broadband connectivity to underserved rural commu-
nities. 
(2) PLAN FOR DEPLOYMENT IN RURAL COMMU-
NITIES.—Each proposal submitted pursuant to para-
graph (1) shall include a plan for deployment of the 
technology that is the subject of such proposal in an 
underserved rural community. 
(3) PRIZE AMOUNT.—In carrying out the pro-
gram under paragraph (1), the Secretary may award 
not more than a total of $5,000,000 to one or more 
winners of the prize competition. 
(4) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 
date on which a prize is awarded under the prize 
competition, the Secretary shall submit to the rel-
evant committees of Congress a report that describes 
the winning proposal of the prize competition. 
(5) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the pro-
gram under subsection (a), the Secretary may con-
sult with the heads of relevant departments and 
agencies of the Federal Government. 
SEC. 8. NITR–D BROADBAND WORKING GROUP. 
Title I of the High-Performance Computing Act of 
1991 (15 U.S.C. 5511 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 103. BROADBAND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
WORKING GROUP. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish a 
broadband research and development working group to ad-
dress national research challenges and opportunities for 
improving broadband access and adoption across the 
United States. 
‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The working group shall identify 
and coordinate key priorities for addressing broadband ac-
cess and adoption, including— 
‘‘(1) promising research areas; 
‘‘(2) requirements for data collection and shar-
ing; 
‘‘(3) opportunities for better alignment and co-
ordination across Federal agencies and external 
stakeholders; and 
‘‘(4) potential development of new Federal poli-
cies and programs. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—The working group shall co-
ordinate, as appropriate, with the Rural Broadband Inte-
gration Working Group established under section 6214 of 
the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 
115–334) and the National Institute of Food and Agri-
culture of the Department of Agriculture. 
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‘‘(d) REPORT.—The working group shall report to 
Congress on their activities as part of the annual report 
submitted under section 101(a)(2)(D). 
‘‘(e) SUNSET.—The authority to carry out this sec-
tion shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the 
date of enactment of the Rural STEM Education Act.’’. 
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the National Science Foundation es-
tablished under section 2 of the National Science 
Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861). 
(2) FEDERAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Fed-
eral laboratory’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 4 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Inno-
vation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3703). 
(3) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 
means the National Science Foundation established 
under section 2 of the National Science Foundation 
Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861). 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
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(5) STEM.—The term ‘‘STEM’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 2 of the America COM-
PETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 
6621 note). 
(6) STEM EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘STEM 
education’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 2 of the STEM Education Act of 2015 (42 
U.S.C. 6621 note). 
Æ 
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