I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7973 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to improve access by Indian 
Tribes to support from the Schools and Libraries Universal Service 
Support program (E-rate) of the Federal Communications Commission, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 7, 2020 
Mr. LUJA´N (for himself and Mr. MULLIN) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to improve ac-
cess by Indian Tribes to support from the Schools and 
Libraries Universal Service Support program (E-rate) 
of the Federal Communications Commission, 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 ‘‘Tribal Connect Act 
of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF TRIBAL LIBRARIES AND QUALI-
FYING ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY-SERVING IN-
STITUTIONS FOR E-RATE SUPPORT. 
Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 254) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (h)(4), by inserting ‘‘, except 
as provided in subsection (m),’’ before ‘‘is a library 
or library consortium’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(m) ELIGIBILITY
OF
TRIBAL
LIBRARIES
AND 
QUALIFYING ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY-SERVING INSTITU-
TIONS FOR E-RATE SUPPORT.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
‘‘(A) the term ‘broadband internet access 
service’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regula-
tions, or any successor regulation; 
‘‘(B) the term ‘E-rate program’ means the 
Federal universal service support program for 
schools and libraries authorized under sub-
section (h)(1)(B), the rules of which are set 
forth under subpart F of part 54 of title 47, 
Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 
regulation); 
‘‘(C) the term ‘E-rate support’ means uni-
versal service discounts on eligible services in 
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accordance with subpart F of part 54 of title 
47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc-
cessor regulation); 
‘‘(D) the term ‘Indian Tribe’ has the 
meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ in section 
20.100 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, 
or any successor regulation; 
‘‘(E) the term ‘qualifying essential commu-
nity-serving institution’ means a facility exclu-
sively owned by an Indian Tribe and designated 
by such Indian Tribe for purposes of paragraph 
(2)(B), including a Tribal Government building, 
chapter house, longhouse, community center, 
senior center, or other similar public building; 
and 
‘‘(F) the term ‘Tribal College or Univer-
sity’ has the meaning given the term in section 
316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)). 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY OF TRIBAL LIBRARIES FOR E- 
RATE SUPPORT.— 
‘‘(A) DESIGNATION OF TRIBAL LIBRARIES 
AS
LIBRARIES
ELIGIBLE
FOR
E-RATE
SUP-
PORT.— 
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‘‘(ii) 
RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.— 
Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed to 
exempt a Tribal library or Tribal library 
consortium from any requirement under 
the E-rate program not described in that 
clause, including the other requirements 
relating to eligible recipients under section 
54.501 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula-
tions (or any successor regulation). 
‘‘(B) TRIBAL
ESSENTIAL
COMMUNITY- 
SERVING INSTITUTION PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, 
in consultation with the Director of the In-
stitute of Museum and Library Services 
and the head of any other agency with rel-
evant responsibilities, shall establish a pro-
gram to be known as the ‘Tribal Essential 
Community-Serving Institution Program’, 
under which the Commission shall provide 
E-rate support to Indian Tribes for quali-
fying essential community-serving institu-
tions designated by such Indian Tribes. 
‘‘(ii) ELIGIBILITY.—E-rate support 
obtained under this subparagraph shall 
only be available to an Indian Tribe if the 
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proposed qualifying essential community- 
serving institution intends to deliver pub-
licly available internet access and tele-
communications 
services 
to 
students, 
teachers, librarians, and members of the 
community. 
‘‘(C) USE
OF
CONTRIBUTIONS.—Of the 
amount collected for Federal universal service 
support 
programs 
under 
subsection 
(d), 
$100,000,000 shall be made available for the 3- 
fiscal-year period beginning after the date of 
the enactment of this subsection to the Com-
mission to carry out this paragraph. 
‘‘(3) TRAINING
AND
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE 
FOR TRIBAL SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES.— 
‘‘(A) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Commission 
shall— 
‘‘(i) direct the Administrator des-
ignated by the Commission to administer 
the Federal universal service support pro-
grams under this section to submit an an-
nual report to the Commission regarding 
the actions of the E-rate program to en-
sure that Tribal schools and libraries can 
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participate fully and effectively in the E- 
rate program, including— 
‘‘(I) outreach efforts targeted to 
Tribal schools and libraries to pro-
mote awareness of the E-rate pro-
gram; 
‘‘(II) specific E-rate training pro-
grams for Tribal schools and libraries; 
and 
‘‘(III) other technical assistance 
initiatives regarding the application 
process for the E-rate program that 
are available to Tribal schools and li-
braries; and 
‘‘(ii) submit each annual report de-
scribed in clause (i) to— 
‘‘(I) the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate; 
‘‘(II) the Committee on Indian 
Affairs of the Senate; 
‘‘(III) the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce of the House of Rep-
resentatives; and 
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‘‘(IV) the Committee on Natural 
Resources of the House of Represent-
atives. 
‘‘(B) REVIEW OF ANNUAL REPORTS.—The 
Commission shall review each annual report re-
quired under subparagraph (A) to determine 
whether additional steps are necessary to en-
sure that Tribal schools and libraries can par-
ticipate fully and effectively in the E-rate pro-
gram. 
‘‘(C) UNIVERSAL SERVICE TECHNICAL AS-
SISTANCE AND TRAINING.—The Commission, in 
consultation with the Director of the Institute 
of Museum and Library Services, shall provide 
technical assistance and training to Indian 
Tribes with respect to Federal universal service 
support programs. 
‘‘(4) COORDINATION AND PERFORMANCE MEAS-
UREMENT.—The Commission shall— 
‘‘(A) improve the reliability of the data of 
the Commission relating to institutions that re-
ceive E-rate support by defining the term ‘trib-
al’ on the application for E-rate support; and 
‘‘(B)(i) develop performance goals and 
measures to track progress on achieving the 
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strategic objective of the Commission of ensur-
ing that all Indian Tribes have affordable ac-
cess to broadband internet access service for 
educational purposes for students, teachers, li-
brarians, and members of the community; 
‘‘(ii) in coordination with the Director of 
the Institute of Museum and Library Services, 
identify Tribal libraries and developing Tribal 
libraries in the United States; and 
‘‘(iii) not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this subsection, submit to 
Congress and make public a report on the goals 
and measures developed under clause (i) and 
the list of libraries identified under clause (ii).’’. 
Æ 
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