Computer and Internet Access Equity Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1023 To provide tax credits to low- to moderate-income individuals for certain computer and education costs, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to modify the requirements for the Lifeline program to provide increased support, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2021 Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To provide tax credits to low- to moderate-income individuals for certain computer and education costs, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to modify the re- quirements for the Lifeline program to provide increased support, 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 ‘‘Computer and Internet 4 Access Equity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. INCREASED LIFELINE SUPPORT. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1023 IS (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 1 means the Federal Communications Commission. 2 (2) TERMS DEFINED IN REGULATIONS.—The 3 terms defined in section 54.400 of title 47, Code of 4 Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), 5 have the meanings given those terms in that section. 6 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 14 days after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall pro- 8 mulgate regulations to modify the requirements for the 9 Lifeline program set forth in subpart E of part 54 of title 10 47, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date 11 of enactment of this Act) to provide for the following: 12 (1) The amount of Lifeline support that a pro- 13 vider of Lifeline service may receive for providing 14 such service to each qualifying low-income consumer 15 shall be increased by the lesser of— 16 (A) $83.33 per month; or 17 (B) the amount needed to make the 18 amount of Lifeline support received by the pro- 19 vider equal to the cost of providing such service, 20 except that such cost may not exceed the cost 21 to the provider of providing an equivalent level 22 of voice telephony service or broadband internet 23 access service (as applicable) to a consumer who 24 does not receive Lifeline service. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1023 IS (2) The percentage of the Federal Poverty 1 Guidelines (as specified in section 54.409(a)(1) of 2 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations) at or below 3 which a consumer’s household income must be in 4 order for the consumer to constitute a qualifying 5 low-income consumer on the basis of income shall be 6 increased to 435 percent. 7 (3) A provider of broadband internet access 8 service shall not be required to be designated as an 9 eligible telecommunications carrier under section 10 214(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 11 U.S.C. 214(e)) in order to receive Lifeline support 12 for providing such service to a qualifying low-income 13 consumer. 14 (c) DURATION.—The modifications made by the reg- 15 ulations promulgated under subsection (b) shall cease to 16 have any force or effect on the date that is 12 years after 17 the date on which the regulations are promulgated. 18 (d) CONSUMER PROTECTIONS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A provider of broadband 20 internet access service that receives Lifeline support 21 for providing such service to a qualified low-income 22 consumer— 23 (A) shall provide such service to the con- 24 sumer at a minimum speed of 25 megabits per 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1023 IS second for downloads and 3 megabits per sec- 1 ond for uploads, which minimum speed shall be 2 reevaluated and, if appropriate, increased by 3 the Commission not less frequently than once 4 every 3 years; 5 (B) shall provide a level of customer serv- 6 ice to the consumer that is comparable to the 7 customer service that the provider provides to 8 consumers of broadband internet access service 9 who do not receive Lifeline service; 10 (C) shall offer such service to each quali- 11 fied low-income consumer in the designated 12 service area of the provider; and 13 (D)(i) shall advertise the availability of 14 such service and the charges therefore using 15 media of general distribution throughout the 16 designated service area of the provider to in- 17 crease awareness among consumers (including 18 non-English speaking consumers) that they may 19 be eligible for such service; and 20 (ii) may partner with State agencies re- 21 sponsible for the provision of social assistance 22 and service programs in conducting advertising 23 under clause (i). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1023 IS (2) DESIGNATED SERVICE AREA.—A State com- 1 mission or the Commission, as applicable, shall es- 2 tablish a designated service area for a provider of 3 broadband internet access service described in para- 4 graph (1) for purposes of that paragraph in the 5 same manner as the State commission or Commis- 6 sion establishes a designated service area for a com- 7 mon carrier under paragraph (5) or (6), as applica- 8 ble, of section 214(e) of the Communications Act of 9 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(e)). 10 SEC. 3. INTERNET EDUCATION AND TRAINING GRANT PRO- 11 GRAM. 12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 13 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 14 means the Federal Communications Commission. 15 (2) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The 16 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ has the 17 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Work- 18 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 19 3102). 20 (3) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit- 21 eracy’’ means the skills associated with using tech- 22 nology. 23 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 24 ty’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1023 IS (A) a nonprofit organization; 1 (B) a not-for-profit social welfare organiza- 2 tion; or 3 (C) a community-based organization. 4 (5) FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES.—The 5 term ‘‘Federal Poverty Guidelines’’ means the Fed- 6 eral Poverty Guidelines used for purposes of section 7 54.409(a)(1) of title 47, Code of Federal Regula- 8 tions (or any successor regulation). 9 (6) HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘household’’ has 10 the meaning given the term in section 54.400 of title 11 47, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 12 regulation). 13 (7) INCOME.—The term ‘‘income’’ has the 14 meaning given the term in section 54.400 of title 47, 15 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regu- 16 lation). 17 (8) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 18 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de- 19 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 20 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 21 501(a) of such Code. 22 (9) NOT-FOR-PROFIT SOCIAL WELFARE ORGANI- 23 ZATION.