Title: Every Child Connected Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Every Child Connected Act
This bill modifies the E-Rate program of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by (1) expanding program eligibility to include households in which a student is participating in distance learning, (2) requiring the FCC to coordinate with the Department of Education and state and local governments to direct E-Rate support to these newly eligible households, and (3) transferring certain funds captured from Federal Trade Commission civil penalties to the E-Rate program.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5021 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5021

To require the Federal Communications Commission to make amendments to 
     the E-rate program of the Commission, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 15, 2020

 Mrs. Capito (for herself and Ms. Klobuchar) 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 make amendments to 
     the E-rate program of the Commission, 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 ``Every Child Connected Act''.

SEC. 2. E-RATE PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission;
            (2) the term ``distance learning'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801); and
            (3) the term ``E-rate program'' means the universal service 
        program set forth under subpart F of part 54 of title 47, Code 
        of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations).
    (b) Updates to E-Rate Program.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Commission shall amend the E-rate 
        program to provide that--
                    (A) activities that are integral, immediate, and 
                proximate to the education of a student, even if those 
                activities are performed in the home of a student, 
                qualify as activities that are for educational purposes 
                for the purposes of the E-rate program;
                    (B) a household in which a student is engaged or 
                participating in distance learning shall be an eligible 
                recipient under the E-rate program; and
                    (C) the aggregate annual cap on Federal universal 
                service support under the E-rate program shall be 
                $10,000,000,000 per funding year.
            (2) Coordination.--In making the amendments required under 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), the Commission 
        shall coordinate with the Secretary of Education and 
        appropriate instrumentalities of State and local governments.
            (3) Technical and conforming amendments.--Section 254 of 
        the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(6), by inserting ``certain 
                households (solely for the purposes described in 
                section 2(b)(1)(B) of the Every Child Connected Act),'' 
                after ``schools and classrooms,'';
                    (B) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting ``certain 
                households (solely for the purposes described in 
                section 2(b)(1)(B) of the Every Child Connected Act),'' 
                after ``schools,''; and
                    (C) in subsection (h)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)(B), in the first 
                        sentence of the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        inserting ``certain households (solely for the 
                        purposes described in section 2(b)(1)(B) of the 
                        Every Child Connected Act),'' after ``secondary 
                        schools,''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                inserting ``certain households (solely 
                                for the purposes described in section 
                                2(b)(1)(B) of the Every Child Connected 
                                Act),'' after ``classrooms,''; and
                                    (II) in subparagraph (B), by 
                                inserting ``or household'' after 
                                ``public institutional''.
    (c) Transfer of FTC Civil Penalties.--Section 5 of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(o)(1) In this subsection, the term `E-rate program' means the 
universal service program set forth under subpart F of part 54 of title 
47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations).
    ``(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
transfer to the Federal Communications Commission an amount equal to 
any amount collected in connection with a civil penalty under 
subsection (l) or (m).
    ``(3) The amounts transferred to the Federal Communications 
Commission pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be--
            ``(A) transferred at least monthly from the general fund of 
        the Treasury to the Federal Communications Commission on the 
        basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the Treasury;
            ``(B) used by the Federal Communications Commission to 
        carry out the E-rate program, as amended in accordance with 
        section 2(b) of the Every Child Connected Act; and
            ``(C) properly adjusted in the amounts subsequently 
        transferred to the extent prior estimates were in excess of or 
        less than the amounts required to be transferred.''.
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