I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2847
To encourage the deployment of broadband telecommunications in rural
America, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 6, 2001
Mr. BOSWELL (for himself and Mr. OSBORNE) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to
the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Edu-
cation and the Workforce, 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 encourage the deployment of broadband
telecommunications in rural America, 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 ‘‘Rural America Tech-
nology Enhancement Act of 2001’’.
TITLE I—RURAL TELEWORK
SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) many rural communities and Indian res-
ervations have not benefited from the historic eco-
nomic expansion in recent years, and high levels of
unemployment and underemployment persist in the
rural communities and reservations;
(2) many economic opportunities, especially in
information technology fields, are located away from
many rural communities and reservations;
(3) the United States has a significant and
growing need for skilled information technology
workers;
(4) unemployed and underemployed rural em-
ployees represent a potential workforce to fill infor-
mation technology jobs;
(5) teleworking allows rural employees to per-
form skill intensive information technology jobs from
their communities for firms located outside rural
communities; and
(6) employing a rural teleworkforce in informa-
tion technology fields will require—
(A) employers that are willing to hire rural
residents or contract for work to be performed
in rural communities;
(B) recruitment and training of rural resi-
dents appropriate for work in information tech-
nology fields;
(C) means of connecting employers with
employees 
through 
advanced 
telecommuni-
cations services; and
(D) innovative approaches and collabo-
rative models to create rural technology busi-
ness opportunities and facilitate the employ-
ment of rural individuals.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to
make competitive grants to establish National Cen-
ters for Distance Working in rural areas to provide
assistance to individuals in rural communities to
support the use of teleworking in information tech-
nology fields;
(2) to promote teleworking arrangements, small
electronic business development, and creation of in-
formation technology jobs in rural areas for the pur-
pose of creating sustainable economic opportunities
in rural communities;
(3) to promote the practice of teleworking to in-
formation technology jobs among rural, urban, and
suburban residents, Indian tribes, job training and
workforce development providers, educators, and em-
ployers;
(4) to meet the needs of information technology
and other industries for skilled employees by accel-
erating the training and hiring of rural employees to
fill existing and future jobs from rural communities
and Indian reservations;
(5) to promote teleworking and small electronic
business as sustainable income sources for rural
communities and Indian tribes; and
(6) to study, collect information, and develop
best practices for rural teleworking employment
practices.
SEC. 102. NATIONAL CENTERS FOR DISTANCE WORKING
PROGRAM.
Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1981 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 376. NATIONAL CENTERS FOR DISTANCE WORKING
PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) CENTER.—The term ‘Center’ means a Na-
tional Center for Distance Working established
under subsection (b) that receives a grant under this
section.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘eli-
gible organization’ means a nonprofit entity, an edu-
cational institution, a tribal government, or any
other organization that meets the requirements of
this section and such other requirements as are es-
tablished by the Secretary.
‘‘(3) INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY.—The term
‘information technology’ means any equipment, or
interconnected system or subsystem of equipment,
that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage,
manipulation, management, movement, control, dis-
play, switching, interchange, transmission, or recep-
tion of data or information, including a computer,
ancillary equipment, software, firmware and similar
procedures, services (including support services), and
related resources.
‘‘(4) RURAL
AREA.—The terms ‘rural’ and
‘rural area’ have the meaning given the terms in sec-
tion 381A.
‘‘(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means
the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of
the Rural Utilities Service.
‘‘(6) TELEWORKING.—The term ‘teleworking’
means the use of telecommunications to perform
work functions over a distance and to reduce or
eliminate the need to perform work at a traditional
worksite.
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a National Centers for Distance Working Pro-
gram under which the Secretary shall make competi-
tive grants to eligible organizations to pay the Fed-
eral share of the cost of establishing National Cen-
ters for Distance Working in rural areas to conduct
projects in accordance with subsection (c).
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The Secretary
shall establish criteria that an organization must
meet to be eligible to receive a grant under this sec-
tion.
