, services (including support services), and
related resources.
‘‘(4) RURAL
AREA.—The terms ‘rural’ and
‘rural area’ have the meaning given the terms in sec-
tion 381A.
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of
the Rural Utility Service.
‘‘(6) TELEWORKING.—The term ‘teleworking’
means the use of telecommunications to perform
work functions over a distance and to reduce or
eliminate the need to perform work at a traditional
worksite.
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a National Centers for Distance Working Pro-
gram under which the Secretary shall make competi-
tive grants to eligible organizations to pay the Fed-
eral share of the cost of establishing National Cen-
ters for Distance Working in rural areas to conduct
projects in accordance with subsection (c).
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The Secretary
shall establish criteria that an organization must
meet to be eligible to receive a grant under this sec-
tion.
‘‘(c) PROJECTS.—A Center shall use a grant received
under this section to conduct a 5-year project—
‘‘(1) to provide training, referral, assessment,
and employment-related services and assistance to
individuals in rural communities and Indian tribes to