Broadband MAPS Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1044 To create a task force at the Federal Communications Commission to ensure the policy and funding decisions of the Commission are informed by data collection and analysis required in title VIII of the Communications Act of 1934, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 15, 2021 Ms. CRAIG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To create a task force at the Federal Communications Com- mission to ensure the policy and funding decisions of the Commission are informed by data collection and anal- ysis required in title VIII of the Communications Act of 1934, 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, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadband - Meas- 4 uring Availability and Aligning Policies Task Force Act’’ 5 or the ‘‘Broadband MAPS Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1044.IH H1044 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1044 IH SEC. 2. BROADBAND MAAPS TASK FORCE. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 2 the date of the enactment of this section, the Commission 3 shall establish the Broadband MAAPS Task Force. 4 (b) CHAIR.—The Commission shall designate a Chair 5 of the Task Force. 6 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Task Force 7 shall include designees selected by the Commission from 8 bureaus and offices of the Commission. 9 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Task Force shall be re- 10 sponsible for the following: 11 (1) Coordinate, monitor, and oversee the work 12 of the bureaus and offices to implement title VIII of 13 the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. 641 et seq.) 14 and the Secure and Trusted Communications Net- 15 works Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), includ- 16 ing creating and updating the broadband availability 17 maps. 18 (2) Identify any ongoing and anticipated Com- 19 mission action, including any report, rulemaking, 20 and funding program, such as the Universal Service 21 Fund programs, that should be informed by the 22 broadband availability maps. 23 (3) Ensure that any relevant ongoing and an- 24 ticipated Commission action, including any report, 25 rulemaking, and funding program, such as the Uni- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1044.IH H1044 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1044 IH versal Service Fund programs, is informed by the 1 broadband availability maps. 2 (4) Not later than 18 months after the date of 3 the enactment of this section, provide the commit- 4 tees of jurisdiction an estimate of the ongoing cost 5 associated with maintaining the broadband avail- 6 ability maps. 7 (5) Provide any recommendation, if necessary, 8 to the committees of jurisdiction to ensure that the 9 Commission can produce accurate broadband avail- 10 ability maps with sufficient granularity to allow the 11 Commission to determine the areas in the United 12 States that lack broadband internet access service. 13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) BROADBAND AVAILABILITY MAPS.—The 15 term ‘‘broadband availability maps’’ means the maps 16 required under section 802 of the Communications 17 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642). 18 (2) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.— 19 The term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ has 20 the meaning given that term in section 8.1(b) of title 21 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 22 regulation. 23 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 24 means the Federal Communications Commission. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1044.IH H1044 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1044 IH (4) COMMITTEES OF JURISDICTION.—The term 1 ‘‘committees of jurisdiction’’ means the Committee 2 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 3 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 4 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 5 (5) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ 6 means the Broadband MAAPS Task Force estab- 7 lished pursuant to subsection (a). 8 (6) UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND PROGRAM.—The 9 term ‘‘Universal Service Fund program’’ means any 10 program authorized in section 254(h) of the Com- 11 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)). 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:45 Mar 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1044.IH H1044 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS