Broadband Justice Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1904 | Sponsor: Rep. Bowman, Jamaal (D-NY)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Broadband Justice Act of 2021
This bill includes broadband high-speed internet service as a utility subsidized by federally assisted housing programs through utility allowances.
The bill also establishes grants and loans for housing providers, public housing agencies, and other public entities to provide access to broadband high-speed internet service to residents of federally assisted housing through the installation of such service and other infrastructure improvements.

To include broadband as a utility that tenants residing in federally 
assisted housing can have subsidized by the Federal Government, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Broadband Justice Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) the digital divide falls along racial and economic 
        lines;
            (2) during the COVID-19 pandemic, research determined that 
        African American and Hispanic households were 1.3 to 1.4 times 
        as likely as White households to experience limited 
        accessibility to the internet;
            (3) 44 percent of low-income Americans who make less than 
        $30,000 did not have home broadband services in 2019; and
            (4) low-income families and individuals living in federally 
        assisted housing often lack access to high-quality broadband, 
        and monthly broadband costs can be prohibitively expensive, 
        which limits their ability to undertake essential activities, 
        including remote healthcare visits, school assignments, job 
        searches, and obtaining information about supportive resources.

SEC. 3. UTILITY ALLOWANCES FOR FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING.

    (a) HUD-Assisted Housing.--
            (1) Public housing and section 8 assistance.--Section 3 of 
        the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Utility Allowance.--A monthly utility allowance under this 
Act with respect to any dwelling unit in public housing or assisted 
under section 8 shall include reasonable costs for broadband high-speed 
internet service.''.
            (2) Public housing operating costs.--Paragraph (1) of 
        section 9(e) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437g(e)(1)) is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (J), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (K), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(L) the costs attributable to inclusion in the 
                utility allowance for residents of public housing of an 
                allowance for broadband high speed internet service.''.
            (3) Section 202 supportive housing for the elderly.--
        Subsection (c) of section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 
        U.S.C. 1701q(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Utility allowance.--A monthly utility allowance with 
        respect to any dwelling unit assisted under this section shall 
        include reasonable costs for broadband high-speed internet 
        service.''.
            (4) Section 811 supportive housing for persons with 
        disabilities.--Subsection (d) of section 811 of the Cranston-
        Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(d)) is 
        amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Utility allowance.--A monthly utility allowance with 
        respect to any dwelling unit assisted under this section shall 
        include reasonable costs for broadband high-speed internet 
        service.''.
            (5) Regulations.--Not later than the expiration of the 6-
        month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall 
        revise the regulations of the Secretary, including sections 
        982.517 and 5.603 and part 990 of title 24, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, to comply with and carry out the amendments made 
        by subsections (a) and (b) of this section, and shall develop a 
        schedule of regional rates for broadband costs for use by 
        public housing agencies in setting reasonable costs of 
        broadband high speed internet service.
    (b) Rural Assisted Housing.--
            (1) In general.--Section 501 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 
        U.S.C. 1471) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(k) Utility Allowance.--In the case of a dwelling unit in any 
housing project assisted with a loan or grant under section 514, 515, 
or 516 or rental assistance under section 521, the monthly utility 
allowance under this title shall include reasonable costs for broadband 
high-speed internet service.''.
            (2) Regulations.--Not later than the expiration of the 6-
        month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall revise the regulations 
        of the Secretary, including section 3560.202 of title 7, Code 
        of Federal Regulations, to comply with and carry out the 
        amendment made by subsection (a) of this section.
    (c) Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties.--
            (1) In general.--Section 42(g)(2)(B)(ii) of the Internal 
        Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ``(including any 
        determination pursuant to section 3(e) of such Act)'' before 
        the comma at the end.
            (2) Regulations.--Not later than the expiration of the 6-
        month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
        Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall revise the regulations 
        of the Secretary, including section 1.42-10 of title 26, Code 
        of Federal Regulations, to comply with and carry out the 
        amendment made by subsection (a) of this section.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for fiscal year 2022 and each fiscal year thereafter 
$5,000,000,000 for costs of carrying out the provisions added by the 
amendments made by this section.

SEC. 4. CONNECTED COMMUNITIES GRANTS AND LOANS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 
the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
jointly carry out a grant and loan program under this section to 
provide access to broadband high-speed internet service to residents of 
federally assisted housing.
    (b) Eligible Activities.--Amounts made available for the program 
under this section may be used only for grants and loans made to 
further the goal of providing universal access to broadband high-speed 
internet service to all residents of federally assisted housing, as 
follows:
            (1) Grants, including to providers of federally assisted 
        housing and public entities, to support projects to provide all 
        residents of affordable housing projects, including public 
        housing (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the United 
        States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))) and other 
        federally and State-assisted affordable housing projects, with 
        access to such internet service; grantees are encouraged to 
        partner with municipal and other public or non-profit entities 
        to support internet access and may partner with a private 
        broadband service provider if the wiring costs charged by the 
        private partner to the grantee and the monthly broadband costs 
        charged to tenants do not exceed the lower comparable cost for 
        such access within the same region.
            (2) Grants to public housing agencies and owners of housing 
        assisted with rental assistance under section 8 of the United 
        States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) for installation 
        of such internet service, including routers, modems, and other 
        related devices, and to provide training and support regarding 
        internet access and operating equipment.
            (3) Direct loans to owners of housing assisted under title 
        V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.) or under 
        the low-income housing tax credit program under section 42 of 
        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for costs of installation of 
        such internet access in such housing.
            (4) Grants to assist in rehabilitation activities necessary 
        to provide wiring, other infrastructure, and other broadband 
        assistance needs identified by housing providers and their 
        tenants in housing described in this subsection as necessary to 
        provide such internet service, including tenant support 
        services relating to internet access, including educating 
        tenants on how to use the internet and facilitating contact 
        with internet service providers, except that any infrastructure 
        or wiring upgrades performed by for-profit service providers 
        shall include open access infrastructure.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025 such sums as 
may be necessary for grants and costs (as such term is defined in 
section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) of 
loans under this section.
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