I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3897
To provide for digital empowerment, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 9, 2000
Mr. REYES, (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. HINOJOSA, Ms. ROYBAL-AL-
LARD, Mr. WYNN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of
Texas, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. ROMERO-
BARCELO´, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. CROWLEY,
and Ms. WATERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Com-
mittees on Commerce, Banking and Financial Services, and Ways and
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for digital empowerment, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Digital Empowerment Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
TITLE I—ONE-STOP SHOP FOR TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
Sec. 101. One-stop shop for technology education.
Sec. 102. National repository of effective uses of educational technology.
TITLE II—DIGITAL EDUCATION
Sec. 201. National challenge grants for technology in education.
Sec. 202. Local uses of funds.
Sec. 203. Additional requirement for local applications.
Sec. 204. Teacher training.
TITLE III—EXPANSION OF UNIVERSAL SERVICE ASSISTANCE
Sec. 301. Additional uses of universal service assistance by educational pro-
viders.
Sec. 302. Eligibility for universal service assistance of head start agencies and
organizations that receive Federal job training funds.
TITLE IV—E-CORPS PROGRAMS
Sec. 401. E-corps.
TITLE V—COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTERS
Sec. 501. Community technology centers.
TITLE VI—NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING
Sec. 601.
computer access for public housing residents.
TITLE VII—INCENTIVES FOR TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE
Sec. 701. Enhanced deduction for corporate donations of computer technology.
TITLE VIII—DEMONSTRATION PROJECT IN K-12 EDUCATION
TECHNOLOGY
Sec. 801. Demonstration project.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) To enable every child in America to cross
the digital divide by ensuring that all children have
access to technology and technology education.
(2) To ensure that every child, regardless of
race, ethnicity, gender, income, geography, or dis-
ability, is computer literate by the time the child fin-
ishes 8th grade.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) A digital divide exists in America. Low-in-
come, urban, and rural families are less likely to
have access to the Internet and computers. Black
and Hispanic families are only 2⁄5 as likely to have
Internet access as white families.
(2) The Digital divide for the poorest Ameri-
cans has grown by 29 percent since 1997.
(3) Over 50 percent of schools lack the infra-
structure needed to support new technology.
(4) While 51 percent of classrooms nationally
are wired to the Internet, only 39 percent of class-
rooms with high levels of poverty are connected to
the Internet.
(5) Predominantly white schools are almost
twice as likely to be linked to the Internet than are
schools that have predominately minority children.
(6) Approximately 4 out of 10 teachers have
had no training in using the Internet.
(7) Hispanics and African-Americans rely less
on home or work sites and more on schools and li-
braries for Internet access.