I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1841 
To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information to establish a State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 11, 2021 
Mr. MCNERNEY (for himself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, and Mr. TORRES of 
New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu-
nications and Information to establish a State Digital 
Equity Capacity Grant 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 ‘‘Digital Equity Act of 
2021’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADOPTION
OF
BROADBAND.—The term 
‘‘adoption of broadband’’ means the process by 
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(A) the Committee on Appropriations of 
the Senate; 
(B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate; 
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives; and 
(D) the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives. 
(5) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Communications and Information. 
(6) COMMUNITY
ANCHOR
INSTITUTION.—The 
term ‘‘community anchor institution’’ means a pub-
lic school, a library, a medical or healthcare pro-
vider, a community college or other institution of 
higher education, a State library agency, and any 
other nonprofit or governmental community support 
organization. 
(7) COVERED HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘covered 
household’’ means a household, the taxable income 
of which for the most recently completed taxable 
year is not more than 150 percent of an amount 
equal to the poverty level, as determined by using 
criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the 
Census. 
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(8) COVERED POPULATIONS.—The term ‘‘cov-
ered populations’’ means— 
(A) individuals who live in covered house-
holds; 
(B) aging individuals; 
(C) incarcerated individuals, other than in-
dividuals who are incarcerated in a Federal cor-
rectional facility; 
(D) veterans; 
(E) individuals with disabilities; 
(F) individuals with a language barrier, in-
cluding individuals who— 
(i) are English learners; and 
(ii) have low levels of literacy; 
(G) individuals who are members of a ra-
cial or ethnic minority group; and 
(H) individuals who primarily reside in a 
rural area. 
(9) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘covered 
programs’’ means the State Digital Equity Capacity 
Grant Program established under section 4 and the 
Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program estab-
lished under section 5. 
(10) DIGITAL EQUITY.—The term ‘‘digital eq-
uity’’ means the condition in which individuals and 
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communities have the information technology capac-
ity that is needed for full participation in the society 
and economy of the United States. 
(11) DIGITAL INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘digital 
inclusion’’— 
(A) means the activities that are necessary 
to ensure that all individuals in the United 
States have access to, and the use of, affordable 
information and communication technologies, 
such as— 
(i) reliable broadband internet service; 
(ii) internet-enabled devices that meet 
the needs of the user; and 
(iii) applications and online content 
designed to enable and encourage self-suf-
ficiency, participation, and collaboration; 
and 
(B) includes— 
(i) obtaining access to digital literacy 
training; 
(ii) the provision of quality technical 
support; and 
(iii) obtaining basic awareness of 
measures to ensure online privacy and cy-
bersecurity. 
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(12) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit-
eracy’’ means the skills associated with using tech-
nology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, 
create, and communicate information. 
(13) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has 
the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12102). 
(14) ELIGIBLE
STATE.—The term ‘‘eligible 
State’’ means— 
(A) with respect to planning grants made 
available under section 4(c)(3), a State with re-
spect to which the Assistant Secretary has ap-
proved an application submitted to the Assist-
ant Secretary under section 4(c)(3)(C); and 
(B) with respect to capacity grants award-
ed under section 4(d), a State with respect to 
which the Assistant Secretary has approved an 
application submitted to the Assistant Secretary 
under section 4(d)(2), including approval of the 
State Digital Equity Plan developed by the 
State under section 4(c). 
(15) GENDER
IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 
identity’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
249(c) of title 18, United States Code. 
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(16) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 4(e) of 
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist-
ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 
(17) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’— 
(A) has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1001); and 
(B) includes a postsecondary vocational in-
stitution. 
(18) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 8101(30) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801(30)). 
(19) POSTSECONDARY
VOCATIONAL
INSTITU-
TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary vocational institu-
tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1002(c)). 
(20) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has 
the meaning given the term in section 601(b)(3) of 
the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 
950bb(b)(3)). 
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(21) SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVAN-
TAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term ‘‘so-
cially and economically disadvantaged small business 
concern’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
8(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
637(a)(4)). 
(22) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 
(A) any State of the United States; 
(B) the District of Columbia; and 
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
(23) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 
United States Code. 
(24) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 
The term ‘‘workforce development program’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 3 of the Work-
force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
3102). 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) a broadband connection and digital literacy 
are increasingly critical to how individuals— 
(A) participate in the society, economy, 
and civic institutions of the United States; and 
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(B) access health care and essential serv-
ices, obtain education, and build careers; 
(2) digital exclusion— 
(A) carries a high societal and economic 
cost; 
(B) materially harms the opportunity of an 
individual with respect to the economic success, 
educational achievement, positive health out-
comes, social inclusion, and civic engagement of 
that individual; and 
(C) exacerbates existing wealth and income 
gaps, especially those experienced by covered 
populations; 
(3) achieving digital equity for all people of the 
United States requires additional and sustained in-
vestment and research efforts; 
(4) the Federal Government, as well as State, 
tribal, territorial, and local governments, have made 
social, legal, and economic obligations that nec-
essarily extend to how the citizens and residents of 
those governments access and use the internet; and 
(5) achieving digital equity is a matter of social 
and economic justice and is worth pursuing. 
