I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1034
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Organization Act to establish a digital network technology program,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 14, 2001
Mr. TOWNS (for himself and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and
in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration Organization Act to establish a digital
network technology program, 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 ‘‘NTIA Digital Network
Technology Program Act’’.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.
The National Telecommunications and Information
Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘PART D—DIGITAL NETWORK TECHNOLOGY
PROGRAM
‘‘SEC. 171. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.
‘‘The Secretary shall establish, within the NTIA’s
Technology Opportunities Program a digital network tech-
nologies program to strengthen the capacity of eligible in-
stitutions to provide instruction in digital network tech-
nologies by providing grants to, or executing contracts or
cooperative agreements with, those institutions to provide
such instruction.
‘‘SEC. 172. ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.
‘‘An eligible institution shall use a grant, contract,
or cooperative agreement awarded under this part—
‘‘(1) to acquire the equipment, instrumentation,
networking capability, hardware and software, dig-
ital network technology, and infrastructure necessary
to teach students and teachers about technology in
the classroom;
‘‘(2) to develop and provide educational serv-
ices, including faculty development, to prepare stu-
dents or faculty seeking a degree or certificate that
is approved by the State, or a regional accrediting
body recognized by the Secretary of Education;
‘‘(3) to provide teacher education, library and
media specialist training, and preschool and teacher
aid certification to individuals who seek to acquire or
enhance technology skills in order to use technology
in the classroom or instructional process;
‘‘(4) implement a joint project to provide edu-
cation regarding technology in the classroom with a
State or State education agency, local education
agency, community-based organization, national non-
profit organization, or business, including minority
business or a business located in HUB zones, as de-
fined by the Small Business Administration; or
‘‘(5) provide leadership development to adminis-
trators, board members, and faculty of eligible insti-
tutions with institutional responsibility for tech-
nology education.
‘‘SEC. 173. APPLICATION AND REVIEW PROCEDURE.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant,
contract, or cooperative agreement under this part, an eli-
gible institution shall submit an application to the Sec-
retary at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by
such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
The Secretary, in consultation with the panel described
in subsection (b), shall establish a procedure by which to
accept such applications and publish an announcement of
such procedure, including a statement regarding the avail-
ability of funds, in the Federal Register.
‘‘(b) PEER REVIEW PANEL.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a peer review panel to aid the Secretary in estab-
lishing the application procedure described in subsection
(a) and selecting applicants to receive grants, contracts,
and cooperative agreements under section 171. In select-
ing the members for such panel, the Secretary may consult
with appropriate cabinet-level officials, representatives of
non-Federal organizations, and representatives of eligible
institutions to ensure that the membership of such panel
reflects membership of the minority higher education com-
munity, including Federal agency personnel and other in-
dividuals who are knowledgeable about issues regarding
minority education institutions.
‘‘SEC. 174. MATCHING REQUIREMENT.
‘‘The Secretary may not award a grant, contract, or
cooperative agreement to an eligible institution under this
part unless such institution agrees that, with respect to
the costs to be incurred by the institution in carrying out
the program for which the grant, contract, or cooperative
agreement was awarded, such institution will make avail-
able (directly or through donations from public or private
entities) non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to
1⁄4 of the amount of the grant, contract, or cooperative
agreement awarded by the Secretary, or $500,000, which-
ever is the lesser amount. The Secretary shall waive the
matching requirement for any institution or consortium
with no endowment, or an endowment that has a current
dollar value lower than $50,000,000.
‘‘SEC. 175. LIMITATION.
‘‘An eligible institution that receives a grant, con-
tract, or cooperative agreement under this part that ex-
ceeds $2,500,000, shall not be eligible to receive another
grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this part
until every other eligible institution has received a grant,
contract, or cooperative agreement under this part.
‘‘SEC. 176. ANNUAL REPORT AND EVALUATION.
‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED FROM RECIPI-
ENTS.—Each institution that receives a grant, contract,
or cooperative agreement under this part shall provide an
annual report to the Secretary on its use of the grant,
contract, or cooperative agreement.
‘‘(b) EVALUATION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary,
in consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall—
‘‘(1) review the reports provided under sub-
section (a) each year;
‘‘(2) evaluate the program authorized by section
171 on the basis of those reports; and
‘‘(3) conduct a final evaluation at the end of
the third year
‘‘(c) CONTENTS OF EVALUATION.—The Secretary, in
the evaluation, shall describe the activities undertaken by
those institutions and shall assess the short-range and
long-range impact of activities carried out under the
grant, contract, or cooperative agreement on the students,
faculty, and staff of the institutions
‘‘(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall
submit a report to the Congress based on the final evalua-
tion within 1 year after conducting the final evaluation.
In the report, the Secretary shall include such rec-
ommendations, including recommendations concerning the
continuing need for Federal support of the program, as
may be appropriate.’’.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
Section 102(a) of the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration Organization Act (47
U.S.C. 901(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE
INSTITUTION
DEFINED.—The
term ‘eligible institution’ means an institution that
is—
‘‘(A) a historically Black college or univer-
sity that is a part B institution, as defined in
section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)), an institution de-
scribed in section 326(e)(1)(A), (B), or (C) of
that Act (20 U.S.C. 1063b(e)(1)(A), (B), or
(C)), or a consortium of institutions described
in this subparagraph;
‘‘(B) a Hispanic-serving institution, as de-
fined in section 502(a)(5) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)(5));
‘‘(C) a tribally controlled college or univer-
sity, as defined in section 316(b)(3) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1059c(b)(3));
‘‘(D) an Alaska Native-serving institution
under section 317(b) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b));
‘‘(E) a Native Hawaiian-serving institution
under section 317(b) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)); or
‘‘(F) an institution determined by the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Secretary of
Education, to have enrolled a substantial num-
ber of minority, low-income students during the
previous academic year who received assistance
under subpart I of part A of title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1070a et seq.) for that year.’’.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of Commerce not more than $250,000,000 for fiscal
year 2002, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal
years 2003 through 2007, to carry out part D of the Na-
tional Telecommunications and Information Administra-
tion Organization Act.
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