Title: American Broadband Buildout Act of 2019
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
American Broadband Buildout Act of 2019
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide matching grants to help states improve broadband infrastructure.
The bill requires the FCC to distribute matching grants for state-led, public-private partnership projects connecting areas to broadband infrastructure where internet service is not available above a certain speed. As part of these projects, the bill also requires the FCC to award grants for digital-literacy programs and public-service campaigns designed to increase adoption of broadband internet access and service.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2018 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2018

To provide Federal matching funding for State-level broadband programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2019

Ms. Collins (for herself and Mr. Jones) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide Federal matching funding for State-level broadband programs.

    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 ``American Broadband Buildout Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
        ``broadband internet access service''--
                    (A) means mass-market retail service by wire or 
                radio that provides the capability to transmit data to 
                and receive data from all or substantially all internet 
                endpoints, including any capabilities that are 
                incidental to and enable the operation of the 
                communications service, but excluding dial-up internet 
                access service; and
                    (B) includes any service that the Commission finds 
                to be providing a functional equivalent of the service 
                described in subparagraph (A) or that is used to evade 
                the protections set forth in part 8 of title 47, Code 
                of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto.
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a State; or
                    (B) an entity authorized by a State to spend funds 
                for a purpose described in section 3 or 4.
            (4) Last-mile infrastructure.--The term ``last-mile 
        infrastructure'' means infrastructure the predominant purpose 
        of which is to provide broadband internet access service to end 
        users or end user devices, including households, businesses, 
        community anchor institutions, public safety entities, and 
        critical community facilities.
            (5) Overbuilding.--The term ``overbuilding'' means 
        deploying broadband infrastructure in an area that, prior to 
        the deployment, already had--
                    (A) facilities capable of providing broadband 
                internet access service at a speed of not less than 25 
                megabits per second for downloads and 3 megabits per 
                second for uploads; or
                    (B) broadband infrastructure that was built using 
                funds from a Federal or State program that were 
                provided for the express purpose of deploying broadband 
                infrastructure.
            (6) Qualifying project.--The term ``qualifying project'' 
        means a project--
                    (A) to construct last-mile infrastructure that will 
                provide broadband internet access service at a speed of 
                not less than 25 megabits per second for downloads and 
                10 megabits per second for uploads in an unserved area, 
                without engaging in overbuilding; and
                    (B) that is funded by a public-private partnership 
                in which--
                            (i) the State in which the project is 
                        located provides a portion of the funds; and
                            (ii) the private company that will provide 
                        broadband internet access service to customers 
                        connected to the last-mile infrastructure 
                        provides not less than 25 percent of the funds.
            (7) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        153).
            (8) Unserved area.--The term ``unserved area'' means a 
        census block in which broadband internet access service at a 
        speed of not less than 25 megabits per second for downloads and 
        3 megabits per second for uploads is not available.

SEC. 3. LAST-MILE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall award grants to eligible 
entities for qualifying projects.
    (b) Prioritization.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), if amounts made 
        available to carry out this section are insufficient to finance 
        all qualifying projects for which the Commission receives an 
        application for funding under this section, the Commission 
        shall give priority to qualifying projects in States in which, 
        according to figure 32 in the report of the Commission entitled 
        ``Internet Access Services: Status as of June 30, 2017'', 
        published in November 2018--
                    (A) fewer than 68 percent of households subscribed 
                to fixed terrestrial broadband internet access service 
                with a speed of not less than--
                            (i) 10 megabits per second for downloads; 
                        and
                            (ii) 1 megabit per second for uploads; and
                    (B) fewer than 40.5 percent of households 
                subscribed to fixed terrestrial broadband internet 
                access service with a speed of not less than--
                            (i) 25 megabits per second for downloads; 
                        and
                            (ii) 3 megabits per second for uploads.
            (2) High-cost, geographically challenged areas.--The 
        Commission shall ensure that not less than 15 percent of the 
        amounts awarded under paragraph (1) are used in areas that are 
        high-cost and geographically challenged, as determined by the 
        Commission.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS; DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMS.

    The Commission shall award grants to eligible entities--
            (1) to carry out public awareness campaigns designed to 
        highlight the value and benefits of broadband internet access 
        service, in order to increase the adoption of broadband 
        internet access service; and
            (2) to support digital literacy programs in areas in which 
        a qualifying project that receives funding under section 3 is 
        located.

SEC. 5. FEDERAL SHARE.

