I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5213 
To prohibit the Rural Utilities Service from providing assistance for the 
provision of broadband service with a download speed of less than 25 
megabits per second or an upload speed of less than 3 megabits per 
second, and clarify the broadband loan and loan guarantee authority 
provided in section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 8, 2018 
Mrs. HARTZLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prohibit the Rural Utilities Service from providing assist-
ance for the provision of broadband service with a 
download speed of less than 25 megabits per second 
or an upload speed of less than 3 megabits per second, 
and clarify the broadband loan and loan guarantee au-
thority provided in section 601 of the Rural Electrifica-
tion Act of 1936, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Rural Ac-
cess to Broadband Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIRED MINIMUM SPEED OF BROADBAND 
INTERNET 
ACCESS 
SERVICE 
FOR 
RURAL 
UTILITIES SERVICE BROADBAND INTERNET 
ACCESS SERVICE DEPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—The Rural Utilities Service may 
not, under section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 
1936, the Community Connect Broadband Grant Pro-
gram, the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan and 
Loan Guarantee Program, or the Distance Learning and 
Telemedicine Program, provide assistance for the provi-
sion of broadband service (as defined in section 601(b)(1) 
of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936) with a download 
speed of less than 25 megabits per second or an upload 
speed of less than 3 megabits per second. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 601(e)(1) 
of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 
950bb(e)(1)) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘4’’ and 
inserting ‘‘25’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘1’’ and 
inserting ‘‘3’’. 
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SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF BROADBAND LOAN AND LOAN 
GUARANTEE AUTHORITY. 
Section 601(c)(1) of the Rural Electrification Act of 
1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(c)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘make or guarantee loans’’ and inserting ‘‘shall make 
loans and shall guarantee loans’’. 
SEC. 4. REPORT. 
Within 12 months after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Serv-
ice (in this section referred to as the ‘‘RUS’’) shall submit 
to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry of the Senate a written report on the effec-
tiveness of RUS loan and loan guarantee programs for 
the purpose of expanding broadband to rural areas (as de-
fined in RUS regulations), which shall— 
(1) identify administrative and legislative op-
tions for incentivizing private investment by utilizing 
RUS loan guarantee programs for the purpose of ex-
panding broadband to rural areas; 
(2) evaluate the existing borrower and lending 
guidelines for RUS loan and loan guarantee appli-
cants to incentivize participation in both programs; 
and 
(3) evaluate the loan and loan guarantee appli-
cation processes for lenders and borrowers by elimi-
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nating burdensome and unnecessary steps in the ap-
plication process and providing a more streamlined 
process to decrease the complexity of the application 
and the timeline from application to approval or de-
nial. 
Æ 
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