Secure and Affordable Broadband Extension Act

Bill: 118-hr-9193
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13]
Introduced: 2024-07-30
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Latest action: action_date: 2024-07-30
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Summaries:
action_date: 2024-07-30
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Secure and Affordable Broadband Extension Act</strong></p><p>This bill reauthorizes the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and provides funding for the removal and replacement of certain foreign communications equipment in telecommunications networks. (ACP provided discounted internet service to eligible low-income households until it was terminated in May 2024 due to a lapse in funding.)</p><p>Specifically, the bill reauthorizes and provides funding for ACP for FY2024. The bill makes various changes to ACP eligibility thresholds and verification, including by reducing the income threshold for eligibility under the poverty guidelines. Further, the bill requires communications providers offering the ACP benefit to use specified federal databases to verify an applicant’s eligibility, removing the existing option to&nbsp;use alternative verification processes. The bill specifies that families made ineligible by these changes must remain eligible for benefits for 180 days following the bill’s enactment. The bill also eliminates ACP’s one-time consumer subsidy of up to $100 toward the purchase of a connected device.</p><p>The bill also provides additional funding for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (commonly known as <em>rip and replace</em>). (Under the program, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reimburses providers of advanced communications services for expenses incurred in the removal, replacement, and disposal of communications equipment produced or provided by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation.)</p><p>Finally, the bill directs the FCC to reauction licenses for the use of specified electromagnetic spectrum bands primarily used by wireless communications providers.&nbsp;</p>

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9193 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 30, 2024 Ms. Budzinski (for herself, Mr. Carey , Ms. Craig , Ms. Malliotakis , Mr. Courtney , Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia , Ms. Wild , Mr. Bergman , Mr. Krishnamoorthi , Mr. Moylan , Ms. Kuster , and Mrs. González-Colón ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To appropriate funds for the Federal Communications Commission’s rip and replace program and Affordable Connectivity Program, to improve the Affordable Connectivity Program, to require a spectrum auction, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Secure and Affordable Broadband Extension Act . 2. Additional rip and replace funding (a) Increase in expenditure limit Section 4(k) of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 ( 47 U.S.C. 1603(k) ) is amended by striking $1,900,000,000 and inserting $4,980,000,000 . (b) Appropriation of funds There is appropriated to the Federal Communications Commission for fiscal year 2024, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $3,080,000,000, to remain available until expended, to carry out section 4 of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 ( 47 U.S.C. 1603 ). 3. Improving the Affordable Connectivity Program (a) Improving verification of eligibility (1) Required use of National Verifier to determine eligibility Section 904 of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752 ) is amended— (A) in subsection (a)(6)(C), by striking or the participating provider verifies eligibility under subsection (a)(2)(B) ; and (B) in subsection (b)(2), by striking shall and all that follows and inserting the following: shall use the National Verifier and National Lifeline Accountability Database. . (2) Repeal of eligibility through a provider’s existing low-income program Section 904(a)(6) of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752(a)(6) ) is amended— (A) in subparagraph (C), by adding or at the end; (B) by striking subparagraph (D); and (C) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (D). (3) Limitation on eligibility through the community eligibility provision of the free lunch program and the free school breakfast program Section 904(a)(6) of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752(a)(6) ) is amended by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following: (B) at least 1 member of the household— (i) is eligible for and receives— (I) free or reduced price lunch under the school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq. ); or (II) free or reduced price breakfast under the school breakfast program established under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 ( 42 U.S.C. 1773 ); and (ii) attends a school the local educational agency of which does not elect to receive special assistance payments under section 11(a)(1)(F) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F) ); . (4) Reduction of eligible households Section 904(a)(6)(A) of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752(a)(6)(A) ) is amended by striking except that and all that follows and inserting a semicolon. (5) Effective date; rules (A) Definitions In this paragraph— (i) the terms affordable connectivity benefit , Commission , eligible household , and participating provider have the meanings given those terms in section 904(a) of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752(a) ), as amended by this subsection; and (ii) the term Affordable Connectivity Program means the program established under section 904(b)(1) of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752(b)(1) ). (B) Effective date Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the amendments made by this subsection shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act. (C) Enrolled households A household that received the affordable connectivity benefit as of April 30, 2024, but is no longer an