LIFT America Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1848 To rebuild and modernize the Nation’s infrastructure to expand access to broadband and Next Generation 9–1–1, rehabilitate drinking water infra- structure, modernize the electric grid and energy supply infrastructure, redevelop brownfields, strengthen health care infrastructure, create jobs, and protect public health and the environment, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2021 Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. MI- CHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. WELCH, Mr. TONKO, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. PETERS, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. KUSTER, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. SOTO, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. SCHRIER, Mrs. TRAHAN, and Mrs. FLETCHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Science, Space, and Technology, Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Agriculture, and Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To rebuild and modernize the Nation’s infrastructure to ex- pand access to broadband and Next Generation 9–1– 1, rehabilitate drinking water infrastructure, modernize the electric grid and energy supply infrastructure, rede- velop brownfields, strengthen health care infrastructure, VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1848 IH create jobs, and protect public health and the environ- ment, 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 ‘‘Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow’s America Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘LIFT America Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—UNIVERSAL BROADBAND AND NEXT GENERATION 9–1–1 Sec. 10001. Definitions. Sec. 10002. Sense of Congress. Sec. 10003. Severability. Subtitle A—Digital Equity Sec. 11001. Definitions. PART 1—OFFICE OF INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AND GROWTH Sec. 11101. Annual report of Office. Sec. 11102. Study and report on affordability of adoption of broadband service. Sec. 11103. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 11104. Study and recommendations to connect socially disadvantaged indi- viduals. PART 2—DIGITAL EQUITY PROGRAMS Sec. 11201. State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program. Sec. 11202. Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. Sec. 11203. Policy research, data collection, analysis and modeling, evaluation, and dissemination. Sec. 11204. General provisions. Subtitle B—Broadband Affordability and Pricing Transparency PART 1—BROADBAND AFFORDABILITY Sec. 12101. Authorization for additional funds for the Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund. Sec. 12102. Grants to States to strengthen National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1848 IH Sec. 12103. Federal coordination between National Eligibility Verifier and Na- tional Accuracy Clearinghouse. Sec. 12104. Definitions. PART 2—ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION FOR EMERGENCY CONNECTIVITY FUND Sec. 12201. Additional authorization for Emergency Connectivity Fund. PART 3—PRICING TRANSPARENCY Sec. 12301. Definitions. Sec. 12302. Broadband transparency. Sec. 12303. Distribution of data. Sec. 12304. Coordination with certain other Federal agencies. Sec. 12305. Adoption of consumer broadband labels. Sec. 12306. GAO report. Subtitle C—Broadband Access PART 1—EXPANSION OF BROADBAND ACCESS Sec. 13101. Expansion of broadband access in unserved areas and areas with low-tier or mid-tier service. Sec. 13102. Tribal internet expansion. PART 2—BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE AND INNOVATION Sec. 13201. Short title. Sec. 13202. Definitions. Sec. 13203. Determination of eligibility and project selection. Sec. 13204. Secured loans. Sec. 13205. Lines of credit. Sec. 13206. Alternative prudential lending standards for small projects. Sec. 13207. Program administration. Sec. 13208. State and local permits. Sec. 13209. Regulations. Sec. 13210. Funding. Sec. 13211. Reports to Congress. PART 3—WI-FI ON SCHOOL BUSES Sec. 13301. E-rate support for school bus Wi-Fi. Subtitle D—Community Broadband Sec. 14001. State, local, public-private partnership, and co-op broadband serv- ices. Subtitle E—Next Generation 9–1–1 Sec. 15001. Further deployment of Next Generation 9–1–1. TITLE II—DRINKING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE Sec. 20001. Drinking Water SRF Funding. Sec. 20002. Drinking water system resilience funding. Sec. 20003. PFAS treatment grants. Sec. 20004. Lead service line replacement. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1848 IH Sec. 20005. Assistance for areas affected by natural disasters. Sec. 20006. Allotments for territories. TITLE III—CLEAN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE Subtitle A—Grid Security and Modernization Sec. 31001. 21st century power grid. Sec. 31002. Strategic transformer reserve program. Subtitle B—Energy Efficient Infrastructure PART 1—EFFICIENCY GRANTS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Sec. 32101. Energy efficient public buildings. Sec. 32102. Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. PART 2—ENERGY IMPROVEMENTS AT PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES Sec. 32201. Grants for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy improvements at public school facilities. PART 3—HOPE FOR HOMES Sec. 32301. Definitions. SUBPART A—HOPE TRAINING Sec. 32311. Notice for HOPE Qualification training and grants. Sec. 32312. Course criteria. Sec. 32313. HOPE Qualification. Sec. 32314. Grants. Sec. 32315. Authorization of appropriations. SUBPART B—HOME ENERGY SAVINGS RETROFIT REBATE PROGRAM Sec. 32321. Establishment of Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program. Sec. 32322. Partial system rebates. Sec. 32323. State administered rebates. Sec. 32324. Special provisions for moderate income households. Sec. 32325. Evaluation reports to Congress. Sec. 32326. Administration. Sec. 32327. Treatment of rebates. Sec. 32328. Authorization of appropriations. SUBPART C—GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 32331. Appointment of personnel. Sec. 32332. Maintenance of funding. PART 4—ENERGY AND WATER PERFORMANCE AT FEDERAL FACILITIES Sec. 32401. Energy and water performance requirement for Federal facilities. PART 5—OPEN BACK BETTER Sec. 32501. Facilities energy resiliency. Sec. 32502. Personnel. Subtitle C—Energy Supply Infrastructure VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1848 IH Sec. 33001. Grant program for solar installations located in, or that serve, low- income and underserved areas. Sec. 33002. Improving the natural gas distribution system. Sec. 33003. Distributed energy resources. Sec. 33004. Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator. Sec. 33005. Dam safety. Subtitle D—Smart Communities Infrastructure PART 1—SMART COMMUNITIES Sec. 34101. 