—The term ‘‘not-for-profit social welfare or- 24 ganization’’ means an organization described in sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1023 IS tion 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 1 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such 2 Code. 3 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Not later than 100 days 4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 5 shall establish a program to make grants on a competitive 6 basis to eligible entities to develop and carry out an inter- 7 net safety education or training program. 8 (c) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity that wishes to 9 receive a grant under this section shall submit to the Com- 10 mission an application at such time, in such manner, and 11 containing such information as the Commission may re- 12 quire. 13 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 14 a grant under this section shall use grant funds to— 15 (1) develop a program to provide internet edu- 16 cation and training, which may address cyberbully- 17 ing, online privacy, cybersecurity, and digital lit- 18 eracy, to individuals living in households with an in- 19 come at or below 435 percent of the Federal Poverty 20 Guidelines for households of the applicable size; and 21 (2) provide such education or training to such 22 individuals through such program. 23 (e) REPORTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1023 IS (1) REPORTS TO COMMISSION.—Not later than 1 3 years after the date on which an eligible entity re- 2 ceives a grant under this section, the eligible entity 3 shall publish and submit to the Commission a report 4 that— 5 (A) describes the use of the grant by the 6 eligible entity, including the number of individ- 7 uals served by the eligible entity using grant 8 funds; 9 (B) describes the progress of the eligible 10 entity toward fulfilling the objectives for which 11 the grant was awarded; and 12 (C) includes any additional information re- 13 quired by the Commission. 14 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 16 Commission shall publish and submit to Congress a 17 report that— 18 (A) summarizes the data from the reports 19 that the Commission has received under para- 20 graph (1); and 21 (B) assesses the effectiveness and cost-ef- 22 fectiveness of the grant program established 23 under this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1023 IS (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 1 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 2 necessary to carry out this section. 3 SEC. 4. CREDIT FOR COMPUTER COSTS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub- 5 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 6 1986 is amended by inserting after section 36B the fol- 7 lowing new section: 8 ‘‘SEC. 36C. CREDIT FOR COMPUTER COSTS. 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible indi- 10 vidual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax 11 imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an amount 12 equal the lesser of— 13 ‘‘(1) the amount of qualified computer costs 14 paid or incurred by the taxpayer during such taxable 15 year, 16 ‘‘(2) $2,000 ($4,000 in the case of a joint re- 17 turn), or 18 ‘‘(3) an amount equal to $10,000 ($20,000 in 19 the case of a joint return) minus the sum of any 20 credits allowed to the taxpayer under this section for 21 any preceding taxable year. 22 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED COMPUTER COSTS.—For purposes 23 of this section, the term ‘qualified computer costs’ means 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1023 IS amounts paid or incurred for computers, printers, and 1 other education-related technology. 2 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS IN- 3 COME.—With respect to any taxable year, the $2,000 4 amount (or, in the case of a joint return, $4,000 amount) 5 in subsection (a)(2) shall be reduced by an amount equal 6 to 5 percent of so much of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross 7 income for such taxable year as exceeds— 8 ‘‘(1) $72,000 in the case of a joint return, 9 ‘‘(2) $54,000 in the case of a head of house- 10 hold, and 11 ‘‘(3) $36,000 in the case of a taxpayer not de- 12 scribed in paragraph (1) or (2). 13 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible indi- 14 vidual’ means any individual other than— 15 ‘‘(1) any nonresident alien individual, 16 ‘‘(2) any individual with respect to whom a de- 17 duction under section 151 is allowable to another 18 taxpayer for a taxable year beginning in the cal- 19 endar year in which the individual’s taxable year be- 20 gins, and 21 ‘‘(3) an estate or trust. 22 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section shall 23 only apply to qualified computer costs incurred by the tax- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1023 IS payer after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 1 2033.’’. 2 (b) ADVANCE PAYMENT OF CREDIT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 of the Internal 4 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 5 9611(b) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 6 (Public Law 117–2), is amended by inserting after 7 section 7527A the following new section: 8 ‘‘SEC. 7527B. ADVANCE PAYMENT OF CREDIT FOR COM- 9 PUTER COSTS. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 11 date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 12 establish a program for making advance payments of the 13 credit allowed under section 36C (determined without re- 14 gard to subsection (e) of such section), on such basis as 15 the Secretary determines to be administratively feasible, 16 to taxpayers determined to be eligible for advance payment 17 of such credit. 18 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 20 payments under subsection (a) only to the extent 21 that the total amount of such payments made to any 22 taxpayer during the taxable year does not exceed the 23 amount of the credit determined under subsection 24 (a) of section 36C, as determined based on applica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:19 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1023.IS S1023 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1023 IS tion of subsection (c) of such section using the ad- 1 justed gross income of the taxpayer for the most re- 2 cent taxable year for which a return has been filed 3 during any of the preceding 3 taxable years. 4 ‘‘(2) NON-FILERS.—In the case of any taxpayer 5 who has not filed a return during the period de- 6 scribed in paragraph (1), such paragraph shall be 7 applied without regard to subsection (c) of section 8 36C.’’. 9 (2) RECONCILIATION OF CREDIT AND ADVANCE 10 CREDIT.—Section 36C of such Code, as added by 11 subsection (a), is amended— 12 (A) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub- 13 section (f); and 14 (B) by inserting after subsection (d) the 15 following new subsection: 16 ‘‘(e) RECONCILIATION OF CREDIT AND ADVA [Text truncated for display. 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