•HRES 1292 IH 
nections an increasingly broad array of critical informa-
tion, services, and applications; 
Whereas the information, services, and applications house-
holds in the United States access through these networks 
serve important policy priorities of the United States, 
such as improving health care and education, enhancing 
access to domestic and international markets, and reduc-
ing energy consumption and greenhouse gases; 
Whereas because new information, services, and applications 
require increasing amounts of bandwidth, and that trend 
is expected to accelerate dramatically, current-generation 
broadband networks, with their limited bandwidth capa-
bilities, are proving insufficient to meet the electronic ac-
cess needs of households in the United States; 
Whereas next-generation broadband networks, with trans-
mission speeds of at least 100 megabits per second, 
bidirectionally, have the capabilities to provide access to 
important bandwidth-intensive information, services, and 
applications being developed and can readily increase 
these capabilities for future developments; 
Whereas recognizing that next-generation broadband net-
works are essential to the achievement of social objec-
tives, economic competitiveness, and global leadership, 
other countries have adopted national objectives and 
strategies to deploy next-generation broadband networks 
and are already accelerating the construction of such crit-
ical infrastructure to households; 
Whereas next-generation broadband networks in the United 
States pass through only approximately 5 percent of 
households today; 
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•HRES 1292 IH 
Whereas at the current pace, next-generation broadband net-
works will not be universally available in the United 
States for more than 20 years, and, as a result— 
(1) households in the United States will not have ac-
cess to critical information, services, and applications; 
(2) educators and researchers will be limited in the 
information and data they can access and disseminate 
among colleagues, students, and the public; 
(3) entrepreneurs and businesses in the United 
States will be constrained in developing new products and 
services that are accessed over the Internet and 
broadband networks; and 
(4) the overall welfare and economy of the United 
States will suffer substantially; and 
Whereas key leaders and organizations in academia and the 
private sector have called recently for the immediate de-
velopment of a national next-generation broadband net-
work policy and strategy: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) establishes a national next-generation 
broadband network goal to bring, by 2010, universal 
and affordable access to networks with the capability 
of transmitting data at 10 megabits per second, 
bidirectionally, and by 2015, universal and afford-
able access to networks with the capability of trans-
mitting 
data 
at 
100 
megabits 
per 
second, 
bidirectionally, so that households, businesses, and 
government offices in the United States can freely 
access the Internet and, via direct connections, ac-
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•HRES 1292 IH 
cess other households, businesses, and government 
offices; and 
(2) directs the relevant congressional commit-
tees to work with the President— 
(A) to develop a strategy to achieve the na-
tional next-generation broadband network goal; 
and 
(B) to begin, by the end of 2009, to enact 
specific legislation and adopt policies to imple-
ment this strategy. 
Æ 
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