Title: Homework Gap Trust Fund Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Homework Gap Trust Fund Act
This bill establishes the Homework Gap Trust Fund, administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to provide funding for measures to close the digital divide and promote digital equality with respect to school-aged children.
A portion of the proceeds from auctions of specified broadband spectrum shall be deposited into this trust fund, which the FCC shall use to fund measures that seek to ensure all U.S. students have access to broadband service at home.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3362 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3362

 To require the Federal Communications Commission to use a portion of 
the proceeds from the auction of the C-band to fund measures to provide 
 students with access to the internet at home, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2020

Mr. Van Hollen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Federal Communications Commission to use a portion of 
the proceeds from the auction of the C-band to fund measures to provide 
 students with access to the internet at home, 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 ``Homework Gap Trust Fund Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Joint Economic Committee, as many as 
        12,000,000 students in the United States do not have access to 
        the internet at home.
            (2) Lack of internet access at home for a student can lead 
        to reduced academic preparedness, decreased academic 
        performance, and decreased classroom engagement in school.
            (3) Nearly 50 percent of students in the United States have 
        reported being unable to complete a homework assignment because 
        those students did not have access to the internet or a 
        computer.
            (4) Seventeen percent of students in the United States do 
        not have access to computers at home and 18 percent do not have 
        home access to broadband internet access service.
            (5) Computer ownership and internet use are strongly 
        correlated with household income.
            (6) Approximately 30 percent of households in the United 
        States with incomes below $50,000 do not have a connection to 
        broadband internet access service.
            (7) Students without broadband internet access service at 
        home are more likely to be students from low-income families, 
        students of color, or students who live in households with 
        lower levels of parental education.
            (8) More than 50 percent of teachers in low-income school 
        districts report that limited access to technology outside of 
        school for students limits the ability of teachers to--
                    (A) advance and implement digital learning 
                initiatives; and
                    (B) promote digital literacy.
            (9) According to the Commission, approximately 70 percent 
        of teachers in the United States assign homework that requires 
        access to broadband internet access service.
            (10) Research has shown that teenagers who have access to 
        home computers are 6 to 8 percent more likely to graduate from 
        high school than teenagers who do not have access to home 
        computers.
            (11) The homework gap affects students in both rural and 
        urban communities.
            (12) Ensuring that students have access to broadband 
        internet access service will reduce the digital divide and can 
        help reduce economic, educational, and social inequalities.

SEC. 3. HOMEWORK GAP TRUST FUND.

    (a) Establishment; Purpose.--There is established in the Treasury 
of the United States a fund to be known as the ``Homework Gap Trust 
Fund''--
            (1) which shall be administered by the Commission; and
            (2) the purpose of which is to provide funding for measures 
        that help to--
                    (A) close the digital divide; and
                    (B) promote digital equality with respect to 
                school-aged children.
    (b) Deposit of Proceeds.--Notwithstanding any provision of section 
309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), not less 
than $2,000,000,000 and not more than $4,000,000,000 of the proceeds 
received from systems of competitive bidding conducted with respect to 
the use of the C-band shall be deposited in the Homework Gap Trust 
Fund.
    (c) Use of Homework Gap Trust Fund Amounts.--The Commission shall 
use the amounts in the Homework Gap Trust Fund to fund measures that 
seek to ensure that all students in the United States have access to 
broadband internet access service at home, including by--
            (1) purchasing any necessary equipment for that purpose; 
        and
            (2) providing those students with hotspot devices.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to 
Congress a report regarding, for the year covered by the report--
            (1) the number of recipients of funding provided under 
        subsection (c);
            (2) the number of students who obtained access to broadband 
        internet access service as a result of funding provided under 
        subsection (c);
            (3) the number of students in the United States who 
        continue to face unequal access to digital devices and 
        broadband internet access service, which prevents those 
        students from completing homework assignments;
            (4) the use of hotspot devices provided with funding 
        provided under subsection (c); and
            (5) the amount of data used per hotspot device described in 
        paragraph (4).
    (e) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue final rules to carry 
out this section.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) C-band.--The term ``C-band'' means the band of 
        electromagnetic spectrum between 3.7 gigahertz and 4.2 
        gigahertz, inclusive.
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (3) Digital divide.--The term ``digital divide'' means the 
        economic, educational, and social inequalities that exist 
        between individuals, households, businesses, and geographic 
        areas at different socioeconomic levels due to their differing 
        abilities to access information and communications technology.
            (4) Digital equality.--The term ``digital equality'' means 
        the activities that are necessary to ensure that, as a means to 
        enhance and promote education, employment, and civic and 
        cultural participation, all individuals in the United States 
        have access to, and the use of, affordable information and 
        communication technologies, including--
                    (A) reliable fixed and wireless broadband internet 
                access service;
                    (B) internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of 
                the user; and
                    (C) applications and online content designed to 
                enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation, 
                and collaboration, including--
                            (i) obtaining access to digital literacy 
                        training;
                            (ii) the provision of quality technical 
                        support; and
                            (iii) obtaining basic awareness of measures 
                        to ensure online privacy and cybersecurity.
            (5) Digital literacy.--The term ``digital literacy'' means 
        the ability of an individual to use cognitive and technical 
        skills and technology to effectively find, analyze, organize, 
        share, create, and communicate information using digital 
        platforms.
            (6) Hotspot device.--The term ``hotspot device'' means a 
        portable device--
                    (A) that connects to broadband internet access 
                service using a cellular data connection;
                    (B) to which other devices wirelessly connect by 
                means of Wi-Fi; and
                    (C) that enables the devices described in 
                subparagraph (B) to connect to the broadband internet 
                access service described in subparagraph (A).
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