I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6336 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to provide grants for access 
to broadband telecommunications services in rural areas, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2016 
Mr. POCAN (for himself and Ms. STEFANIK) introduced the following 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 provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to provide 
grants for access to broadband telecommunications serv-
ices in rural areas, 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 Connec-
tions for Rural Opportunities Program Act of 2016’’ or 
the ‘‘B-CROP Act of 2016’’. 
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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 (a), by striking ‘‘loans and’’ 
and inserting ‘‘grants, loans, and’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘LOANS AND’’ and inserting ‘‘GRANTS, LOANS, 
AND’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘make 
grants and’’ after ‘‘Secretary shall’’; and 
(C) by striking paragraph (2) and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—In making grants, 
loans, or loan guarantees under paragraph (1), 
the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) establish one ongoing evaluation 
period for each fiscal year to compare 
grant, loan, and loan guarantee applica-
tions and to prioritize grants, loans, and 
loan guarantees to all or part of rural com-
munities that do not have residential 
broadband service that meets the minimum 
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acceptable level of broadband service estab-
lished under subsection (e); 
‘‘(ii) give the highest priority to appli-
cants that offer to provide broadband serv-
ice to the greatest proportion of unserved 
rural households or rural households that 
do not have residential broadband service 
that meets the minimum acceptable level of 
broadband service established under sub-
section (e), as— 
‘‘(I) certified by the affected 
community, city, county, or designee; 
or 
‘‘(II) demonstrated on— 
‘‘(aa) the broadband map of 
the affected State if the map con-
tains address-level data; or 
‘‘(bb) 
the 
National 
Broadband Map if address-level 
data is unavailable; and 
‘‘(iii) provide equal consideration to 
all qualified applicants, including those 
that have not previously received grants, 
loans, or loan guarantees under paragraph 
(1). 
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‘‘(B) OTHER.—After giving priority to the 
applicants described in subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary shall then give priority to projects 
that serve rural communities— 
‘‘(i) with a population of less than 
10,000 permanent residents; 
‘‘(ii) experiencing outmigration; 
‘‘(iii) with a high percentage of low-in-
come residents; and 
‘‘(iv) that are isolated from other sig-
nificant population centers. 
‘‘(3) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a 
grant under this section, the project that is the 
subject of the grant shall be carried out in a 
rural area. 
‘‘(B) 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. 
‘‘(C) GRANT RATE.—The Secretary shall 
establish the grant rate for each project in ac-
cordance with regulations issued by the Sec-
retary that shall provide for a graduated scale 
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of grant rates that establish higher rates for 
projects in communities that have— 
‘‘(i) remote locations; 
‘‘(ii) low community populations; 
‘‘(iii) low income levels; 
‘‘(iv) developed the applications of the 
communities with the participation of com-
binations of stakeholders, including— 
‘‘(I) State, local, and tribal gov-
ernments; 
‘‘(II) nonprofit institutions; 
‘‘(III) institutions of higher edu-
cation; 
‘‘(IV) private entities; and 
‘‘(V) philanthropic organizations; 
and 
‘‘(v) targeted funding to provide the 
minimum acceptable level of broadband 
service established under subsection (e) in 
all or part of an unserved community that 
is below that minimum acceptable level of 
broadband service. 
‘‘(D) SECRETARIAL
AUTHORITY
TO
AD-
JUST.—The Secretary may make grants of up 
to 75 percent of the development costs of the 
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project for which the grant is provided to an el-
igible entity if the Secretary determines that 
the project serves a remote or low income area 
that does not have access to broadband service 
from any provider of broadband service (includ-
ing the applicant).’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 
by striking ‘‘loan or’’ and inserting ‘‘grant, 
loan, or’’; 
(ii) by striking clause (i) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(i) demonstrate the ability— 
‘‘(I) to furnish, improve in order 
to meet the minimum acceptable level 
of 
broadband 
service 
established 
under 
subsection 
(e), 
or 
extend 
broadband service to all or part of an 
unserved rural area or an area below 
the minimum acceptable level of 
broadband service established under 
subsection (e); or 
‘‘(II) to carry out a project under 
paragraph (4)(B)(ii);’’; 
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(iii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘a loan 
application’’ and inserting ‘‘an applica-
tion’’; and 
(iv) in clause (iii)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘the loan applica-
tion’’ and inserting ‘‘the application’’; 
and 
(II) by striking ‘‘proceeds from 
the loan made or guaranteed under 
this section are’’ and inserting ‘‘as-
sistance under this section is’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A)— 
(I) in the matter preceding clause 
(i)— 
(aa) by striking ‘‘the pro-
ceeds of a loan made or guaran-
teed’’ and inserting ‘‘assistance’’; 
and 
(bb) by striking ‘‘for the 
loan or loan guarantee’’ and in-
serting ‘‘of the eligible entity’’; 
and 
(II) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘3’’ 
and inserting ‘‘2’’; 
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(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
clause (ii) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) shall 
not apply if the applicant is eligible for 
funding under another title of this Act.’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3), in subparagraph (A), 
by striking ‘‘loan or’’ and inserting ‘‘grant, 
loan, or’’; 
(D) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘loan 
or’’ and inserting ‘‘grant, loan, or’’; 
(E) in paragraph (5)(A), in the matter 
preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘loan or’’ and 
inserting ‘‘grant, loan, or’’; 
(F) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘loan or’’ 
and inserting ‘‘grant, loan, or’’; and 
(G) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘a loan 
application’’ and inserting ‘‘an application’’; 
(4) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘make a loan 
or loan guarantee’’ and inserting ‘‘provide assist-
ance’’; 
(5) in subsection (j)— 
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by striking ‘‘loan and loan guarantee’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘grants 
and’’ after ‘‘number of’’; 
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(C) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘loan’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘loans and’’ and inserting ‘‘grants, loans, 
and’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘loan’’; 
(6) by redesignating subsections (k) and (l) as 
subsections (l) and (m), respectively; 
(7) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(k) BROADBAND BUILDOUT DATA.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving 
a grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this section, 
a recipient of assistance shall provide to the Sec-
retary address-level broadband buildout data that in-
dicates the location of new broadband service that is 
being provided or upgraded within the service terri-
tory supported by the grant, loan, or loan guar-
antee— 
‘‘(A) for purposes of inclusion in the semi-
annual updates to the National Broadband Map 
that is managed by the National Telecommuni-
cations and Information Administration (re-
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ferred to in this subsection as the ‘Administra-
tion’); and 
‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after the ear-
lier of— 
‘‘(i) the date of completion of any 
project milestone established by the Sec-
retary; or 
‘‘(ii) the date of completion of the 
project. 
‘‘(2) ADDRESS-LEVEL DATA.—Effective begin-
ning on the date the Administration receives data 
described in paragraph (1), the Administration shall 
use only address-level broadband buildout data for 
the National Broadband Map. 
‘‘(3) CORRECTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
submit to the Administration any correction to 
the National Broadband Map that is based on 
the actual level of broadband coverage within 
the rural area, including any requests for a cor-
rection from an elected or economic develop-
ment official. 
‘‘(B) INCORPORATION.—Not later than 30 
days after the date on which the Administration 
receives a correction submitted under subpara-
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graph (A), the Administration shall incorporate 
the correction into the National Broadband 
Map. 
‘‘(C) USE.—If the Secretary has submitted 
a correction to the Administration under sub-
paragraph (A), but the National Broadband 
Map has not been updated to reflect the correct 
by the date on which the Secretary is making 
a grant or loan award decision under this sec-
tion, the Secretary may use the correction sub-
mitted under that subparagraph for purposes of 
make the grant or loan award decision.’’; 
(8) subsection (l) (as redesignated by paragraph 
(6))— 
(A) 
in 
paragraph 
(1), 
by 
striking 
‘‘$25,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000’’; 
and 
(B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 
(i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(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.’’; and 
(9) in subsection (m) (as redesignated by para-
graph (6)), by striking ‘‘loan or’’ and inserting 
‘‘grant, loan, or’’. 
Æ 
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