I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7494 
To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information to establish a pilot program to increase access to internet- 
capable devices through public-private partnerships, to establish best 
practices for States and Indian Tribes for reducing the barriers to, 
and increasing the adoption of, broadband internet access service, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 6, 2020 
Mr. O’HALLERAN (for himself and Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu-
nications and Information to establish a pilot program 
to increase access to internet-capable devices through 
public-private partnerships, to establish best practices for 
States and Indian Tribes for reducing the barriers to, 
and increasing the adoption of, broadband internet access 
service, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadband Adoption 
and Opportunity Act’’. 
SEC. 2. INTERNET-CAPABLE DEVICE ACCESS PILOT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec-
retary shall establish a pilot program for the purposes of 
using public-private partnerships seeking to— 
(1) refurbish internet-capable devices; and 
(2) establish or carry out one or more donation, 
lending, or purchasing programs that increases ac-
cess to such refurbished devices to individuals that 
do not have internet-capable devices. 
(b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to participate in 
the pilot program under this section, a public-private part-
nership shall submit to the Assistant Secretary an applica-
tion, in such a form and in such a manner as the Assistant 
Secretary may require. 
(c) CRITERIA.—In determining whether to approve 
an application submitted by a public-private partnership 
under this section, the Assistant Secretary shall consider, 
in addition to other such criteria as the Assistant Sec-
retary determines appropriate— 
(1) the ability of the public-private partnership 
to— 
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cant need for internet-capable devices under subsection 
(c)(2)(B), the Assistant Secretary may consider relevant 
data provided by the American Community Survey or the 
Federal Communications Commission. 
(e) DURATION.—The Assistant Secretary shall carry 
out the pilot program under this section for a period not 
longer than 5 years. 
(f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the ter-
mination of the pilot program under this section, the As-
sistant Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives, and make available to the public, a report 
on the efficacy of the pilot program, including— 
(1) any outcome measures used by the Assist-
ant Secretary to determine efficacy; 
(2) the efficacy of public-private partnerships 
participating in the pilot program under this section 
in— 
(A) refurbishing internet-capable devices; 
and 
(B) establishing or carrying out a dona-
tion, lending, or purchasing programs that pro-
vides refurbished internet-capable devices to in-
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dividuals that do not have internet-capable de-
vices; and 
(3) any barriers that prevent or hinder access 
to internet-capable devices, as identified by the As-
sistant Secretary. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Assistant Secretary to carry out 
this section $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, which 
shall remain available until expended. 
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than 5 
percent of the amount appropriated under para-
graph (1) shall be used for administrative expenses. 
(h) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP DEFINED.—In 
this section, the term ‘‘public-private partnership’’ means 
a partnership between at least two entities, which may in-
clude the following: 
(1) A private sector entity. 
(2) A nonprofit organization. 
(3) A library. 
(4) A community anchor institution. 
(5) A provider of broadband internet access 
service. 
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(6) An appropriate State agency (or in the case 
of an Indian Tribe, the tribal equivalent of an ap-
propriate State agency). 
SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec-
retary shall, in consultation with the Federal Communica-
tions Commission, States and Indian Tribes, and the enti-
ties described in subsection (b), develop recommendations 
for States and Indian Tribes (and any political subdivi-
sions thereof, respectively) on best practices for reducing 
the barriers to, and increasing the adoption of, broadband 
internet access service within the respective State or In-
dian Tribe (or any political subdivision thereof, respec-
tively), including best practices for— 
(1) determining how to increase the adoption of 
broadband internet access service among individuals 
(including individuals with disabilities) in different 
educational, racial, ethnic, socio-economic, and age 
groups; 
(2) developing informational strategies for indi-
viduals (including individuals with disabilities) in 
different educational, racial, ethnic, socio-economic, 
and age groups that help such individuals identify, 
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and understand how to qualify for, low-cost 
broadband internet access service programs; 
(3) determining how to assist libraries, commu-
nity anchor institutions, or nonprofit organizations 
in establishing or expanding technical training pro-
grams for individuals (including individuals with dis-
abilities) in different educational, racial, ethnic, 
socio-economic, and age groups, to learn skills to use 
internet-capable devices to access services or accom-
plish tasks; and 
(4) identifying the appropriate data metrics to 
use to measure the adoption of broadband internet 
access service within the respective State or Indian 
Tribe (or political subdivision thereof, respectively). 
(b) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—The entities described in 
this subsection are as follows: 
(1) Community anchor institutions. 
(2) Libraries. 
(3) Appropriate State agencies. 
(4) State educational agencies. 
(5) State library administrative agencies. 
(6) Nonprofit organizations. 
(7) Cooperative organizations. 
(8) Private sector entities. 
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(9) Providers of broadband internet access serv-
ice. 
(10) Bureau-funded schools. 
(c) DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES.—In devel-
oping the best practices under subsection (a), the Assist-
ant Secretary shall identify, and include in such best prac-
tices, any resources available through the Broadband USA 
program of the National Telecommunications and Infor-
mation Administration that a State or Indian Tribe (or 
political subdivisions thereof, respectively) may use for the 
purpose of increasing the adoption of broadband internet 
access service within the respective State or Indian Tribe. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADOPTION OF BROADBAND INTERNET AC-
CESS SERVICE.—The term ‘‘adoption of broadband 
internet access service’’ means the process by which 
an individual— 
(A) develops skills necessary to accomplish 
common tasks using broadband internet access 
service; and 
(B) obtains daily access to the internet 
through broadband internet access service. 
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(2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Communications and Information. 
(3) APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘appropriate State agency’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 706(a) of the RAY BAUM’S Act 
of 2018 (47 U.S.C. 1504). 
(4) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.— 
The term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ has 
the meaning given that term in section 8.1(b) of title 
47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 
regulation. 
(5) BUREAU-FUNDED SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘bu-
reau-funded school’’ has the meaning given the term 
in section 1141 of the Education Amendments of 
1978 (25 U.S.C. 2021). 
(6) COMMUNITY
ANCHOR
INSTITUTION.—The 
term ‘‘community anchor institution’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 54.5 of title 47, Code 
of Federal Regulations. 
(7) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
12102). 
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(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 
section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 
(9) INTERNET-CAPABLE
DEVICE.—The term 
‘‘internet-capable device’’ means a desktop com-
puter, laptop computer, tablet computer, or similar 
device that is capable of connecting to broadband 
internet access service, either by receiving such serv-
ice directly or through the use of Wi-Fi. 
(10) LIBRARY.—The term ‘‘library’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 213 of the Mu-
seum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9122) in-
cluding only— 
(A) a public library; 
(B) a public elementary school or sec-
ondary school library; 
(C) a Tribal library; and 
(D) an academic library. 
(11) 
REFURBISH.—The 
term 
‘‘refurbish’’ 
means the process to repair the condition of or up-
date the software of an internet-capable device in 
such a form and in such a manner so that such de-
vice is capable of accessing and performing tasks or 
services through broadband internet access service. 
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(12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 
States, the District of Columbia, and the territories 
and possessions of the United States. 
(13) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘State educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 300.41 of title 34, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations. 
(14) STATE LIBRARY ADMINISTRATIVE AGEN-
CY.—The term ‘‘State library administrative agen-
cy’’ has the meaning given the term in section 213 
of the Museum and Library Services Act (20 U.S.C. 
9122). 
Æ 
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