I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1641 
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
Organization Act to provide incentives for the reallocation of Federal 
Government spectrum for commercial use, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2015 
Mr. GUTHRIE (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. WALDEN, and Ms. ESHOO) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Armed 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration Organization Act to provide incentives 
for the reallocation of Federal Government spectrum for 
commercial use, 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 ‘‘Federal Spectrum In-
centive Act of 2015’’. 
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‘‘(II) relocating such operations 
to frequencies assigned to another 
Federal entity in order for such enti-
ties to share such frequencies.’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) This subsection and section 118 shall 
not apply with respect to the discontinuance of 
operations on eligible frequencies or the reloca-
tion of such operations by a Federal entity after 
the Commission receives notice under subpara-
graph (A)(ii) with respect to such discontinu-
ance or relocation.’’. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Section 
113(g) of the National Telecommunications and In-
formation Administration Organization Act (47 
U.S.C. 923(g)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (3)(A)(iii)(I), by striking 
‘‘paragraph (4)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 
(4)(A)(i)’’; 
(B) in paragraph (4)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
paragraph (A)(i)’’; and 
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(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘subparagraphs (A)(i) and (B)’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘para-
graph 
(4)(A)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘paragraph 
(4)(A)(i)’’. 
(b) TRANSITION PLANS.—Section 113(h) of the Na-
tional Telecommunications and Information Administra-
tion Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(h)) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘RELOCATION 
OR SHARING’’; 
(2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSITION PLAN BY 
FEDERAL ENTITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 240 
days before the commencement of any auction 
of eligible frequencies described in subsection 
(g)(2), a Federal entity authorized to use any 
such frequency shall submit to the NTIA and 
to the Technical Panel established by paragraph 
(3) a transition plan in which the Federal enti-
ty— 
‘‘(i) declares the intention of such en-
tity— 
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‘‘(I) to share such eligible fre-
quencies with a non-Federal user or 
to relocate to other frequencies, and 
to receive relocation or sharing costs 
from the Spectrum Relocation Fund 
established by section 118; or 
‘‘(II) to discontinue the oper-
ations that the Federal entity con-
ducts on such eligible frequencies 
without relocating such operations to 
other frequencies or to relocate such 
operations to frequencies assigned to 
another Federal entity in order for 
such entities to share such fre-
quencies, and to receive payment from 
the Federal Spectrum Incentive Fund 
established by section 120; and 
‘‘(ii) describes how the entity will im-
plement the relocation, sharing, or dis-
continuance arrangement. 
‘‘(B) COMMON FORMAT.—The NTIA shall 
specify, after public input, a common format for 
all Federal entities to follow in preparing tran-
sition plans under this paragraph.’’; 
(3) in paragraph (2)— 
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(A) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘, to 
discontinue such use,’’ after ‘‘from such fre-
quencies’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (F), by inserting ‘‘, 
discontinuance,’’ after ‘‘relocation’’; and 
(C) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘The 
plans’’ and inserting ‘‘To the extent applicable 
given the intention declared by the entity under 
paragraph (1)(A)(i), the plans’’; 
(4) in paragraph (4)(A), by inserting ‘‘(if appli-
cable)’’ after ‘‘timelines and’’; 
(5) in paragraph (6)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(if applicable)’’ after 
‘‘costs’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, discontinuance,’’ after 
‘‘relocation’’ the second place it appears; and 
(6) in paragraph (7)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘, dis-
continuance,’’ after ‘‘relocation’’. 
(c) RELOCATION OR DISCONTINUANCE PRIORITIZED 
OVER SHARING.—Section 113(j) of the National Tele-
communications and Information Administration Organi-
zation Act (47 U.S.C. 923(j)) is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘OR DIS-
CONTINUANCE’’ after ‘‘RELOCATION’’; and 
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(2) by inserting ‘‘or discontinuance of the oper-
ations that the Federal entity conducts on the band’’ 
after ‘‘from the band’’ each place it appears. 
(d) DEPOSIT
OF
AUCTION
PROCEEDS.—Section 
309(j)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
309(j)(8)) is amended— 
(1) 
in 
subparagraph 
(C)(i), 
by 
striking 
‘‘(D)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘(D)(ii), (D)(iii)’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (D)— 
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘clause (ii)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘clauses (ii) and (iii)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iii) FEDERAL
SPECTRUM
INCEN-
TIVES.—Notwithstanding 
subparagraph 
(A) and except as provided in subpara-
graph (B) and clause (ii) of this subpara-
graph, in the case of proceeds (including 
deposits and upfront payments from suc-
cessful bidders) attributable to the auction 
of eligible frequencies described in section 
113(g)(2) of the National Telecommuni-
cations and Information Administration 
Organization Act with respect to which the 
Commission has received notice under sec-
tion 113(g)(4)(A)(ii) of such Act, 1 per-
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cent of such proceeds shall be deposited in 
the Federal Spectrum Incentive Fund es-
tablished by section 120 of such Act and 
shall be available in accordance with such 
section. The remainder of such proceeds 
shall be deposited in the general fund of 
the Treasury, where such proceeds shall be 
dedicated for the sole purpose of deficit re-
duction.’’. 
(e) FEDERAL SPECTRUM INCENTIVE FUND.—Part B 
of the National Telecommunications and Information Ad-
ministration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 921 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 120. FEDERAL SPECTRUM INCENTIVE FUND. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 
Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 
Federal Spectrum Incentive Fund (in this section referred 
to as the ‘Fund’), which shall be administered by the Of-
fice of Management and Budget (in this section referred 
to as ‘OMB’), in consultation with the NTIA. 
‘‘(b) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Director of OMB 
shall transfer from the Fund to a Federal entity an 
amount equal to the amount deposited in accordance with 
section 309(j)(8)(D)(iii) of the Communications Act of 
1934 that is attributable to the auction of eligible fre-
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quencies described in section 113(g)(2) of this Act being 
vacated by such entity. Such amount shall be available to 
the Federal entity in accordance with subsection (c) and 
shall remain available until expended. 
‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A Federal entity may use an 
amount transferred under subsection (b) for the following 
purposes: 
‘‘(1) OFFSET OF SEQUESTRATION.—Any pur-
poses permitted under the terms and conditions of 
an appropriations account of the Federal entity that 
was subject to sequestration for any fiscal year 
under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit 
Control Act of 1985. The amount used for such pur-
poses under this paragraph may not exceed the 
amount by which the amount available to such entity 
under such account was reduced by sequestration for 
such fiscal year. 
‘‘(2) TRANSFER TO INCUMBENT FEDERAL EN-
TITY.—In the case of a Federal entity that is relo-
cating operations to frequencies assigned to an in-
cumbent Federal entity in order for such entities to 
share such frequencies, to transfer an amount to the 
incumbent Federal entity for any purposes permitted 
under this subsection (except this paragraph). The 
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