SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Digital Global Access 
Policy Act of 2016’’ or the ‘‘Digital GAP Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to encourage the efforts 
of developing countries to improve mobile and fixed access 
to the Internet in order to spur economic growth and job 
creation, improve health, education, and financial services, 
reduce poverty and gender inequality, mitigate disasters, 
promote democracy and good governance, strengthen cy-
bersecurity, and update the Department of State’s struc-
ture to address cyberspace policy. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Since 2005, the number of Internet users 
has more than tripled from 1 billion to 3.2 billion. 
(2) 4.2 billion people, 60 percent of the world’s 
population, remain offline and the growth rate of 
Internet access is slowing. An estimated 75 percent 
of the offline population lives in just 20 countries 
and is largely rural, female, elderly, illiterate, and 
low-income. 
(3) Studies suggest that across the developing 
world, women are nearly 50 percent less likely to ac-
cess the Internet than men living within the same 
communities, and that this digital gender divide car-
ries with it a great economic cost. According to a 
study, ‘‘Women and the Web’’, bringing an addi-
tional 600 million women online would contribute 
$13 billion–$18 billion to annual GDP across 144 
developing countries. 
(4) Without increased Internet access, the de-
veloping world risks falling behind. 
(5) Internet access in developing countries is 
hampered by a lack of infrastructure and a poor reg-
ulatory environment for investment. 
(6) Build-once policies and approaches are poli-
cies or practices that minimize the number and scale 
of excavation and construction activities when in-
stalling telecommunications infrastructure in rights- 
of-way, thereby lowering the installation costs for 
high-speed Internet networks and serve as a develop-
ment best practice. 
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
Congress declares that it is the policy of the United 
States to partner, consult, and coordinate with the govern-
ments of foreign countries, international organizations, re-
gional economic communities, businesses, civil society, and 
other stakeholders in a concerted effort to— 
(1) promote first-time Internet access to mobile 
or broadband Internet for at least 1.5 billion people
in developing countries by 2020 in both urban and 
rural areas; 
(2) promote Internet deployment and related 
coordination, capacity building, and build-once poli-
cies and approaches in developing countries, includ-
ing actions to encourage— 
(A) a build-once approach by standardizing 
the inclusion of broadband conduit pipes which 
house fiber optic communications cable that 
support broadband or wireless facilities for 
broadband service as part of rights-of-way 
projects, including sewers, power transmission 
facilities, rail, pipelines, bridges, tunnels, and 
roads, that are funded, co-funded, or partially 
financed by the United States or any inter-
national organization that includes the United 
States as a member, in consultation with tele-
communications providers, unless a cost-benefit 
analysis determines that the cost of such ap-
proach outweighs the benefits; 
(B) national and local government agencies 
of developing countries and donor governments 
and organizations to coordinate road building, 
pipe laying, and major infrastructure with the 
private sector so that, for example, fiber optic
cable could be laid below roads at the time such 
roads are built; and 
(C) international organizations to increase 
their financial support, including grants and 
loans, and technical assistance to expand infor-
mation and communications access and Internet 
connectivity; 
(3) promote policy changes that encourage first- 
time affordable access to the Internet in developing 
countries, including actions to encourage— 
(A) integration of universal and gender-eq-
uitable Internet access goals, to be informed by 
the collection of related gender disaggregated 
data, and Internet tools into national develop-
ment plans and United States Government 
country-level strategies; 
(B) reforms of competition laws and spec-
trum allocation processes that may impede the 
ability of companies to provide Internet serv-
ices; and 
(C) efforts to improve procurement proc-
esses to help attract and incentivize investment 
in Internet infrastructure; 
(4) promote the removal of tax and regulatory 
barriers to Internet access;
(5) promote the use of the Internet to increase 
economic growth and trade, including— 
(A) policies and strategies to remove re-
strictions to e-commerce, cross-border informa-
tion flows, and competitive marketplaces; and 
(B) entrepreneurship and distance learning 
enabled by access to technology; 
(6) promote the use of the Internet to bolster 
democracy, government accountability, transparency, 
and human rights, including— 
(A) policies, initiatives, and investments, 
including the development of national Internet 
plans, that are consistent with United States 
human rights goals, including freedom of ex-
pression, religion, and association; 
(B) policies and initiatives aimed at pro-
moting the multistakeholder model of Internet 
governance; and 
(C) policies and support programs, re-
search, and technologies that safeguard human 
rights and fundamental freedoms online, and 
enable political organizing and activism, free 
speech, and religious expression that are in 
compliance with international human rights 
standards;
(7) promote Internet access and inclusion into 
Internet policymaking for women, people with dis-
abilities, minorities, low-income and marginalized 
groups, and underserved populations; and 
(8) promote cybersecurity and data protection, 
including international use of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework 
for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity 
that are industry-led, globally recognized cybersecu-
rity standards and best practices. 
SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ORGANIZATION. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Secretary of State should redesignate an 
existing Assistant Secretary position to be the Assistant 
Secretary for Cyberspace to lead the Department of 
State’s diplomatic cyberspace policy generally, including 
for cybersecurity, Internet access, Internet freedom, and 
to promote an open, secure, and reliable information and 
communications technology infrastructure. 
(b) ACTIVITIES.—In recognition of the added value 
of technical knowledge and expertise in the policymaking 
and diplomatic channels, the Secretary of State should— 
(1) update existing training programs relevant 
to policy discussions; and
(2) promote the recruitment of candidates with 
technical expertise into the Civil Service and the 
Foreign Service. 
(c) OFFSET.—To offset any costs incurred by the De-
partment of State to carry out the designation of an As-
sistant Secretary for Cyberspace in accordance with sub-
section (a), the Secretary of State shall eliminate such po-
sitions within the Department of State, unless otherwise 
authorized or required by law, as the Secretary determines 
to be necessary to fully offset such costs. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The redesignation of 
the Assistant Secretary position described in subsection 
(a) may not be construed as increasing the number of As-
sistant Secretary positions at the Department of State 
above the current level of 24 as authorized in section 
1(c)(1) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 
1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(c)(1)). 
SEC. 6. USAID. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 
of the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment should— 
(1) integrate efforts to expand Internet access, 
develop appropriate technologies, and enhance digital 
literacy into the education, development, and eco-
nomic growth programs of the agency, where appro-
priate; 
(2) expand the utilization of information and 
communications technologies in humanitarian aid 
and disaster relief responses and United States oper-
ations involving stabilization and security to improve 
donor coordination, reduce duplication and waste, 
capture and share lessons learned, and augment dis-
aster preparedness and risk mitigation strategies; 
and 
(3) establish and promote guidelines for the 
protection of personal information of individuals 
served by humanitarian, disaster, and development 
programs directly through the United States Gov-
ernment, through contracts funded by the United 
States Government and by international organiza-
tions. 
SEC. 7. PEACE CORPS. 
Section 3 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2502) 
is amended by— 
(1) redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 
(e); and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections:
‘‘(f) It is the sense of Congress that access to tech-
nology can transform agriculture, community economic de-
velopment, education, environment, health, and youth de-
velopment which are the sectors in which Peace Corps cur-
rently develops positions for Volunteers. 
‘‘(g) In giving attention to the programs, projects, 
training, and other activities referred to in subsection (f), 
the Peace Corps should develop positions for Volunteers 
that are focused on leveraging technology for development, 
education, and social and economic mobility.’’. 
SEC. 8. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 
In pursuing the policy described in section 4, the 
President should direct United States representatives to 
appropriate international bodies to use the influence of the 
United States, consistent with the broad development 
goals of the United States, to advocate that each such 
body— 
(1) commit to increase efforts to promote gen-
der-equitable Internet access, in partnership with 
stakeholders and consistent with host countries’ ab-
sorptive capacity; 
(2) enhance coordination with stakeholders in 
increasing affordable and gender-equitable access to 
the Internet;
(3) integrate gender-equitable affordable Inter-
net access into existing economic and business as-
sessments, evaluations, and indexes such as the Mil-
lennium Challenge Corporation constraints analysis, 
the Doing Business Report, International Monetary 
Fund Article IV assessments and country reports, 
the Open Data Barometer, and the Affordability 
Drivers Index; 
(4) standardize inclusion of broadband con-
duit—fiber optic cables that support broadband or 
wireless facilities for broadband service—as part of 
highway 
or 
highway-comparable 
construction 
projects in developing countries, in consultation with 
telecommunications providers, unless such inclusion 
would create an undue burden, is not necessary 
based on the availability of existing broadband infra-
structure, or a cost-benefit analysis determines that 
the cost outweighs the benefits; 
(5) provide technical assistance to the regu-
latory authorities in developing countries to remove 
unnecessary barriers to investment in otherwise com-
mercially viable projects and strengthen weak regu-
lations or develop new ones to support market 
growth and development;
(6) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based 
targets, including targets with gender-disaggregated 
metrics, to measure the effectiveness of efforts to 
promote Internet access; and 
(7) promote and protect human rights online, 
such as the freedoms of speech, assembly, associa-
tion, religion, and belief, through resolutions, public 
statements, projects, and initiatives, and advocating 
that other member states of such bodies are held ac-
countable when major violations are uncovered. 
