I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6491 
To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to 
provide for a high-speed broadband deployment initiative. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 14, 2020 
Mr. GRAVES of Missouri (for himself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Works and Economic Development 
Act of 1965 to provide for a high-speed broadband de-
ployment initiative. 
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 ‘‘Eliminating Barriers 
to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility Act’’ or 
the ‘‘E-BRIDGE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT INITIA-
TIVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Public Works and 
Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 219. HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT INITIA-
TIVE. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) BROADBAND PROJECT.—The term ‘broad-
band project’ means— 
‘‘(A) planning, technical assistance, or 
training; 
‘‘(B) the acquisition or development of 
land; or 
‘‘(C) the acquisition, design and engineer-
ing, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, ex-
pansion, or improvement of facilities, including 
related 
machinery, 
equipment, 
contractual 
rights, and intangible property, for the purpose 
of providing, extending, expanding, or improv-
ing high-speed broadband service to further the 
goals of this Act. 
‘‘(2) HIGH-SPEED
BROADBAND.—The term 
‘high-speed broadband’ means the provision of two- 
way data transmission with sufficient downstream 
and upstream speeds to end users to permit effective 
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participation in the economy and to support eco-
nomic growth, as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) BROADBAND PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On the application of an el-
igible recipient, the Secretary may make grants 
under this title for broadband projects. Any such 
grant shall be subject to the provisions of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE
RECIPIENTS
FOR
BROADBAND 
PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In the case of grants 
for broadband projects, the term ‘eligible recipi-
ent’ includes, in addition to the eligible recipi-
ents identified in section 3— 
‘‘(i) a public-private partnership; and 
‘‘(ii) a consortium formed for the pur-
pose of providing, extending, expanding, or 
improving high-speed broadband service 
between one or more eligible recipients, as 
defined in section 3, and one or more for- 
profit organizations. 
‘‘(B) INTEREST
IN
REAL
OR
PERSONAL 
PROPERTY.—For any broadband project of a 
public-private partnership or consortium, the 
Secretary shall require that title to any real or 
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personal property acquired or improved with 
grant funds, or if the recipient will not acquire 
title another possessory interest acceptable to 
the Secretary, be vested in a public partner or 
eligible nonprofit organization or association for 
the useful life of the project, after which title 
may be transferred to any member of the pub-
lic-private partnership or consortium in accord-
ance with regulations promulgated by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(3) 
PROCUREMENT.—Notwithstanding 
any 
other provision of law, no person or entity shall be 
disqualified from competing to provide goods or serv-
ices related to a broadband project on the basis that 
the person or entity participated in the development 
of the broadband project or in the drafting of speci-
fications, requirements, statements of work, or simi-
lar documents related to the goods or services to be 
provided. 
‘‘(4) BROADBAND
PROJECT
PROPERTY.—The 
Secretary may permit a recipient of a grant for a 
broadband project to grant an option to acquire real 
or personal property (including contractual rights 
and intangible property) related to that project to a 
third party on such terms as the Secretary deter-
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mines to be appropriate, provided that such option 
may only be exercised after the Secretary releases 
the Federal interest in the property. The grant or 
exercise of any such option shall not constitute a re-
distribution of grant funds within the meaning of 
section 217 of this title. 
‘‘(c) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—A grant provided 
under this section may be provided from amounts made 
available to carry out this title in combination with 
amounts made available under any other Federal program. 
‘‘(d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—In determining the 
amount of the non-Federal share of the cost of a 
broadband project, the Secretary may provide credit to-
ward the non-Federal share for the present value of allow-
able contributions over the useful life of the broadband 
project, provided that the Secretary may require such as-
surances of the value of the rights and of the commitment 
of the rights as the Secretary determines to be appro-
priate.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 218 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 219. High-speed broadband deployment initiative.’’. 
Æ 
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