3C energy program. Sec. 34102. Federal technology assistance. Sec. 34103. Technology demonstration grant program. Sec. 34104. Smart city or community. PART 2—CLEAN CITIES COALITION PROGRAM Sec. 34201. Clean Cities Coalition Program. PART 3—VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE SUBPART A—ELECTRIC VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE Sec. 34311. Definitions. Sec. 34312. Electric vehicle supply equipment rebate program. Sec. 34313. Model building code for electric vehicle supply equipment. Sec. 34314. Electric vehicle supply equipment coordination. Sec. 34315. State consideration of electric vehicle charging. Sec. 34316. State energy plans. Sec. 34317. Transportation electrification. Sec. 34318. Federal fleets. SUBPART B—ELECTRIC VEHICLES FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES Sec. 34321. Expanding access to electric vehicles in underserved and disadvan- taged communities. Sec. 34322. Ensuring program benefits for underserved and disadvantaged communities. Sec. 34323. Definitions. SUBPART C—PORT ELECTRIFICATION AND DECARBONIZATION Sec. 34331. Definitions. Sec. 34332. Grants to reduce air pollution at ports. Sec. 34333. Model methodologies. Sec. 34334. Port electrification. Sec. 34335. Authorization of appropriations. SUBPART D—OTHER VEHICLES Sec. 34341. Clean School Bus Program. Sec. 34342. Pilot program for the electrification of certain refrigerated vehicles. Sec. 34343. Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program. Sec. 34344. Advanced technology vehicles manufacturing incentive program. TITLE IV—HEALTH CARE INFRASTRUCTURE VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1848 IH Sec. 40001. Core public health infrastructure for State, local, Tribal, and terri- torial health departments. Sec. 40002. Core public health infrastructure and activities for CDC. Sec. 40003. Hospital infrastructure. Sec. 40004. Pilot program to improve laboratory infrastructure. Sec. 40005. 21st century Indian health program hospitals and outpatient health care facilities. Sec. 40006. Pilot program to improve community-based care infrastructure. Sec. 40007. Community Health Center Capital Project Funding. Sec. 40008. Energy efficiency. TITLE V—BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT Sec. 50001. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 50002. State response programs. TITLE I—UNIVERSAL BROAD- 1 BAND AND NEXT GENERA- 2 TION 9–1–1 3 SEC. 10001. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this title: 5 (1) AGING INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘aging indi- 6 vidual’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘older indi- 7 vidual’’ in section 102 of the Older Americans Act 8 of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002). 9 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 10 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 11 gress’’ means— 12 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 13 the Senate; 14 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 15 and Transportation of the Senate; 16 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 17 the House of Representatives; and 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1848 IH (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 1 merce of the House of Representatives. 2 (3) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 3 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 4 Commerce for Communications and Information. 5 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 6 means the Federal Communications Commission. 7 (5) COVERED HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘covered 8 household’’ means a household the income of which 9 does not exceed 150 percent of the poverty thresh- 10 old, as determined by using criteria of poverty estab- 11 lished by the Bureau of the Census, for a household 12 of the size involved. 13 (6) COVERED POPULATIONS.—The term ‘‘cov- 14 ered populations’’ means— 15 (A) individuals who are members of cov- 16 ered households; 17 (B) aging individuals; 18 (C) incarcerated individuals, other than in- 19 dividuals who are incarcerated in a Federal cor- 20 rectional facility (including a private facility op- 21 erated under contract with the Federal Govern- 22 ment); 23 (D) veterans; 24 (E) individuals with disabilities; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1848 IH (F) individuals with a language barrier, in- 1 cluding individuals who— 2 (i) are English learners; or 3 (ii) have low levels of literacy; 4 (G) individuals who are members of a ra- 5 cial or ethnic minority group; and 6 (H) individuals who primarily reside in a 7 rural area. 8 (7) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit- 9 eracy’’ means the skills associated with using tech- 10 nology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, 11 create, and communicate information. 12 (8) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 13 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri- 14 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 15 12102). 16 (9) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 17 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 18 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 19 (10) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 20 has the meaning given such term in section 4(e) of 21 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist- 22 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)). 23 (11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 24 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1848 IH (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 1 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 2 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 3 (B) includes a postsecondary vocational in- 4 stitution. 5 (12) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU- 6 TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary vocational institu- 7 tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 8 102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 9 U.S.C. 1002(c)). 10 (13) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has 11 the meaning given the term in section 13 of the 12 Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 913). 13 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 14 ing given the term in section 3 of the Communica- 15 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 16 (15) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, 18 United States Code. 19 SEC. 10002. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress that— 21 (1) a broadband service connection and digital 22 literacy are increasingly critical to how individuals— 23 (A) participate in the society, economy, 24 and civic institutions of the United States; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:33 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1848.IH H1848 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1848 IH (B) access health care and essential serv- 1 ices, obtain education, and build careers; 2 (2) digital exclusion— 3 (A) carries a high societal and economic 4 cost; 5 (B) materially harms the opportunity of an 6 individual with respect to the econo [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]