I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1838 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve access to 
broadband telecommunications services in rural areas, including by en-
couraging the provision of broadband loans and grants to increase 
broadband service in rural ports, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 4, 2025 
Ms. PLASKETT (for herself and Mr. MOORE of Alabama) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in 
addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve 
access to broadband telecommunications services in rural 
areas, including by encouraging the provision of 
broadband loans and grants to increase broadband serv-
ice in rural ports, 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 ‘‘Broadband Internet 
for Small Ports Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS. 
Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 
(7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A)— 
(I) in clause (i)— 
(aa) by striking ‘‘of at 
least—’’ and inserting a semi-
colon; and 
(bb) by striking subclauses 
(I) and (II); 
(II) in clause (iii), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(III) in clause (iv), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(IV) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(v) give priority to applications for 
projects to provide rapid and expanded de-
ployment of fixed and mobile broadband on 
cropland and ranchland within a service 
territory for use in various applications of 
precision agriculture.’’; 
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(ii) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) in clause (i)— 
(aa) in subclause (III), by 
inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semi-
colon; 
(bb) in subclause (IV), by 
striking 
‘‘or’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘and’’; and 
(cc) by striking subclause 
(V); and 
(II) in clause (ii)— 
(aa) in the matter preceding 
subclause (I), by striking ‘‘2’’ 
and inserting ‘‘1’’; 
(bb) in subclause (IV), by 
inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semi-
colon; 
(cc) in subclause (V), by 
striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a 
period at the end; and 
(dd) by striking subclause 
(VI); and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(C) PORTS IN RURAL AREAS PRIORITY.— 
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‘‘(i) DEFINITION
OF
PORT.—In this 
subparagraph, the term ‘port’ means— 
‘‘(I) any port on the navigable 
waters of the United States, including 
territories; 
‘‘(II) any harbor, marine ter-
minal, or other shore side facility used 
principally for the movement of goods 
on inland waters; and 
‘‘(III) any port formed in accord-
ance with applicable State or territory 
law. 
‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—In addition to the 
priority given under subparagraph (B), the 
Secretary shall give equal priority to an 
application for a project that would in-
crease the availability of broadband service 
in a port in a rural area. 
‘‘(D) IDENTIFICATION OF UNSERVED COM-
MUNITIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an 
application given the highest priority under 
subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary shall 
confirm that each unserved rural commu-
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nity identified in the application is eligible 
for funding by— 
‘‘(I) conferring with and obtain-
ing data from the Chair of the Fed-
eral Communications Commission and 
the Administrator of the National 
Telecommunications and Information 
Administration with respect to the 
service area proposed in the applica-
tion; 
‘‘(II) reviewing any other source 
that is relevant to service data valida-
tion, as determined by the Secretary; 
and 
‘‘(III) 
performing 
site-specific 
testing to verify the unavailability of 
any residential broadband service in 
the unserved rural community. 
‘‘(ii) ADJUSTMENTS.—Not less often 
than once every 2 years, the Secretary 
shall review, and may adjust through no-
tice published in the Federal Register, the 
unserved communities identified under 
clause (i).’’; and 
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(B) in paragraph (3), by striking subpara-
graphs (C) and (D) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(C) MAXIMUM.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (D), the amount of any grant 
made under this section shall not exceed 50 
percent of the development costs of the project 
for which the grant is provided. 
‘‘(D) SECRETARIAL
AUTHORITY
TO
AD-
JUST.—The Secretary may make grants of up 
to 75 percent of the development costs of the 
project for which the grant is provided to an el-
igible entity if the Secretary determines that 
the project serves— 
‘‘(i) an area of rural households de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(ii); and 
‘‘(ii) a rural community described in 
any of subclauses (I) through (IV) of para-
graph (2)(B)(i).’’; 
(2) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘subsection (j)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(l)’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(C) RELATION
TO
UNIVERSAL
SERVICE 
HIGH-COST
SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall 
communicate with the Federal Communications 
Commission to ensure that any grants, loans, or 
loan guarantees made under this section pro-
vide a level of service that is not less than the 
level of service provided through universal serv-
ice high-cost support (as defined in section 54.5 
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 
successor regulation) provided by the Commis-
sion.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A)— 
(I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘50’’ 
and inserting ‘‘90’’; and 
(II) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘3’’ 
and inserting ‘‘2’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) APPLICATION
PROCESS.—The Secretary 
shall provide to an applicant of a grant, loan, or 
loan guarantee under this section feedback and deci-
sions on funding in a timely manner.’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as 
subsections (l) and (m), respectively; 
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(4) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(j) BROADBAND BUILDOUT DATA.—As a condition 
of receiving a grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this 
section, a recipient of assistance shall provide to the Sec-
retary complete, reliable, and precise geolocation informa-
tion that indicates the location of new broadband service 
that is being provided or upgraded within the service terri-
tory supported by the grant, loan, or loan guarantee not 
later than 30 days after the earlier of— 
‘‘(1) the date of completion of any project mile-
stone established by the Secretary; or 
‘‘(2) the date of completion of the project. 
‘‘(k) ENVIRONMENTAL
REVIEWS.—The Secretary 
may obligate, but not disperse, funds under this Act before 
the completion of otherwise required environmental, his-
torical, or other types of reviews if the Secretary deter-
mines that a subsequent site-specific review shall be ade-
quate and easily accomplished for the location of towers, 
poles, or other broadband facilities in the service area of 
the borrower without compromising the project or the re-
quired reviews.’’; and 
(5) in subsection (l)(2)(A) (as so redesig-
nated)— 
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(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iii) set aside at least 1 percent to be 
used for— 
‘‘(I) conducting oversight under 
this section; and 
‘‘(II) implementing accountability 
measures and related activities au-
thorized under this section.’’. 
Æ 
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