I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1586 
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 7, 2019 
Mr. BUTTERFIELD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 
on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee 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 ‘‘Building Resources 
Into Digital Growth and Education Act of 2019’’ or the 
‘‘BRIDGE Act of 2019’’. 
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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 Technology 
Opportunities Program of the NTIA, a digital network 
technology program through which the Secretary awards 
grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to eligible 
institutions to assist such institutions in acquiring, and 
augmenting use by such institutions of, broadband inter-
net access service to improve the quality and delivery of 
educational services provided by such institutions. 
‘‘SEC. 172. ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED. 
‘‘An eligible institution shall use a grant, contract, 
or cooperative agreement awarded under this part— 
‘‘(1) to acquire broadband internet access serv-
ice, digital network technology, and infrastructure to 
further the objective of the program described in 
section 171; 
‘‘(2) to develop and provide training, education, 
and professional development programs, including 
faculty development, to increase the use of, and use-
fulness of, broadband internet access service; 
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‘‘(3) to provide teacher education, including the 
provision of preservice teacher training and in-serv-
ice professional development at eligible institutions, 
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 broadband internet access service in the class-
room or instructional process, including instruction 
in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology 
subjects; 
‘‘(4) to obtain capacity-building technical assist-
ance, including through remote technical support, 
technical assistance workshops, and distance learn-
ing services; 
‘‘(5) to foster the use of broadband internet ac-
cess service to improve research and education, in-
cluding scientific, mathematics, engineering, and 
technology instruction; or 
‘‘(6) to create or support centers at the eligible 
institution designed to support innovation, oppor-
tunity, and advancement for entrepreneurs and 
start-ups. 
‘‘SEC. 173. APPLICATION AND REVIEW PROCEDURES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant, 
contract, or cooperative agreement under this part, an eli-
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gible institution shall submit an application to the Sec-
retary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require. Such applica-
tion, at a minimum, shall include a description of how the 
funds will be used, including a description of any digital 
network technology to be acquired, and a description of 
how the institution will ensure that broadband internet ac-
cess service will be made accessible to, and employed by, 
students, faculty, and administrators. The Secretary, in 
consultation with the advisory council established under 
subsection (b) and consistent with subsection (c), shall es-
tablish procedures to review such applications. The Sec-
retary shall publish the application requirements and re-
view criteria in the Federal Register, along with a state-
ment describing the availability of funds. 
‘‘(b) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish an advisory council to advise the Secretary on the 
best approaches to encourage maximum participation by 
eligible institutions in the program established under this 
part, and on the procedures to review applications sub-
mitted to the program. In selecting the members of the 
advisory council, the Secretary shall consult with rep-
resentatives of appropriate organizations, including rep-
resentatives of eligible institutions, to ensure that the 
membership of the advisory council includes representa-
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tives of minority businesses and eligible institution com-
munities. The Secretary shall also consult with experts in 
digital network technology to ensure that such expertise 
is represented on the advisory council. 
‘‘(c) REVIEW PANEL.—Each application submitted 
under this part by an eligible institution shall be reviewed 
by a panel of individuals selected by the Secretary to judge 
the quality and merit of the proposal, including the extent 
to which the eligible institution can effectively and success-
fully utilize the proposed grant, cooperative agreement, or 
contract to carry out the objective of the program de-
scribed in section 171. The Secretary shall ensure that 
the review panels include representatives of eligible insti-
tutions and others who are knowledgeable about eligible 
institutions and technology issues. The Secretary shall en-
sure that no individual assigned under this subsection to 
review any application has a conflict of interest with re-
gard to that application. The Secretary shall take into con-
sideration the recommendations of the review panel in de-
termining whether to award a grant, cooperative agree-
ment, or contract to an eligible institution. 
‘‘SEC. 174. AWARDS. 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—An eligible institution that re-
ceives a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract under 
this part that exceeds $2,500,000 shall not be eligible to 
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receive another grant, cooperative agreement, or contract 
under this part. 
‘‘(b) CONSORTIA.—Grants, cooperative agreements, 
and contracts under this part may only be awarded to eli-
gible institutions. Eligible institutions may seek funding 
under this part for consortia, which may include other eli-
gible institutions, States or State educational agencies, 
local educational agencies, institutions of higher edu-
cation, community-based organizations, national nonprofit 
organizations, or businesses, including minority busi-
nesses. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION AND PARTNERSHIP WITH PRI-
VATE PROVIDERS.—In seeking funding under this part, 
eligible institutions are encouraged, where feasible, to co-
ordinate and partner with qualified private providers of 
the services and activities supported under section 172. 