‘‘(c) PROJECTS.—A Center shall use a grant received
under this section to conduct a 5-year project—
‘‘(1) to provide training, referral, assessment,
and employment-related services and assistance to
individuals in rural communities and Indian tribes to
support the use of teleworking in information tech-
nology fields, including services and assistance re-
lated to high technology training, telecommuni-
cations infrastructure, capital equipment, job place-
ment services, and other means of promoting tele-
working;
‘‘(2) to identify skills that are needed by the
business community and that will enable trainees to
secure employment after the completion of training;
‘‘(3) to recruit employers for rural individuals
and residents of Indian reservations;
‘‘(4) to provide for high-speed communications
between the individuals in the targeted rural com-
munity or reservation and employers that carry out
information technology work that is suitable for tele-
working;
‘‘(5) to provide for access to or ownership of
the facilities, hardware, software, and other equip-
ment necessary to perform information technology
jobs; and
‘‘(6) to perform such other functions as the
Secretary considers appropriate.
‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—
‘‘(1) APPLICATION AND PLAN.—As a condition
of receiving a grant under this section for use with
respect to a rural area, an organization shall submit
to the Secretary, and obtain the approval of the Sec-
retary of, an application and 5-year plan for the use
of the grant to carry out a project described in sub-
section (c), including a description of—
‘‘(A) the businesses and employers that
will provide employment opportunities in the
rural area;
‘‘(B) fundraising strategies;
‘‘(C) training and training delivery meth-
ods to be employed;
‘‘(D) the rural community of individuals to
be targeted to receive assistance;
‘‘(E) any support from State and local gov-
ernments and other non-Federal sources; and
‘‘(F) outreach activities to be carried out
to reach potential information technology em-
ployers.
‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re-
ceiving a grant under this section, an organiza-
tion shall agree to obtain, after the application
of the organization has been approved and no-
tice of award has been issued, contributions
from non-Federal sources that are equal to—
‘‘(i) during each of the first, second,
and third years of a project, 1 non-Federal
dollar for each 2 Federal dollars provided
under the grant; and
‘‘(ii) during each of the fourth and
fifth years of the project, 1 non-Federal
dollar for each Federal dollar provided
under the grant.
‘‘(B) INDIAN
TRIBES.—Notwithstanding
subparagraph (A), an Indian tribe may use
Federal funds made available to the tribe for
self-governance to pay the non-Federal con-
tributions required under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(C) FORM.—The non-Federal contribu-
tions required under subparagraph (A) may be
in the form of in-kind contributions, including
office equipment, office space, and services.
‘‘(e) SELECTION CRITERIA.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) establish criteria for the selection of
eligible organizations to receive grants under
this section; and
‘‘(B) evaluate, rank, and select eligible or-
ganizations on the basis of the selection cri-
teria.
‘‘(2) FACTORS.—The selection criteria estab-
lished under paragraph (1) shall include—
‘‘(A) the experience of the eligible organi-
zation in conducting programs or ongoing ef-
forts designed to improve or upgrade the skills
of rural employees or members of Indian tribes;
‘‘(B) the ability of the eligible organization
to initiate a project within a minimum period of
time;
‘‘(C) the ability and experience of the eligi-
ble organization in providing training to rural
individuals who are economically disadvantaged
or who face significant barriers to employment;
‘‘(D) the ability and experience of the eligi-
ble organization in conducting information tech-
nology skill training;
‘‘(E) the degree to which the eligible orga-
nization has entered into partnerships or con-
tracts with local, tribal, and State governments,
community-based organizations, and prospective
employers to provide training, employment, and
supportive services;
‘‘(F) the ability and experience of the eligi-
ble organization in providing job placement for
rural employees with employers that are suit-
able for teleworking;
‘‘(G) the computer and telecommunications
equipment that the eligible organization has or
expects to possess or use under contract on ini-
tiation of the project; and
‘‘(H) the means the applicant proposes,
such as high-speed Internet access, to allow
communication between rural employees and
employers.
‘‘(3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) publish the selection criteria estab-
lished under this subsection in the Federal Reg-
ister; and
‘‘(B) include a description of the selection
criteria in any solicitation for applications for
grants made by the Secretary.
‘‘(f) STUDIES OF TELEWORKING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To promote the develop-
ment of teleworking in rural areas, the Secretary
may make grants to entities to conduct research on
economic, operational, social, and policy issues relat-
ing to teleworking in rural areas, including the de-
velopment of best practices for businesses that em-
ploy teleworkers.
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall use not
more than $1,000,000 of funds made available for a
fiscal year under subsection (g) to carry out this
subsection.
