I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4227 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish the ReConnect 
program under that Act, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 20, 2023 
Mr. NUNN of Iowa (for himself, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. SORENSEN, 
Mr. BOST, Mr. MOLINARO, Ms. CARAVEO, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, 
Mr. KILMER, Mr. COSTA, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. TRONE, Ms. BUDZINSKI, 
Mr. MOOLENAAR, and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 
Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Appropriations, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish 
the ReConnect program under that Act, 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 ‘‘ReConnecting Rural 
America Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 601 of the Rural Elec-
trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (a) through (f) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 
provide assistance in the form of grants, loans, and com-
binations of grants and loans for the costs of the construc-
tion, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equip-
ment for broadband service in rural areas. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) 
BROADBAND
SERVICE.—The 
term 
‘broadband service’ means any technology identified 
by the Secretary as having the capacity to transmit 
data to enable a subscriber to the service to origi-
nate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, 
and video. 
‘‘(2) RURAL AREA.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘rural area’ 
means any area other than— 
‘‘(i) an area described in clause (i) or 
(ii) of section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Con-
solidated Farm and Rural Development 
Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)); and 
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‘‘(ii) a city, town, or incorporated area 
that has a population of greater than 
20,000 inhabitants. 
‘‘(B) URBAN
AREA
GROWTH.—The Sec-
retary may, by regulation only, consider an area 
described in section 343(a)(13)(F)(i)(I) of that 
Act to not be a rural area for purposes of this 
section. 
‘‘(C) EXCLUSION
OF
CERTAIN
POPU-
LATIONS.—The term ‘rural area’ does not in-
clude any population described in subparagraph 
(H) or (I) of section 343(a)(13) of the Consoli-
dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 
U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)). 
‘‘(c) GRANTS, LOANS, AND COMBINATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 
grants, loans, and combinations of grants and loans 
to eligible entities described in subsection (d) to pro-
vide funds for the construction, improvement, or ac-
quisition of facilities and equipment for the provision 
of broadband service in rural areas. 
‘‘(2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for 
a grant, loan, or grant and loan combination under 
paragraph (1), in addition to the requirements of 
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subsection (d), the project that is the subject of the 
grant, loan, or grant and loan combination shall— 
‘‘(A) provide broadband service of at 
least— 
‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans-
mission capacity; and 
‘‘(ii) a 100–Mbps upstream trans-
mission capacity; and 
‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (4), be carried 
out in a proposed service territory in which at 
least 75 percent of the households lack access 
to broadband service of at least— 
‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans-
mission capacity; and 
‘‘(ii) a 20–Mbps upstream trans-
mission capacity. 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making grants, loans, and 
grant and loan combinations under paragraph (1), 
the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) shall give priority to applications for 
projects to provide broadband service in a pro-
posed service territory in which at least 90 per-
cent of households lack access to broadband 
service of at least— 
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‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans-
mission capacity; and 
‘‘(ii) a 20–Mbps upstream trans-
mission capacity; and 
‘‘(B) may give priority to applications for 
projects to provide broadband service— 
‘‘(i) in proposed service territories— 
‘‘(I) with a population of less 
than 10,000 permanent residents; 
‘‘(II) that are experiencing out-
migration and have adopted a stra-
tegic 
community 
investment 
plan 
under section 379H(d) of the Consoli-
dated Farm and Rural Development 
Act (7 U.S.C. 2008v(d)) that includes 
considerations for improving and ex-
panding broadband service; 
‘‘(III) with a high percentage of 
low income families or persons (as de-
fined in section 501(b) of the Housing 
Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471(b)); or 
‘‘(IV) that are isolated from 
other significant population centers; 
‘‘(ii) that would ensure that all labor-
ers and mechanics employed by contractors 
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or subcontractors on the construction work 
performed on projects financed, in whole or 
in part, with the grant, loan, or grant and 
loan combination shall be paid wages at 
rates not less than those prevailing on 
similar construction in the immediate local-
ity as determined by the Secretary of 
Labor in accordance with sections 3141 
through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, 
United States Code; 
‘‘(iii) that would provide rapid and ex-
panded deployment of fixed and mobile 
broadband service on cropland and ranch-
land within the service territory for use in 
various applications of precision agri-
culture; or 
‘‘(iv) submitted by an eligible entity 
that has provided broadband service or 
other utility service for not less than 5 
years in rural areas in the State in which 
the project would be carried out. 
‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT- 
ONLY AWARDS.—To be eligible for assistance under 
paragraph (1) in the form of a grant only, in addi-
tion to the requirements of subsection (d)— 
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‘‘(A) an entity shall be— 
‘‘(i) a Tribal organization (as defined 
in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina-
tion and Education Assistance Act (25 
U.S.C. 5304)); 
‘‘(ii) a colonia; 
‘‘(iii) a persistent poverty county, as 
determined by the Secretary; or 
‘‘(iv) a socially vulnerable community, 
as determined by the Secretary; or 
‘‘(B) the project that is the subject of the 
grant shall be carried out in a proposed service 
territory in which at least 90 percent of house-
holds lack access to broadband service of at 
least— 
‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans-
mission capacity; and 
‘‘(ii) a 20–Mbps upstream trans-
mission capacity. 
‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.— 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to ob-
tain a grant, loan, or grant and loan combina-
tion under subsection (c), an entity shall— 
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‘‘(i) submit to the Secretary an appli-
cation at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Sec-
retary may require; 
‘‘(ii) agree to complete buildout of the 
broadband infrastructure described in the 
application by not later than 5 years after 
the initial date on which assistance under 
subsection (c) is made available; and 
‘‘(iii) participate or agree to partici-
pate in— 
‘‘(I) the Affordable Connectivity 
Program established under section 
904(b) of division N of the Consoli-
dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 
U.S.C. 1752(b)); 
‘‘(II) the Lifeline program under 
subpart E of part 54 of title 47, Code 
of Federal Regulations (or any suc-
cessor regulation); or 
‘‘(III) 
any 
successor 
Federal 
internet affordability assistance pro-
gram. 
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‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—An entity eligible to 
obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com-
bination under subsection (c) may include— 
‘‘(i) a State or local government, in-
cluding any agency, subdivision, instru-
mentality, or political subdivision of a 
State or local government; 
‘‘(ii) a territory or possession of the 
United States; 
‘‘(iii) an Indian Tribe (as defined in 
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 
and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
5304)); 
‘‘(iv) a cooperative or mutual organi-
zation; 
‘‘(v) an organization of 2 or more in-
corporated areas that have established an 
intermunicipal legal agreement for the pur-
pose of delivering communication services 
to residents; 
‘‘(vi) a corporation; and 
‘‘(vii) a limited liability company or 
limited liability partnership. 
‘‘(C) INELIGIBLE
ENTITIES.—An indi-
vidual or legal general partnership that is 
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formed with individuals shall not be eligible to 
obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com-
bination under subsection (c). 
‘‘(D) LIMITATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 
described in this paragraph that provides 
telecommunications or broadband service 
to at least 20 percent of the households in 
the United States may not receive an 
amount of funds under this section for a 
fiscal year in excess of 15 percent of the 
funds authorized and appropriated under 
subsection (i) for the fiscal year. 
‘‘(ii) STATES
AND
STATE
AGENCIES 
AND INSTRUMENTALITIES.—A State or an 
agency or instrumentality of a State may 
not, in total, receive an amount of funds 
under this section for a fiscal year in ex-
cess of 15 percent of the funds authorized 
and appropriated under subsection (i) for 
the fiscal year. 
‘‘(E) PREVIOUS
AWARDS.—An entity to 
which a grant, loan, or grant and loan combina-
tion is made under subsection (c) shall not use 
the grant, loan, or grant and loan combination 
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