Title: E-BRIDGE Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet Development Grant Eligibility Act or the E-BRIDGE Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Commerce to award economic development grants for public-private partnerships and certain consortiums to carry out specified broadband projects.
Such projects shall be to provide, extend, expand, or improve high-speed broadband service through (1) planning, technical assistance, or training; (2) land acquisition or development; or (3) acquisition, construction, or improvement of facilities.
Title to real or personal property acquired or improved with grant funds, or another acceptable possessory interest, must be vested in a public partner or eligible nonprofit organization or association for the useful life of the project. In addition, grant funds may be combined with amounts made available under any other federal program, and Commerce may provide credit toward the non-federal share of a broadband project's cost.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6491 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6491

   To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to 
       provide for a high-speed broadband deployment initiative.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 14, 2020

   Mr. Graves of Missouri (for himself and Mr. Katko) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
   and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Financial 
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to 
       provide for a high-speed broadband deployment initiative.

    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 ``Eliminating Barriers to Rural 
Internet Development Grant Eligibility Act'' or the ``E-BRIDGE Act''.

SEC. 2. HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT INITIATIVE.

    (a) In General.--Title II of the Public Works and Economic 
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 219. HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT INITIATIVE.

    ``(a) Definitions.--
            ``(1) Broadband project.--The term `broadband project' 
        means--
                    ``(A) planning, technical assistance, or training;
                    ``(B) the acquisition or development of land; or
                    ``(C) the acquisition, design and engineering, 
                construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or 
                improvement of facilities, including related machinery, 
                equipment, contractual rights, and intangible property, 
                for the purpose of providing, extending, expanding, or 
                improving high-speed broadband service to further the 
                goals of this Act.
            ``(2) High-speed broadband.--The term `high-speed 
        broadband' means the provision of two-way data transmission 
        with sufficient downstream and upstream speeds to end users to 
        permit effective participation in the economy and to support 
        economic growth, as determined by the Secretary.
    ``(b) Broadband Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--On the application of an eligible 
        recipient, the Secretary may make grants under this title for 
        broadband projects. Any such grant shall be subject to the 
        provisions of this section.
            ``(2) Eligible recipients for broadband projects.--
                    ``(A) Definition.--In the case of grants for 
                broadband projects, the term `eligible recipient' 
                includes, in addition to the eligible recipients 
                identified in section 3--
                            ``(i) a public-private partnership; and
                            ``(ii) a consortium formed for the purpose 
                        of providing, extending, expanding, or 
                        improving high-speed broadband service between 
                        one or more eligible recipients, as defined in 
                        section 3, and one or more for-profit 
                        organizations.
                    ``(B) Interest in real or personal property.--For 
                any broadband project of a public-private partnership 
                or consortium, the Secretary shall require that title 
                to any real or personal property acquired or improved 
                with grant funds, or if the recipient will not acquire 
                title another possessory interest acceptable to the 
                Secretary, be vested in a public partner or eligible 
                nonprofit organization or association for the useful 
                life of the project, after which title may be 
                transferred to any member of the public-private 
                partnership or consortium in accordance with 
                regulations promulgated by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Procurement.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, no person or entity shall be disqualified from competing 
        to provide goods or services related to a broadband project on 
        the basis that the person or entity participated in the 
        development of the broadband project or in the drafting of 
        specifications, requirements, statements of work, or similar 
        documents related to the goods or services to be provided.
            ``(4) Broadband project property.--The Secretary may permit 
        a recipient of a grant for a broadband project to grant an 
        option to acquire real or personal property (including 
        contractual rights and intangible property) related to that 
        project to a third party on such terms as the Secretary 
        determines to be appropriate, provided that such option may 
        only be exercised after the Secretary releases the Federal 
        interest in the property. The grant or exercise of any such 
        option shall not constitute a redistribution of grant funds 
        within the meaning of section 217 of this title.
    ``(c) Sources of Assistance.--A grant provided under this section 
may be provided from amounts made available to carry out this title in 
combination with amounts made available under any other Federal 
program.
    ``(d) Non-Federal Share.--In determining the amount of the non-
Federal share of the cost of a broadband project, the Secretary may 
provide credit toward the non-Federal share for the present value of 
allowable contributions over the useful life of the broadband project, 
provided that the Secretary may require such assurances of the value of 
the rights and of the commitment of the rights as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 218 
the following new item:

``Sec. 219. High-speed broadband deployment initiative.''.
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