I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5661 
To improve access by Indian tribes to support from the Schools and Libraries 
Universal Service Support program (E-rate) of the Federal Communica-
tions Commission, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 27, 2018 
Mr. BEN RAY LUJA´N of New Mexico (for himself and Mr. MULLIN) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce 
A BILL 
To improve access by Indian tribes to support from the 
Schools and Libraries Universal Service Support program 
(E-rate) of the Federal Communications Commission, 
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 ‘‘Tribal Connect Act 
of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF TRIBAL LIBRARIES AND QUALI-
FYING ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS FOR E-RATE 
SUPPORT. 
Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 254) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (h)(4), by inserting ‘‘, except 
as provided in subsection (m),’’ before ‘‘is a library 
or library consortium’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(m) ELIGIBILITY
OF
TRIBAL
LIBRARIES
AND 
QUALIFYING ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS FOR E-RATE SUP-
PORT.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘broadband Internet access 
service’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 8.2 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula-
tions, or any successor regulation; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘E-rate program’ means the 
universal service program for schools and li-
braries authorized under subsection (h)(1)(B), 
the rules of which are set forth under subpart 
F of part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regu-
lations (or any successor regulation), as author-
ized under subsection (h)(2)(A); 
‘‘(C) the term ‘E-rate support’ means uni-
versal service discounts on eligible services in 
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accordance with subpart F of part 54 of title 
47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc-
cessor regulation), as authorized under sub-
section (h)(2)(A); 
‘‘(D) the term ‘Indian tribe’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 20.1 of title 25, 
Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 
regulation; and 
‘‘(E) the term ‘qualifying anchor institu-
tion’ means a facility owned by an Indian tribe, 
including a tribal government building, chapter 
house, longhouse, community center, senior cen-
ter, or other similar public building. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY OF TRIBAL LIBRARIES FOR E- 
RATE SUPPORT.— 
‘‘(A) DESIGNATION OF TRIBAL LIBRARIES 
AS
LIBRARIES
ELIGIBLE
FOR
E-RATE
SUP-
PORT.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—An Indian tribe 
that is eligible for support under section 
261 of the Library Services and Tech-
nology Act (20 U.S.C. 9161) may des-
ignate a tribal library or tribal library con-
sortium as a library or consortium that is 
eligible for E-rate support, without regard 
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to whether the library or library consor-
tium is eligible for assistance from a State 
Library Administrative Agency under the 
Library Services and Technology Act (20 
U.S.C. 9121 et seq.), if the library or li-
brary consortium is eligible for support 
from an Indian tribe under such section 
261. 
‘‘(ii) 
RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.— 
Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed to 
exempt a tribal library from any require-
ment under the E-rate program not de-
scribed in that clause, including the other 
requirements relating to eligible recipients 
under section 54.501 of title 47, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or any successor reg-
ulation). 
‘‘(B) TRIBAL ANCHOR INSTITUTION PRO-
GRAM.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, 
in consultation with the Institute of Mu-
seum and Library Services and any other 
agency with relevant responsibilities, shall 
establish a program to be known as the 
‘Tribal Anchor Institution Program’, under 
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which the Commission shall provide E-rate 
support to Indian tribes for qualifying an-
chor institutions designated by the Indian 
tribes. 
‘‘(ii) ELIGIBILITY.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible 
to obtain E-rate support under this 
subparagraph, a tribal government 
shall not have an existing tribal li-
brary eligible for the Schools and Li-
braries Universal Service Support pro-
gram within the tribal community. 
‘‘(II) 
REQUIREMENTS.—E-rate 
support obtained under this subpara-
graph shall only be available for an 
Indian tribe if— 
‘‘(aa) the proposed quali-
fying anchor institution is exclu-
sively owned by the Indian tribe; 
and 
‘‘(bb) the proposed quali-
fying anchor institution intends 
to deliver publicly available Inter-
net access to students, teachers, 
librarians, and members of the 
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community for educational pur-
poses. 
‘‘(III) 
RULE
OF
CONSTRUC-
TION.—Nothing in this clause shall be 
construed to provide the Commission 
with the authority to modify the eligi-
bility requirements described in this 
clause. 
‘‘(iii) USE
OF
CONTRIBUTIONS.—Of 
the amount collected for the Universal 
Service 
Fund 
under 
subsection 
(d), 
$20,000,000 shall be made available for 
each of the first 5 fiscal years beginning 
after the date of enactment of the Tribal 
Connect Act of 2018 to the Commission to 
carry out this paragraph. 
‘‘(3) TRAINING
AND
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE 
FOR TRIBAL SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES.— 
‘‘(A) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Commission 
shall direct the Administrator of the Schools 
and Libraries Universal Service Support pro-
gram to submit an annual report to the Com-
mission regarding the actions of the Schools 
and Libraries Universal Service Support pro-
gram to ensure that tribal schools and libraries 
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can participate fully and effectively in the E- 
rate program, including— 
‘‘(i) outreach efforts targeted to tribal 
schools and libraries to promote awareness 
of the E-rate program; 
‘‘(ii) specific E-rate training programs 
for tribal schools and libraries; and 
‘‘(iii) other technical assistance initia-
tives regarding the program’s application 
process that are available to tribal schools 
and libraries. 
‘‘(B) REVIEW OF ANNUAL REPORTS.—The 
Commission shall review each annual report re-
quired under subparagraph (A) to determine 
whether additional steps are necessary to en-
sure that tribal schools and libraries can par-
ticipate fully and effectively in the E-rate pro-
gram. 
‘‘(4) COORDINATION AND PERFORMANCE MEAS-
UREMENT.—The Commission shall— 
‘‘(A) improve the reliability of the data of 
the Commission relating to institutions that re-
ceive E-rate support by defining the term ‘trib-
al’ on the application for E-rate support; and 
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