‘‘(d) 
INSTITUTIONAL
DIVERSITY.—In 
awarding 
grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts under this 
part to eligible institutions, the Secretary shall ensure, to 
the extent practicable, that awards are made to all types 
of institutions eligible for assistance under this part. 
‘‘(e) NEED.—In awarding grants, cooperative agree-
ments, and contracts under this part, the Secretary shall 
give priority to the eligible institution with the greatest 
demonstrated need for assistance. 
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‘‘SEC. 175. INFORMATION DISSEMINATION. 
‘‘The Secretary shall convene an annual meeting of 
eligible institutions receiving grants, cooperative agree-
ments, or contracts under this part to foster collaboration 
and capacity-building activities among eligible institutions. 
‘‘SEC. 176. 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 
25 percent of the amount of the grant, contract, or cooper-
ative agreement awarded by the Secretary, or $500,000, 
whichever is the lesser amount. The Secretary shall waive 
the matching requirement for any institution or consor-
tium that, as of the date of the submission of the applica-
tion for the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, has 
no endowment or an endowment the value of which is less 
than $50,000,000. 
‘‘SEC. 177. ANNUAL REPORT AND EVALUATION. 
‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED FROM RECIPI-
ENTS.—Each eligible institution that receives a grant, 
contract, or cooperative agreement under this part shall 
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provide an annual report to the Secretary on its use of 
the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. 
‘‘(b) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) CONTRACT TO CONDUCT ASSESSMENTS.— 
Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this part, the Secretary shall enter into a 
contract with the National Academy of Public Ad-
ministration to conduct periodic assessments of the 
program established under this part. The assess-
ments shall be conducted once every 3 years during 
the 10-year period following the date of the enact-
ment of this part. 
‘‘(2) EVALUATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.— 
The assessments described in paragraph (1) shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 
the program established under this part in im-
proving the education and training of students, 
faculty, and staff at eligible institutions that 
have been awarded grants, cooperative agree-
ments, or contracts under this part; 
‘‘(B) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 
the program in improving access to, and famili-
arity with, digital network technology and 
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broadband internet access service for students, 
faculty, and staff at all eligible institutions; 
‘‘(C) an evaluation of the procedures estab-
lished under section 173(a); and 
‘‘(D) recommendations for improving the 
program, 
including 
recommendations 
con-
cerning the continuing need for Federal sup-
port. 
‘‘(3) REVIEW
OF
REPORTS.—In carrying out 
the assessments under this subsection, the National 
Academy of Public Administration shall review the 
reports submitted to the Secretary under subsection 
(a). 
‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Upon completion of 
each assessment under subsection (b), the Secretary shall 
transmit the assessment to Congress along with a sum-
mary of the plans of the Secretary, if any, to implement 
the recommendations of the National Academy of Public 
Administration.’’. 
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) The term ‘eligible institution’ means— 
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‘‘(A) an institution of higher education 
that is— 
‘‘(i) an institution described in section 
371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)); 
‘‘(ii) an institution described in sec-
tion 326(e)(1) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
1063b(e)(1)); 
‘‘(iii) a minority institution (as de-
fined in section 365 of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 1067k)) that has an enrollment of 
needy students (as defined in section 
312(d) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1058(d))); 
or 
‘‘(iv) an institution determined by the 
Secretary, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Education, to have a substantial 
enrollment of minority students who are el-
igible to receive Federal Pell Grants under 
subpart 1 of part A of title IV of such Act 
(20 U.S.C. 1070a et seq.); or 
‘‘(B) a consortium of institutions described 
in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(7) The term ‘digital network technology’ 
means computer and communications equipment and 
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software that facilitates the transmission of informa-
tion in a digital format. 
‘‘(8) The term ‘minority’ means an American 
Indian, Alaskan Native, Black (not of Hispanic ori-
gin), Hispanic (including persons of Mexican, Puerto 
Rican, Cuban, and Central or South American ori-
gin), or Pacific Islander individual. 
‘‘(9) The term ‘State’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
‘‘(10) The term ‘State educational agency’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 8101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801). 
‘‘(11) The term ‘institution of higher education’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 101 of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001). 
‘‘(12) The term ‘local educational agency’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 8101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801). 
‘‘(13) The term ‘broadband internet access 
service’ means a mass-market retail service by wire 
or radio that provides the capability to transmit data 
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to, and receive data from, all or substantially all 
internet endpoints, including any capabilities that 
are incidental to, and enable the operation of, the 
communications service, but excluding dial-up inter-
net access service. Such term also includes any serv-
ice the Commission finds to be providing a func-
tional equivalent of such service.’’. 
Æ 
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