Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1783 To make high-speed broadband internet service accessible and affordable to all Americans, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2021 Mr. CLYBURN (for himself, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Penn- sylvania, Mrs. AXNE, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. DELGADO, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. KAHELE, Mr. KIND, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MENG, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. TRONE, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. VEASEY, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infra- structure, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To make high-speed broadband internet service accessible and affordable to all Americans, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1783 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. Sec. 4. Severability. TITLE I—DIGITAL EQUITY Sec. 1000. Definitions. Subtitle A—Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth Sec. 1101. Annual report of Office. Sec. 1102. Study and report on affordability of adoption of broadband service. Sec. 1103. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 1104. Study and recommendations to connect socially disadvantaged indi- viduals. Subtitle B—Digital Equity Programs Sec. 1201. State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program. Sec. 1202. Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. Sec. 1203. Policy research, data collection, analysis and modeling, evaluation, and dissemination. Sec. 1204. General provisions. TITLE II—BROADBAND AFFORDABILITY AND PRICING TRANSPARENCY Subtitle A—Broadband Affordability Sec. 2101. Authorization for additional funds for the Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund. Sec. 2102. Grants to States to strengthen National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier. Sec. 2103. Federal coordination between National Eligibility Verifier and Na- tional Accuracy Clearinghouse. Sec. 2104. Definitions. Subtitle B—Additional Authorization for Emergency Connectivity Fund Sec. 2201. Additional authorization for Emergency Connectivity Fund. Subtitle C—Pricing Transparency Sec. 2301. Definitions. Sec. 2302. Broadband transparency. Sec. 2303. Distribution of data. Sec. 2304. Coordination with certain other Federal agencies. Sec. 2305. Adoption of consumer broadband labels. Sec. 2306. GAO report. TITLE III—BROADBAND ACCESS Subtitle A—Expansion of Broadband Access VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1783 IH Sec. 3101. Expansion of broadband access in unserved areas and areas with low-tier or mid-tier service. Sec. 3102. Tribal internet expansion. Subtitle B—Broadband Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Sec. 3201. Short title. Sec. 3202. Definitions. Sec. 3203. Determination of eligibility and project selection. Sec. 3204. Secured loans. Sec. 3205. Lines of credit. Sec. 3206. Alternative prudential lending standards for small projects. Sec. 3207. Program administration. Sec. 3208. State and local permits. Sec. 3209. Regulations. Sec. 3210. Funding. Sec. 3211. Reports to Congress. Subtitle C—Wi-Fi on School Buses Sec. 3301. E-rate support for school bus Wi-Fi. TITLE IV—COMMUNITY BROADBAND Sec. 4001. State, local, public-private partnership, and co-op broadband serv- ices. TITLE V—BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE DEPLOYMENT Sec. 5001. Broadband infrastructure deployment. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) AGING INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘aging indi- 3 vidual’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘older indi- 4 vidual’’ in section 102 of the Older Americans Act 5 of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002). 6 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 7 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 8 gress’’ means— 9 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 10 the Senate; 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1783 IH (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 1 and Transportation of the Senate; 2 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 3 the House of Representatives; and 4 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 5 merce of the House of Representatives. 6 (3) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 7 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 8 Commerce for Communications and Information. 9 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 10 means the Federal Communications Commission. 11 (5) COVERED HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘covered 12 household’’ means a household the income of which 13 does not exceed 150 percent of the poverty thresh- 14 old, as determined by using criteria of poverty estab- 15 lished by the Bureau of the Census, for a household 16 of the size involved. 17 (6) COVERED POPULATIONS.—The term ‘‘cov- 18 ered populations’’ means— 19 (A) individuals who are members of cov- 20 ered households; 21 (B) aging individuals; 22 (C) incarcerated individuals, other than in- 23 dividuals who are incarcerated in a Federal cor- 24 rectional facility (including a private facility op- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1783 IH erated under contract with the Federal Govern- 1 ment); 2 (D) veterans; 3 (E) individuals with disabilities; 4 (F) individuals with a language barrier, in- 5 cluding individuals who— 6 (i) are English learners; or 7 (ii) have low levels of literacy; 8 (G) individuals who are members of a ra- 9 cial or ethnic minority group; and 10 (H) individuals who primarily reside in a 11 rural area. 12 (7) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit- 13 eracy’’ means the skills associated with using tech- 14 nology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, 15 create, and communicate information. 16 (8) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri- 18 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 19 12102). 20 (9) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 21 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 22 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 23 (10) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 24 has the meaning given such term in section 4(e) of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1783 IH the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist- 1 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 2 (11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 3 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’— 4 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 5 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 6 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 7 (B) includes a postsecondary vocational in- 8 stitution. 