eligible household by reason of the amendments made by this subsection shall nonetheless be treated an eligible household until the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. (D) Updating rules Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall update the rules of the Commission relating to the Affordable Connectivity Program to implement the amendments made by this subsection. (E) Re-certification During the period beginning on the date on which the Commission updates the rules under subparagraph (D) and ending on the date that is 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, a participating provider or the Administrator of the Universal Service Administrative Company, as applicable, shall re-certify the eligibility of a household for the Affordable Connectivity Program in accordance with section 54.1806(f) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, based on the amendments made by this subsection. (b) Repeal of Affordable Connectivity Program device subsidy Section 904 of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752 ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking paragraph (4); and (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (11) as paragraphs (4) through (10), respectively; and (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking , or an affordable connectivity benefit and a connected device, ; (B) by striking paragraph (5); (C) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (15) as paragraphs (5) through (14), respectively; (D) by amending paragraph (5), as so redesignated, to read as follows: (5) Certification required To receive a reimbursement under paragraph (4), a participating provider shall certify to the Commission that each eligible household for which the participating provider is seeking reimbursement for providing an internet service offering discounted by the affordable connectivity benefit— (A) will not be required to pay an early termination fee if such eligible household elects to enter into a contract to receive such internet service offering if such household later terminates such contract; (B) was not, after December 27, 2020, subject to a mandatory waiting period for such internet service offering based on having previously received broadband internet access service from such participating provider; and (C) will otherwise be subject to the participating provider’s generally applicable terms and conditions as applied to other customers. ; (E) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated— (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking a connected device or a reimbursement for ; (ii) by striking subparagraph (E); (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and (G) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and (iv) in subparagraph (F), as so redesignated, by striking subsection (a)(6) and inserting subsection (a)(5) ; and (F) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated, by striking paragraph (12) and inserting paragraph (11) . (c) Antifraud controls, performance goals, and measures Section 904 of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (k) Antifraud controls, performance goals, and measures Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall develop and implement antifraud controls, performance goals, and performance measures for the Affordable Connectivity Program, and in doing so, shall consider the recommendations submitted by the Comptroller General of the United States to the Commission in the report entitled Affordable Broadband: FCC Could Improve Performance Goals and Measures, Consumer Outreach, and Fraud Risk Management , publicly released January 25, 2023 (GAO–23–105399). . (d) Report on effectiveness Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Federal Communications Commission shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report analyzing the effects of this section, including the amendments made by this section, with respect to improving the efficiency and quality of the Affordable Connectivity Program established under section 904(b)(1) of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752(b)(1) ). (e) Appropriation of funds Section 904(i)(2) of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 47 U.S.C. 1752(i)(2) ) is amended— (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking Appropriation and inserting Appropriations ; (2) by striking There is and inserting the following: (A) Fiscal year 2021 There is ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (B) Fiscal year 2024 There is appropriated to the Affordable Connectivity Fund, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $6,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, to remain available until expended. . 4. Reauction of certain licenses (a) FCC reauction authority Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission, without regard to whether the authority of the Commission under paragraph (11) of section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 309(j) ) has expired— (1) shall initiate 1 or more systems of competitive bidding under that section to grant licenses for— (A) the bands referred to by the Commission as the AWS–3 bands ; and (B) any other unassigned spectrum bands with respect to which the Commission previously offered licenses in competitive bidding, as determined appropriate by the Commission; and (2) shall initiate 1 or more systems of competitive bidding under that section to grant licenses for any unassigned spectrum bands, other than the bands auctioned under paragraph (1), with respect to which the Commission— (A) previously offered licenses in competitive bidding; and (B) determines there is sufficient current demand. (b) Completion of reauction The Federal Communications Commission shall complete each system of competitive bidding described in subsection (a), including receiving payments, processing applications, and granting licenses, without regard to whether the authority of the Commission under paragraph (11) of section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 309(j) ) has expired.