Title: Emergency Educational Connections Act of 2020
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Emergency Educational Connections Act of 2020
This bill establishes and provides funding for the Emergency Connectivity Fund, from which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must provide support for certain schools or libraries to purchase specified telecommunications equipment during the public health emergency declared because of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, the FCC shall provide funds to certain elementary schools, secondary schools, or libraries to purchase telecommunications equipment or services (e.g., Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, and routers) for use by students, staff, or patrons at locations that include locations other than the schools or libraries. Priority must be given to students, staff, or patrons who do not have access to such equipment or services.
Following the emergency period, funding recipients are authorized to use purchased equipment for appropriate purposes but may not sell or transfer such equipment for anything of value, except for upgraded equipment of the same type.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6563 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6563

To provide for E-Rate support for Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and 
 connected devices during emergency periods relating to COVID-19, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 2020

   Ms. Meng introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for E-Rate support for Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and 
 connected devices during emergency periods relating to COVID-19, 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 ``Emergency Educational Connections 
Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. E-RATE SUPPORT FOR WI-FI HOTSPOTS, OTHER EQUIPMENT, AND 
              CONNECTED DEVICES DURING EMERGENCY PERIODS RELATING TO 
              COVID-19.

    (a) Regulations Required.--Not later than 7 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations 
providing for the provision, from amounts made available from the 
Emergency Connectivity Fund established under subsection (i)(1), of 
support under section 254(h)(1)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 254(h)(1)(B)) to an elementary school, secondary school, or 
library (including a Tribal elementary school, Tribal secondary school, 
or Tribal library) eligible for support under such section, for the 
purchase during an emergency period described in subsection (e) 
(including any portion of such a period occurring before the date of 
the enactment of this Act) of equipment described in subsection (c), 
advanced telecommunications and information services, or equipment 
described in such subsection and advanced telecommunications and 
information services, for use by--
            (1) in the case of a school, students and staff of such 
        school at locations that include locations other than such 
        school; and
            (2) in the case of a library, patrons of such library at 
        locations that include locations other than such library.
    (b) Eligibility of Tribal Libraries.--For purposes of determining 
the eligibility of a Tribal library for support under the regulations 
required by subsection (a), the portion of paragraph (4) of section 
254(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)) relating to 
eligibility for assistance from a State library administrative agency 
under the Library Services and Technology Act shall not apply.
    (c) Equipment Described.--The equipment described in this 
subsection is the following:
            (1) Wi-Fi hotspots.
            (2) Modems.
            (3) Routers.
            (4) Devices that combine a modem and router.
            (5) Connected devices.
    (d) Prioritization of Support.--The Commission shall provide in the 
regulations required by subsection (a) for a mechanism to require a 
school or library to prioritize the provision of equipment described in 
subsection (c), advanced telecommunications and information services, 
or equipment described in such subsection and advanced 
telecommunications and information services, for which support is 
received under such regulations, to students and staff or patrons (as 
the case may be) that the school or library believes do not have access 
to equipment described in subsection (c), do not have access to 
advanced telecommunications and information services, or have access to 
neither equipment described in subsection (c) nor advanced 
telecommunications and information services, at the residences of such 
students and staff or patrons.
    (e) Emergency Periods Described.--An emergency period described in 
this subsection is the duration of a public health emergency declared 
pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
247d) as a result of COVID-19, including any renewal thereof.
    (f) Treatment of Equipment After Emergency Period.--The Commission 
shall provide in the regulations required by subsection (a) that, in 
the case of a school or library that purchases equipment described in 
subsection (c) using support received under such regulations, such 
school or library--
            (1) may, after the emergency period with respect to which 
        such support is received, use such equipment for such purposes 
        as such school or library considers appropriate, subject to any 
        restrictions provided in such regulations (or any successor 
        regulation); and
            (2) may not sell or otherwise transfer such equipment in 
        exchange for any thing (including a service) of value, except 
        that such school or library may exchange such equipment for 
        upgraded equipment of the same type.
    (g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to affect any authority the Commission may have under section 
254(h)(1)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(1)(B)) 
to allow support under such section to be used for the purposes 
described in subsection (a) other than as required by such subsection.
    (h) Procedural Matters.--
            (1) Part 54 regulations.--Nothing in this section shall be 
        construed to prevent the Commission from providing that the 
        regulations in part 54 of title 47, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, shall apply in whole or in part to support 
        provided under the regulations required by subsection (a), 
        shall not apply in whole or in part to such support, or shall 
        be modified in whole or in part for purposes of application to 
        such support.
            (2) Exemption from certain rulemaking requirements.--
        Subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 553 of title 5, United 
        States Code, shall not apply to a regulation promulgated under 
        subsection (a) of this section or a rulemaking to promulgate 
        such a regulation.
            (3) Paperwork reduction act exemption.--A collection of 
        information conducted or sponsored under the regulations 
        required by subsection (a), or under section 254 of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) in connection with 
        support provided under such regulations, shall not constitute a 
        collection of information for the purposes of subchapter I of 
        chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly referred 
        to as the Paperwork Reduction Act).
    (i) Emergency Connectivity Fund.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of 
        the United States a fund to be known as the Emergency 
        Connectivity Fund.
            (2) Appropriation.--There is appropriated to the Emergency 
        Connectivity Fund, out of any money in the Treasury not 
        otherwise appropriated, $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, to 
        remain available through fiscal year 2021.
            (3) Use of funds.--Amounts in the Emergency Connectivity 
        Fund shall be available to the Commission to provide support 
        under the regulations required by subsection (a).
            (4) Relationship to universal service contributions.--
        Support provided under the regulations required by subsection 
        (a) shall be provided from amounts made available under 
        paragraph (3) and not from contributions under section 254(d) 
        of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)).
    (j) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Advanced telecommunications and information services.--
        The term ``advanced telecommunications and information 
        services'' means advanced telecommunications and information 
        services, as such term is used in section 254(h) of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)).
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (3) Connected device.--The term ``connected device'' means 
        a laptop computer, tablet computer, or similar device that is 
        capable of connecting to advanced telecommunications and 
        information services.
            (4) Library.--The term ``library'' includes a library 
        consortium.
            (5) Wi-fi.--The term ``Wi-Fi'' means a wireless networking 
        protocol based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics 
        Engineers standard 802.11 (or any successor standard).
            (6) Wi-fi hotspot.--The term ``Wi-Fi hotspot'' means a 
        device that is capable of--
                    (A) receiving mobile advanced telecommunications 
                and information services; and
                    (B) sharing such services with another device 
                through the use of Wi-Fi.
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