Title: Closing the Digital Divide for Students Act of 2020
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:



Closing the Digital Divide for Students Act of 2020
This bill expands the public housing utility allowance for households with children who qualify for free and reduced price school lunch to include the cost of high-speed internet service.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6534 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6534

  To include reasonable costs for high-speed internet service in the 
  utility allowances for families residing in public housing, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 17, 2020

   Mr. Foster (for himself, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
  Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Rush, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Neguse, Mrs. Lee of 
Nevada, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Bonamici, Mrs. Hayes, 
 Mr. Heck, Ms. Dean, Mrs. Axne, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Johnson 
  of Georgia, and Mr. Green of Texas) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To include reasonable costs for high-speed internet service in the 
  utility allowances for families residing in public housing, 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 ``Closing the Digital Divide for 
Students Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE IN PUBLIC HOUSING 
              UTILITY ALLOWANCES FOR CERTAIN FAMILIES.

    Subsection (b) of section 3 of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
            ``(14) Utility allowance.--A utility allowance under this 
        Act for public housing shall include costs for high-speed 
        internet service, including the cost of renting or purchasing 
        equipment necessary to access such service and a one-time 
        installation fee, subject to the following limitations:
                    ``(A) Cost.--The cost included in a utility 
                allowance for a public housing dwelling unit pursuant 
                to this paragraph for monthly internet service shall 
                not--
                            ``(i) exceed the lowest cost available in 
                        the area of such housing for such monthly high-
                        speed internet service; and
                            ``(ii) include any costs for cable or 
                        satellite television service or telephone 
                        service.
                    ``(B) Family choice.--Subparagraph (A) may not be 
                construed to prohibit a household in public housing 
                from subscribing to--
                            ``(i) a high-speed internet service the 
                        cost of which exceeds the cost described in 
                        subparagraph (A)(i); or
                            ``(ii) any joint package for internet 
                        service together with cable or satellite 
                        television service or telephone service, or 
                        both.
                    ``(C) Qualified families.--Costs for high-speed 
                internet service may be included in a utility allowance 
                only for a household that incurs such costs and 
                includes children who qualify for free and reduced 
                price lunch pursuant to section 9 of the Richard B. 
                Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758).
                    ``(D) Protection of minors.--Costs for high-speed 
                internet service may be included in a utility allowance 
                for a household only if the internet service provider, 
                upon initial provision of such service for a household, 
                provides the household with a specific technology 
                capable of blocking or filtering internet access to 
                visual depictions described in section 254(h)(5)(B)(i) 
                of the Communications Act of 1937 (47 U.S.C. 
                254(h)(5)(B)(i)) that provides a level of protection 
                against access by minors to such depictions through the 
                internet that is at least as great as the level of 
                protection provided by a technology protection measure 
                (as such term is defined in paragraph (7) of such 
                section 254(h)) that meets the requirements for 
                certification under such paragraph, as determined by 
                the Secretary.''.
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