‘‘(A) an area in which at least 40 percent 
of the population does not have access to 
broadband service, unless the value of the as-
sets of the applicant not pledged or hypoth-
ecated for any other purpose equals at least 10 
percent of the principal amount of the loan 
which is the subject of the application; or 
‘‘(B) any other area, unless value of the 
assets referred to in subparagraph (A) equals 
at least 15 percent of the principal amount of 
the loan involved.’’. 
(b) REDUCTION IN APPLICATION PAPERWORK.—Sec-
tion 601(c) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 950bb(c)), as amended 
by subsection (a) of this section, is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The Secretary 
shall take such steps as are necessary to reduce the 
paperwork required of applicants under this sec-
tion.’’. 
(c) OUTREACH.—Section 601 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
950bb) is amended by redesignating subsections (i) 
through (k) as subsection (j) through (l), respectively, and 
inserting after subsection (h) the following: 
‘‘(i) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall conduct out-
reach designed to inform the population of areas in which 
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there is no or limited broadband service of the program 
carried out under this section.’’. 
SEC. 4. BAN ON LOAN OR LOAN GUARANTEE FOR NEW 
BROADBAND SERVICE IN COMMUNITY WITH 
SEVERAL SERVICE PROVIDERS. 
Section 601(c) of the Rural Electrification Act of 
1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(c)), as amended by section 3 of this 
Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) BAN ON LOAN OR LOAN GUARANTEE FOR 
NEW BROADBAND SERVICE IN COMMUNITY WITH 3 
OR MORE SERVICE PROVIDERS.—The Secreary shall 
not approve an application for a loan or loan guar-
antee under this section for the provision of new 
broadband service to an eligible rural community in 
which the service is provided by 3 or more entities.’’. 
SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY 
BASED ON NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBER LINES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 601(d) of the Rural Elec-
trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(d)) is amended 
by striking paragraph (3). 
(b) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNTS MADE AVAILABLE 
FOR ENTITIES WITH VARIOUS SHARES OF INSTALLED 
TELEPHONE SUSCRIBER LINES.—Section 601(k) of such 
Act (7 U.S.C. 950bb(k)), as so redesignated by section 
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3(c) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(5) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNTS MADE AVAIL-
ABLE FOR ENTITIES WITH VARIOUS SHARES OF IN-
STALLED TELEPHONE SUSCRIBER LINES.— 
‘‘(A) Not more than 10 percent of the 
amounts made available for each fiscal year 
under this subsection may be used to provide 
loans or loan guarantees to entities with more 
than 10 percent of the telephone subscriber 
lines installed in the aggregate in the United 
States. 
‘‘(B) Not more than 40 percent of the 
amounts made available for each fiscal year 
under this subsection may be used to provide 
loans or loan guarantees to entities with not 
less than 2 percent and not more than 10 per-
cent of the telephone subscriber lines installed 
in the aggregate in the United States.’’. 
SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON TERM OF LOANS AND LOAN GUAR-
ANTEES. 
Section 601(g)(2) of the Rural Electrification Act of 
1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(g)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 
useful life of the assets constructed, improved, or acquired 
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with the proceeds of the loan or extension of credit’’ and 
inserting ‘‘35 years’’. 
SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 
(7 U.S.C. 950bb), as amended by section 3(c) of this Act, 
is amended by redesignating subsections (k) and (l) as 
subsection (l) and (m), respectively, and inserting after 
subsection (j) the following: 
‘‘(k) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than October 1 
of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 
on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
Senate a report on the status of the program under this 
section, which shall include, with respect to the period cov-
ered by the report— 
‘‘(1) the number of applications submitted pur-
suant to this section; 
‘‘(2) the number of the applications that were 
approved; 
‘‘(3) the identity of the communities served by 
the applicants with approved applications; 
‘‘(4) the type of services offered by applicants 
for, and recipients of, loans or loan guarantees 
under this section; 
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