SEC. 9. PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
plans to promote partnerships by United States develop-
ment agencies, including the United States Agency for 
International Development and the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation, as well as international agencies funded by 
the United States Government for partnership with stake-
holders, that contain the following elements: 
(1) Methods for stakeholders to partner with 
such agencies in order to provide Internet access or 
Internet infrastructure in developing countries.
(2) Methods of outreach to stakeholders to ex-
plore partnership opportunities for expanding Inter-
net access or Internet infrastructure, including co-
ordination with the private sector, when financing 
roads and telecommunications infrastructure. 
(3) Methods for early consultation with stake-
holders concerning projects in telecommunications 
and road construction to provide Internet access or 
Internet infrastructure. 
SEC. 10. REPORTING REQUIREMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION 
EFFORTS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
a report on efforts to implement the policy specified in 
section 4 and a discussion of the plans and existing efforts 
by the United States Government in developing countries 
to accomplish the following: 
(1) Develop a technical and regulatory road 
map for promoting Internet access in developing 
countries and a path to implementing such road 
map. 
(2) Identify the regulatory barriers that may 
unduly impede Internet access, including regulation
of wireline broadband deployment or the infrastruc-
ture to augment wireless broadband deployment. 
(3) Strengthen and support development of reg-
ulations that incentivize market growth and sector 
development. 
(4) Encourage further public and private in-
vestment 
in 
Internet 
infrastructure, 
including 
broadband networks and services. 
(5) Increase gender-equitable Internet access 
and otherwise encourage or support Internet deploy-
ment, competition, and adoption. 
(6) Improve the affordability of Internet access. 
(7) Promote technology and cybersecurity ca-
pacity building efforts and consult technical experts 
for advice regarding options to accelerate the ad-
vancement of Internet deployment, adoption, and 
usage. 
(8) Promote Internet freedom globally and in-
clude civil society and the private sector in the for-
mulation of policies, projects, and advocacy efforts 
to protect human rights online. 
(9) Promote and strengthen the multistake-
holder model of Internet governance and actively 
participate in multistakeholder international fora, 
such as the Internet Governance Forum.
SEC. 11. CYBERSPACE STRATEGY. 
The President should include in the next White 
House Cyberspace Strategy information relating to the 
following: 
(1) Methods to promote Internet access in de-
veloping countries. 
(2) Methods to globally promote cybersecurity 
policy consistent with the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework for 
Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. 
(3) Methods to promote global Internet freedom 
principles, such as the freedoms of expression, as-
sembly, association, and religion, while combating ef-
forts to impose restrictions on such freedoms. 
SEC. 12. DEFINITION. 
In this Act— 
(1) BUILD ONCE POLICIES AND APPROACHES.— 
The term ‘‘build once policies and approaches’’ 
means policies or practices that minimize the num-
ber and scale of excavation and construction activi-
ties when installing telecommunications infrastruc-
ture in rights-of-way. 
(2) CYBERSPACE.—The term ‘‘cyberspace’’ 
means the interdependent network of information 
technology infrastructures, and includes the Inter-
net, telecommunications networks, computer sys-
tems, and embedded processors and controllers in 
critical industries, and includes the virtual environ-
ment of information and interactions between peo-
ple. 
(3) STAKEHOLDERS.—The term ‘‘stakeholders’’ 
means the private sector, the public sector, coopera-
tives, civil society, the technical community that de-
velops Internet technologies, standards, implementa-
tion, operations, and applications, and other groups 
that are working to increase Internet access or are 
impacted by the lack of Internet access in their com-
munities. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 7, 
2016. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5537 
AN ACT 
To promote internet access in developing countries 
and update foreign policy toward the internet, 
and for other purposes.