    (a) In General.--The Federal share of the cost of a project, 
campaign, or program that receives funding under this Act shall be not 
more than 50 percent.
    (b) Non-Federal Share.--A State may use amounts received from the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the community 
development block grant program under title I of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), amounts 
received from the Appalachian Regional Commission established under 
section 14301(a) of title 40, United States Code, or amounts received 
from the Northern Border Regional Commission established under section 
15301(a)(3) of title 40, United States Code, for the non-Federal share 
of the cost of a project, campaign, or program that receives funding 
under this Act.

SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

    (a) Last-Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grants.--For grants awarded 
under section 3, the Commission shall establish transparency and 
accountability rules under which--
            (1) after receiving an application for a grant to carry out 
        a qualifying project in an area, the Commission shall determine 
        whether the area is served or unserved using accurate and 
        granular information regarding the availability of broadband 
        internet access service at the sub-census block level;
            (2) the Commission shall--
                    (A) permit a person or entity to challenge an 
                initial determination of the Commission under paragraph 
                (1); and
                    (B) provide a period of not less than 45 days, 
                after the Commission makes an initial determination 
                under paragraph (1) with respect to an area, during 
                which a provider of broadband internet access service 
                may voluntarily submit information concerning the 
                broadband internet access service that the provider 
                offers in the area;
            (3) the Commission shall provide the public with notice 
        of--
                    (A) an initial determination with respect to an 
                area under paragraph (1);
                    (B) the final determination of whether an area is 
                served or unserved after the process for challenging 
                the initial determination, as described in paragraph 
                (2), has concluded;
                    (C) the entities that have applied for a grant; and
                    (D) the results of any decision regarding a grant 
                application, including by identifying--
                            (i) each eligible entity that was awarded a 
                        grant;
                            (ii) the areas that each grantee will serve 
                        using the grant funds;
                            (iii) the nature of the service that each 
                        grantee will provide in each area described in 
                        clause (ii); and
                            (iv) the amount that the Commission has 
                        authorized each grantee to use to carry out a 
                        qualifying project in each unserved area; and
            (4) the Commission shall establish--
                    (A) broadband buildout milestones and periodic 
                certifications that a grantee must submit to 
                demonstrate compliance with the broadband buildout 
                milestones;
                    (B) a maximum buildout timeframe of 6 years from 
                the date on which the Commission first awards a grant 
                to an eligible entity;
                    (C) periodic reporting requirements for grantees 
                that identify--
                            (i) the nature of the service provided in 
                        each unserved area; and
                            (ii) the latitude and longitude coordinates 
                        of each location to which the grantee has 
                        provided broadband service in each census 
                        block;
                    (D) penalties for noncompliance with--
                            (i) the broadband buildout milestones under 
                        subparagraph (A);
                            (ii) the certification requirements under 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            (iii) the reporting requirements under 
                        subparagraph (C);
                    (E) procedures through which the Commission may 
                recover grant funds, in whole or in part, from a 
                grantee if the grantee defaults or does not comply with 
                the requirements under this Act; and
                    (F) any additional methods or reporting necessary 
                to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within the grant 
                program.
    (b) Public Awareness and Digital Literacy Grants.--For grants 
awarded under section 4, the Commission shall establish transparency 
and accountability rules that--
            (1) require the Commission to provide the public with 
        notice of--
                    (A) the entities that have applied for a grant; and
                    (B) the results of any decision regarding a grant 
                application, including by--
                            (i) identifying each eligible entity that 
                        was awarded a grant;
                            (ii) identifying the areas that each 
                        grantee will serve using the grant funds;
                            (iii) providing a summary of the projects 
                        that each grantee will carry out in each area 
                        described in clause (ii); and
                            (iv) the amount that the Commission has 
                        authorized a grantee to use to carry out a 
                        public awareness campaign or support digital 
                        literacy programs in each area described in 
                        clause (ii); and
            (2) establish--
                    (A) project milestones and periodic certifications 
                that a grantee must submit to demonstrate compliance 
                with the project milestones;
                    (B) a maximum project completion timeframe of 6 
                years from the date on which the Commission first 
                awards a grant to an eligible entity;
                    (C) periodic reporting requirements for grantees to 
                demonstrate progress in meeting the project milestones 
                under subparagraph (A);
                    (D) penalties for noncompliance with--
                            (i) the project milestones under 
                        subparagraph (A);
                            (ii) the certification requirements under 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            (iii) the reporting requirements under 
                        subparagraph (C);
                    (E) procedures through which the Commission may 
                recover grant funds, in whole or in part, from a 
                grantee if the grantee defaults or does not comply with 
                the requirements under this Act; and
                    (F) any additional methods or reporting necessary 
                to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within the grant 
                program.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission to carry 
out this Act for fiscal year 2019, $5,000,000,000, to remain available 
until expended.
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