Title: A bill to allow servicemembers to terminate their cable, satellite television, and Internet access service contracts while deployed.
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
This bill amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to allow a service member to terminate a commercial mobile, telephone exchange, Internet access, or multichannel video programming service contract at any time after the date the service member receives military orders to relocate for at least 90 days to a location that does not support such service contract. (Currently, such provision applies to a cellular telephone service or telephone exchange service contract.)
A service member shall return any provider-owned consumer premises equipment to the service provider not later than 10 days after the service is disconnected.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 624 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 624

To allow servicemembers to terminate their cable, satellite television, 
         and Internet access service contracts while deployed.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 2017

 Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Mrs. Fischer) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To allow servicemembers to terminate their cable, satellite television, 
         and Internet access service contracts while deployed.

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

SECTION 1. TERMINATION OF MULTICHANNEL VIDEO PROGRAMMING AND INTERNET 
              ACCESS SERVICE CONTRACTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 305A of the Servicemembers Civil Relief 
Act (50 U.S.C. 3956) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``, multichannel 
        video programming, and internet access'' after ``telephone'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``cellular telephone 
        service or telephone exchange service'' and inserting 
        ``commercial mobile service, telephone exchange service, 
        Internet access service, or multichannel video programming 
        service'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ``for commercial mobile 
        service or telephone exchange service'' before ``terminated'';
            (4) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``cellular telephone service'' and inserting 
        ``commercial mobile service'';
            (5) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) by striking ``For any'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) In general.--For any'';
                    (B) by striking ``If the'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) Reinstatement of service.--If the''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Return of provider-owned equipment.--If a 
        servicemember terminates a contract under subsection (a), the 
        servicemember shall return any provider-owned consumer premises 
        equipment to the service provider not later than 10 days after 
        the date on which service is disconnected.''; and
            (6) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (4); and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) The term `commercial mobile service' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 332(d) of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(d)).
            ``(2) The term `multichannel video programming service' 
        means a subscription video service offered by a multichannel 
        video programming distributor, as that term is defined in 
        section 602 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 522), 
        over a system the distributor owns or controls.
            ``(3) The term `provider-owned consumer premises equipment' 
        means any equipment that a provider of Internet access service 
        or multichannel video programming service rents or loans to a 
        customer during the provision of that service, including 
        gateways, routers, cable modems, voice-capable modems, 
        CableCARDs, converters, digital adapters, remote controls, and 
        any other equipment provided.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Title heading.--The heading for title III of the 
        Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended by striking 
        ``TELEPHONE'' and inserting ``COMMUNICATIONS''.
            (2) Table of contents.--The table of contents in section 
        1(b) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended--
                    (A) by striking the item relating to title III and 
                inserting the following:

``TITLE III--RENT, INSTALLMENT CONTRACTS, MORTGAGES, LIENS, ASSIGNMENT, 
              LEASES, COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE CONTRACTS'';

                and
                    (B) by striking the item relating to section 305A 
                and inserting the following:

``Sec. 305A. Termination of telephone, multichannel video programming, 
                            and Internet access service contracts.''.
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