I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8575 
To require the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a study 
and submit to Congress a report examining the feasibility of funding 
the Universal Service Fund through contributions supplied by edge pro-
viders, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2022 
Mr. MULLIN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To require the Federal Communications Commission to con-
duct a study and submit to Congress a report examining 
the feasibility of funding the Universal Service Fund 
through contributions supplied by edge providers, 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 ‘‘Funding Affordable 
Internet with Reliable Contributions Act’’ or the ‘‘FAIR 
Contributions Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND 
CONTRIBUTIONS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives. 
(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(3) CONTRIBUTION.—The term ‘‘contribution’’ 
means funds provided to the Universal Service Fund 
under section 254(d) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)). 
(4) EDGE
PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘edge pro-
vider’’ means a provider of online content or serv-
ices, such as a search engine, a social media plat-
form, a streaming service, an app store, a cloud 
computing service, or an e-commerce platform. 
(5) UNIVERSAL
SERVICE
FUND.—The term 
‘‘Universal Service Fund’’ means the fund estab-
lished pursuant to section 254 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) and administered 
by the Universal Service Administrative Company to 
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support service to high-cost areas, schools and li-
braries, rural health care facilities, and the Lifeline 
program of the Commission. 
(b) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, and after issuing 
a notice of inquiry seeking public comment on the issues 
described in this subsection, the Commission shall conduct 
a study and submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a report examining the feasibility of funding the 
Universal Service Fund through contributions supplied by 
edge providers, which shall include the consideration of 
comments on, and the findings of the Commission with 
respect to— 
(1) the class of firms and services on which 
contributions could be assessed, including an inquiry 
into the specific sources of revenue potentially sub-
ject to contributions, such as digital advertising rev-
enue and user fees; 
(2) the equity issues of the current contribu-
tions system, including the cost burden on con-
sumers who traditionally purchase legacy tele-
communications services; 
(3) equity issues of alternative contributions 
systems that would create new funding sources for 
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the Universal Service Fund such as Federal appro-
priations or assessments on edge providers; 
(4) whether a particular contributions system 
results in progressive or regressive fees; 
(5) the size of firms subject to contributions re-
quirements; 
(6) the broadband requirements, such as band-
width and latency, of a particular online service; 
(7) other Federal, State, and local taxes and 
fees that edge providers may already pay; 
(8) practical issues concerning the calculation 
of contributions, including which revenues should be 
subject to contributions, whether a flat or progres-
sive rate is most appropriate, and the logistics of 
collection; 
(9) the effect such a change would have on tele-
communications bills of consumers, including low-in-
come, elderly, and Tribal consumers; 
(10) the effect such a change would have on the 
sustainability of the Universal Service Fund, and 
how to ensure that Universal Service Fund disburse-
ments are consistent and predictable over time; 
(11) the statutory authority the Commission 
would require to enact such a change and how such 
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