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.—There is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
$11,000,000 for each fiscal year.’’.
TITLE 
II—RURAL 
TELE-
COMMUNICATIONS 
MOD-
ERNIZATION
SEC. 201. CREDIT FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AREAS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 46(a) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 (relating to amount of investment cred-
it) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(2), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3)
and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(4) the rural telecommunications facilities
credit.’’
(b) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.—Subpart E of part IV of
subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 (relating to rules for computing investment credit)
is amended by inserting after section 47 the following:
‘‘SEC. 
47A. 
RURAL 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
FACILITIES
CREDIT.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 46, the
rural telecommunications facilities credit for any taxable
year is an amount equal to the applicable percentage of
the qualified broadband local access facilities expenditures
for such taxable year.
‘‘(b) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For purposes of
subsection (a), the applicable percentage in the case of
qualified broadband local access facilities expenditures in
connection with—
‘‘(1) broadband telecommunications facilities, is
10 percent, and
‘‘(2) enhanced broadband telecommunications
facilities, is 15 percent.
‘‘(c) QUALIFIED BROADBAND LOCAL ACCESS FACILI-
TIES EXPENDITURE.—For purposes of this section, the
term ‘qualified broadband local access facilities expendi-
ture’ means any expenditure—
‘‘(1) chargeable to capital account—
‘‘(A) for property for which depreciation is
allowable under section 168, and
‘‘(B) 
incurred 
in 
connection 
with
broadband telecommunications facilities or en-
hanced broadband telecommunications facilities
serving rural subscribers, and
‘‘(2) incurred during the period—
‘‘(A) beginning with the taxpayer’s (or any
predecessor’s) first taxable year beginning after
the date of the enactment of this section, and
‘‘(B) ending with the taxpayer’s (or any
predecessor’s) third taxable year beginning
after such date.
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—For pur-
poses of this section—
‘‘(1) BROADBAND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FA-
CILITIES.—The term ‘broadband telecommunications
facilities’ means broadband local access facilities ca-
pable of—
‘‘(A) transmitting voice, and
‘‘(B) downloading data at a rate of 1.5
megabits of data per second and uploading data
at a rate of 0.5 megabits of data per second.
‘‘(2) ENHANCED
BROADBAND
TELECOMMUNI-
CATIONS
FACILITIES.—The 
term 
‘enhanced
broadband telecommunications facilities’ means the
broadband local access facilities capable of—
‘‘(A) transmitting voice, and
‘‘(B) downloading and uploading data at a
rate of 10 megabits of data per second.
‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF BROADBAND LOCAL
ACCESS
FACILITIES.—Broadband 
local 
access
facilities—
‘‘(A) begin at the switching point closest to
the rural subscriber, which is—
‘‘(i) the subscriber side of the nearest
switching facility in the case of local ex-
change carriers,
‘‘(ii) the subscriber side of the
headend or the node in the case of cable
television operators, and
‘‘(iii) the subscriber side of the trans-
mission and reception facilities in the case
of a wireless or satellite carrier,
‘‘(B) end at the interface between the net-
work and the rural subscriber’s location, and
‘‘(C) do not include any switching facility.
‘‘(4) RURAL
SUBSCRIBER.—The term ‘rural
subscriber’ means a subscriber who lives in an incor-
porated or unincorporated place which is not located
in an area designated as a Metropolitan Area by the
Office of Management and Budget.’’.
(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR MUTUAL OR COOPERATIVE
TELEPHONE COMPANIES.—Section 501(c)(12)(B) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to list of exempt
organizations) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of
clause (iii), by striking the period at the end of clause (iv)
and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new clause:
‘‘(v) which is not described in sub-
paragraph (A), in an amount which does
not exceed in any year an amount equal to
the applicable percentage of the qualified
broadband local access facilities expendi-
tures (as determined in section 47A) of the
mutual or cooperative telephone company
for such year.’’
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subpart E of part IV of subchapter A of chapter
1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 47 the fol-
lowing:
‘‘Sec. 47A. Rural telecommunications facilities credit.’’
(e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amendments made by this section
shall apply to expenditures incurred after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(2) SPECIAL RULE.—The amendments made by
subsection (c) shall apply to amounts received after
the date of the enactment of this Act.