What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Comptroller General (a government official who audits federal spending) to report to Congress about whether homes assisted by federal housing programs can support high-speed internet service. The bill also requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to create a plan for upgrading these homes to support broadband service.
Who It Affects
- The Comptroller General of the United States
- Congress
- The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- The Secretary of Agriculture
- Residents of federally assisted housing (homes that receive federal government help)
- Federal agencies that manage housing programs
Key Provisions
- The Comptroller General must submit a report to Congress within one year identifying which federally assisted housing has broadband access and which does not, broken down by state, congressional district (voting areas), ZIP code, and census tract (a small geographic area), including who lives there and which federal agency runs the program (Sec. 2(b)(1))
- The report must analyze which federally assisted housing would need physical upgrades to support broadband service and estimate the costs and time needed (Sec. 2(b)(2) and (3))
- The report must discuss obstacles to broadband expansion, including why it is harder in rural areas and low-income neighborhoods, and provide recommendations for Congress (Sec. 2(b)(4) and (7))
- The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development must develop a retrofitting plan and submit it to Congress within 18 months (Sec. 3(a))
What Changes
If this becomes law, Congress will receive a detailed report showing which federally assisted homes lack broadband capability and how much it would cost to upgrade them. The government will also develop an official plan to add broadband service to these homes.
Important Definitions
- Broadband Service: Internet service meeting federal communications standards as defined in federal regulations (Sec. 3(b)(1))
- Federally Assisted Housing: Any home or housing unit that receives help from programs run by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the Secretary of Agriculture (Sec. 3(b)(2))
- State: Any U.S. state, plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands (Sec. 3(b)(3))
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 827
To require the Comptroller General to submit to Congress a report on the
capacity of federally assisted housing to support broadband service, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 2, 2023
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself and Mr. TIMMONS) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To require the Comptroller General to submit to Congress
a report on the capacity of federally assisted housing
to support broadband service, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Home Internet Acces-
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sibility Act’’.
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•HR 827 IH
SEC. 2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON THE CAPAC-
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ITY OF FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING TO
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SUPPORT BROADBAND SERVICE.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the
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date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General
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of the United States shall submit to Congress a report
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on the capacity of federally assisted housing to support
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broadband service.
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(b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub-
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section (a) shall include—
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(1) an analysis that identifies which federally
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assisted housing has access to broadband service and
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which such housing does not have access to
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broadband service, disaggregated by State, congres-
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sional district, ZIP Code, and census tract, that in-
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cludes demographic information and any Federal
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agency responsible for such housing;
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(2) an analysis of which such housing does not
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currently have the capacity to support broadband
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service deployment and would require retrofitting to
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support
broadband
service
deployment,
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disaggregated by State, congressional district, ZIP
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Code, and census tract, that includes demographic
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information and any Federal agency responsible for
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such housing;
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•HR 827 IH
(3) an analysis of the estimated costs and time-
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frame necessary for all federally assisted housing to
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have the capacity to support broadband service;
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(4) an analysis of the challenges to more wide-
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spread deployment of broadband service, including
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the comparative market dynamics to expansion in
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rural areas and low-income urban and suburban
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areas, and the challenges to pursuing retrofits for all
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federally assisted housing to have the capacity to
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support broadband service;
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(5) descriptions of lessons learned from pre-
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vious retrofitting actions;
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(6) an evaluation of the ConnectHome pilot
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program of the Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
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velopment; and
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(7) recommendations for Congress to allow for
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all federally assisted housing to have the capacity to
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support broadband service under a range of specific
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projected timelines.
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SEC. 3. PLAN FOR BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY IN FEDER-
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ALLY ASSISTED HOUSING.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and
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Urban Development, in consultation with the Comptroller
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General and other relevant heads of Federal agencies,
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shall—
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•HR 827 IH
(1) develop a plan for retrofitting federally as-
1
sisted housing, as necessary, to support broadband
2
service; and
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(2) submit such plan to the Congress not later
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than 18 months after the date of the enactment of
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this Act.
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(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
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(1)
BROADBAND
SERVICE.—The
term
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‘‘broadband service’’ has the meaning given the term
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‘‘broadband internet access service’’ in section 8.1(b)
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of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc-
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cessor regulation.
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(2)
FEDERALLY
ASSISTED
HOUSING.—The
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term ‘‘federally assisted housing’’ means any dwell-
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ing that constitutes or contains a housing unit that
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is assisted under a program administered by the
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Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the
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Secretary of Agriculture.
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(3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each
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State of the United States, the District of Columbia,
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Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American
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Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
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Mariana Islands.
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Æ
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