9 (12) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU- 10 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary vocational institu- 11 tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 12 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 13 U.S.C. 1002(c)). 14 (13) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has 15 the meaning given the term in section 13 of the 16 Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 913). 17 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 18 ing given the term in section 3 of the Communica- 19 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 20 (15) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 21 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 22 United States Code. 23 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 24 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1783 IH (1) a broadband service connection and digital 1 literacy are increasingly critical to how individuals— 2 (A) participate in the society, economy, 3 and civic institutions of the United States; and 4 (B) access health care and essential serv- 5 ices, obtain education, and build careers; 6 (2) digital exclusion— 7 (A) carries a high societal and economic 8 cost; 9 (B) materially harms the opportunity of an 10 individual with respect to the economic success, 11 educational achievement, positive health out- 12 comes, social inclusion, and civic engagement of 13 that individual; 14 (C) materially harms the opportunity of 15 areas where it is especially widespread with re- 16 spect to economic success, educational achieve- 17 ment, positive health outcomes, social cohesion, 18 and civic institutions; and 19 (D) exacerbates existing wealth and income 20 gaps, especially those experienced by covered 21 populations and between regions; 22 (3) achieving accessible and affordable access to 23 broadband service, as well as digital literacy, for all 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1783 IH people of the United States requires additional and 1 sustained research efforts and investment; 2 (4) the Federal Government, as well as State, 3 Tribal, and local governments, have made social, 4 legal, and economic obligations that necessarily ex- 5 tend to how the citizens and residents of those gov- 6 ernments access and use the internet; and 7 (5) achieving accessible and affordable access to 8 broadband service is a matter of social and economic 9 justice and is worth pursuing. 10 (b) BROADBAND SERVICE DEFINED.—In this sec- 11 tion, the term ‘‘broadband service’’ has the meaning given 12 the term ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ in section 13 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 14 successor regulation. 15 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 16 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 17 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend- 18 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, 19 the remainder of this Act and the amendments made by 20 this Act, and the application of such provision or amend- 21 ment to any other person or circumstance, shall not be 22 affected thereby. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1783 IH TITLE I—DIGITAL EQUITY 1 SEC. 1000. DEFINITIONS. 2 In this title: 3 (1) ADOPTION OF BROADBAND SERVICE.—The 4 term ‘‘adoption of broadband service’’ means the 5 process by which an individual obtains daily access 6 to broadband service— 7 (A) with a download speed of at least 25 8 megabits per second, an upload speed of at 9 least 3 megabits per second, and a latency that 10 is sufficiently low to allow real-time, interactive 11 applications; 12 (B) with the digital skills that are nec- 13 essary for the individual to participate online; 14 and 15 (C) on a— 16 (i) personal device; and 17 (ii) secure and convenient network. 18 (2) ANCHOR INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘anchor 19 institution’’ means a public or private school, a li- 20 brary, a medical or healthcare provider, a museum, 21 a public safety entity, a public housing agency, a 22 community college, an institution of higher edu- 23 cation, a religious organization, or any other com- 24 munity support organization or agency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1783 IH (3) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 1 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary, act- 2 ing through the Office. 3 (4) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 4 ‘‘broadband service’’ has the meaning given the term 5 ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ in section 8.1(b) 6 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any suc- 7 cessor regulation. 8 (5) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘covered 9 programs’’ means the State Digital Equity Capacity 10 Grant Program established under section 1201 and 11 the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program es- 12 tablished under section 1202. 13 (6) DIGITAL EQUITY.—The term ‘‘digital eq- 14 uity’’ means the condition in which individuals and 15 communities have the information technology capac- 16 ity that is needed for full participation in the society 17 and economy of the United States. 18 (7) DIGITAL INCLUSION ACTIVITIES.—The term 19 ‘‘digital inclusion activities’’— 20 (A) means the activities that are necessary 21 to ensure that all individuals in the United 22 States have access to, and the use of, affordable 23 information and communication technologies, 24 such as— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1783 IH (i) reliable broadband service; 1 (ii) internet-enabled devices that meet 2 the needs of the user; and 3 (iii) applications and online content 4 designed to enable and encourage self-suf- 5 ficiency, participation, and collaboration; 6 and 7 (B) includes— 8 (i) the provision of digital literacy 9 training; 10 (ii) the provision of quality technical 11 support; and 12 (iii) promoting basic awareness of 13 measures to ensure online privacy and cy- 14 bersecurity. 15 (8) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘‘eligible 16 State’’ means— 17 (A) with respect to planning grants made 18 available under section 1201(c)(3), a State with 19 respect to which the Assistant Secretary has 20 approved an application submitted to the As- 21 sistant Secretary under subparagraph (C) of 22 such section; and 23 (B) with respect to capacity grants award- 24 ed under section 1201(d), a State with respect 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1783.IH H1783 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1783 IH to which the Assistant Secretary has approved 1 an application submitted to the Assistant Sec- 2 retary under paragraph (2) of such section. 3 (9) FEDERAL BROADBAND SUPPORT PRO- 4 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Federal broadband support pr [Text truncated for display. 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