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SEC. 4. STATE DIGITAL EQUITY CAPACITY GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 
shall establish in the Department of Commerce the 
State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Program’’)— 
(A) the purpose of which is to promote the 
achievement of digital equity, support digital in-
clusion activities, and build capacity for efforts 
by States relating to the adoption of broadband 
by residents of those States; 
(B) through which the Assistant Secretary 
shall make grants to States in accordance with 
the requirements of this section; and 
(C) which shall ensure that States have the 
capacity to promote the achievement of digital 
equity and support digital inclusion activities. 
(2) CONSULTATION
WITH
OTHER
FEDERAL 
AGENCIES; NO CONFLICT.—In establishing the Pro-
gram under paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary 
shall— 
(A) consult with— 
(i) the Secretary of Agriculture; 
(ii) the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development; 
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(iii) the Secretary of Education; 
(iv) the Secretary of Labor; 
(v) the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services; 
(vi) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 
(vii) the Secretary of the Interior; 
(viii) the Federal Communications 
Commission; 
(ix) the Federal Trade Commission; 
(x) the Director of the Institute of 
Museum and Library Services; 
(xi) the Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration; 
(xii) the Federal Cochairman of the 
Appalachian Regional Commission; and 
(xiii) the head of any other agency 
that the Assistant Secretary determines to 
be appropriate; and 
(B) ensure that the Program complements 
and enhances, and does not conflict with, other 
Federal broadband initiatives and programs. 
(b) ADMINISTERING ENTITY.— 
(1) SELECTION; FUNCTION.—The governor (or 
equivalent official) of a State that wishes to be 
awarded a grant under this section shall, from 
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among entities that are eligible under paragraph (2), 
select an administering entity for that State, which 
shall— 
(A) serve as the recipient of, and admin-
istering agent for, any grant awarded to the 
State under this section; 
(B) develop, implement, and oversee the 
State Digital Equity Plan for the State de-
scribed in subsection (c); 
(C) make subgrants to any entity described 
in subsection (c)(1)(D) that is located in the 
State in support of— 
(i) the State Digital Equity Plan for 
the State; and 
(ii) digital inclusion activities in the 
State generally; and 
(D) serve as— 
(i) an advocate for digital equity pol-
icy and digital inclusion activities; and 
(ii) a repository of best practice mate-
rials regarding the policies and activities 
described in clause (i). 
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Any of the following 
entities may serve as the administering entity for a 
State for the purposes of this section if the entity 
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has demonstrated a capacity to administer the Pro-
gram on a statewide level: 
(A) The State, a political subdivision, 
agency, or instrumentality of the State, an In-
dian tribe located in the State, an Alaska Na-
tive entity located in the State, or a Native Ha-
waiian organization located in the State. 
(B) A foundation, corporation, institution, 
association, or coalition that is— 
(i) a not-for-profit entity; 
(ii) located in the State; and 
(iii) not a school. 
(C) A community anchor institution, other 
than a school, that is located in the State. 
(D) A local educational agency that is lo-
cated in the State. 
(E) An entity located in the State that car-
ries out a workforce development program. 
(F) An agency of the State that is respon-
sible for administering or supervising adult edu-
cation and literacy activities in the State. 
(G) A public housing authority that is lo-
cated in the State. 
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(H) A partnership between any of the enti-
ties described in subparagraphs (A) through 
(G). 
(c) STATE DIGITAL EQUITY PLAN.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT; CONTENTS.—A State that 
wishes to be awarded a grant under subsection (d) 
shall develop a State Digital Equity Plan for the 
State, which shall include— 
(A) the identification of the barriers to dig-
ital equity faced by covered populations in the 
State; 
(B) measurable objectives for documenting 
and promoting, among each group described in 
subparagraphs (A) through (H) of section 2(8) 
located in that State— 
(i) the availability of, and affordability 
of access to, broadband technology; 
(ii) 
the 
online 
accessibility 
and 
inclusivity of public resources and services; 
(iii) digital literacy; 
(iv) awareness of, and the use of, 
measures to secure the online privacy of, 
and cybersecurity with respect to, an indi-
vidual; and 
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than 20 percent of the amount of the 
grant for the purpose described in sub-
clause (I). 
(ii) To implement the State Digital 
Equity Plan of the State. 
(iii)(I) Subject to subclause (II), to 
award a grant to any entity that is de-
scribed in section 5(b) and is located in the 
eligible State in order to— 
(aa) assist in the implementation 
of the State Digital Equity Plan of 
the State; 
(bb) pursue digital inclusion ac-
tivities in the State consistent with 
the State Digital Equity Plan of the 
State; and 
(cc) report to the State regarding 
the digital inclusion activities of the 
entity. 
(II) Before an administering entity 
for an eligible State may award a grant 
under subclause (I), the administering en-
tity shall require the entity to which the 
grant is awarded to certify that— 
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