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]
[S. 3690 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3690

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 12, 2020

 Mr. Bennet (for Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Bennet, 
    Ms. Hassan, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Booker, Mr. Jones, Mr. 
  Blumenthal, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. King, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
 Durbin, Ms. Harris, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, 
Mr. Sanders, Mr. Reed, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Rosen, Ms. 
    Hirono, Ms. Smith, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Warren, Mr. 
  Whitehouse, Mr. Udall, Mr. Peters, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
Kaine, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Casey, Mr. Carper, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
    Heinrich, Mr. Warner, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Tester)) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Advanced telecommunications and information services.--
        The term ``advanced telecommunications and information 
        services'' means advanced telecommunications and information 
        services, as that 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) Covered regulations.--The term ``covered regulations'' 
        means the regulations promulgated under subsection (b).
            (5) COVID-19 emergency period.--The term ``COVID-19 
        emergency period'' means the period during which a public 
        health emergency declared pursuant to section 319 of the Public 
        Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) with respect to COVID-19, 
        including under any renewal of such declaration, is in effect.
            (6) Emergency connectivity fund.--The term ``Emergency 
        Connectivity Fund'' means the fund established under subsection 
        (h)(1).
            (7) Eligible equipment.--The term ``eligible equipment'' 
        means the following:
                    (A) Wi-Fi hotspots.
                    (B) Modems.
                    (C) Routers.
                    (D) Devices that combine a modem and router.
                    (E) Connected devices.
            (8) Library.--The term ``library'' includes a library 
        consortium.
            (9) 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).
            (10) 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.
    (b) Regulations Required.--Not later than 7 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations 
providing for the provision, from amounts made available from the 
Emergency Connectivity Fund, 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 that section, during a COVID-19 emergency period 
(including any portion of the period occurring before the date of 
enactment of this Act) of eligible equipment or advanced 
telecommunications and information services, for use by--
            (1) in the case of a school, students and staff of the 
        school at locations that include locations other than the 
        school; and
            (2) in the case of a library, patrons of the library at 
        locations that include locations other than the library.
    (c) Eligibility of Tribal Libraries.--For purposes of determining 
the eligibility of a Tribal library for support under the covered 
regulations, 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 (20 U.S.C. 9121 et seq.) shall not 
apply.
    (d) Prioritization of Support.--The Commission shall provide in the 
covered regulations for a mechanism to require a school or library to 
prioritize the provision of eligible equipment or advanced 
telecommunications and information services (or both), for which 
support is received under those regulations, to students and staff or 
patrons (as the case may be) that the school or library believes do not 
have access to eligible equipment or advanced telecommunications and 
information services (or do not have access to either), respectively, 
at the residences of the students and staff or patrons.
    (e) Treatment of Equipment After Emergency Period.--The Commission 
shall provide in the covered regulations that, in the case of a school 
or library that purchases eligible equipment using support received 
under the covered regulations, the school or library--
            (1) may, after the COVID-19 emergency period with respect 
        to which the support is received, use the equipment for any 
        purposes that the school or library considers appropriate, 
        subject to any restrictions provided in the covered regulations 
        (or any successor regulation); and
            (2) may not sell or otherwise transfer the equipment in 
        exchange for any thing (including a service) of value, except 
        that the school or library may exchange the equipment for 
        upgraded equipment of the same type.
    (f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to affect any authority of the Commission under section 
254(h)(1)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(1)(B)) 
to allow support under that section to be used for the purposes 
described in subsection (b) of this section other than as required by 
that subsection.
    (g) 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--
                    (A) shall apply in whole or in part to support 
                provided under the covered regulations;
                    (B) shall not apply in whole or in part to support 
                provided under the covered regulations; or
                    (C) shall be modified in whole or in part for 
                purposes of application to support provided under the 
                covered regulations.
            (2) Exemption from certain rulemaking requirements.--
        Subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 553 of title 5, United 
        States Code, shall not apply to the covered regulations or a 
        rulemaking to promulgate the covered regulations.
            (3) Paperwork reduction act exemption.--A collection of 
        information conducted or sponsored under the covered 
        regulations, or under section 254 of the Communications Act of 
        1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) in connection with support provided under 
        the covered 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'').
    (h) 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, $4,000,000,000 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 covered regulations.
            (4) Relationship to universal service contributions.--
        Support provided under the covered regulations 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)).
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