BRIDGE Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2071 To provide grants to States, territories, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and eligible Tribal entities to promote access to affordable, high-speed broadband and digital equity. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 15, 2021 Mr. BENNET (for himself, Mr. KING, and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Com- merce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To provide grants to States, territories, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and eligible Tribal entities to pro- mote access to affordable, high-speed broadband and dig- ital equity. 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 Reform 4 and Investment to Drive Growth in the Economy Act of 5 2021’’ or the ‘‘BRIDGE Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2071 IS (1) Access to affordable, reliable, and high- 1 speed broadband is essential to full participation in 2 modern life in the United States. 3 (2) The persistent ‘‘digital divide’’ in the 4 United States is a barrier to the economic competi- 5 tiveness of the United States and equitable distribu- 6 tion of essential public services, including health care 7 and education. 8 (3) The digital divide disproportionately affects 9 communities of color, lower-income areas, and rural 10 areas. 11 (4) In many communities across the country, 12 increased competition among broadband providers 13 has the potential to offer consumers more afford- 14 able, high-quality options for broadband service. 15 (5) The 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic has 16 underscored the critical importance of affordable, 17 high-speed broadband for individuals, families, and 18 communities to be able to work, learn, and connect 19 remotely while supporting social distancing. 20 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT. 21 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 22 (1) AREAS LACKING BROADBAND ACCESS.—In 23 this section— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2071 IS (A) the term ‘‘unserved area’’ means an 1 area that lacks access to broadband service with 2 a speed greater than— 3 (i) 25 megabits per second for 4 downloads; and 5 (ii) 3 megabits per second for uploads; 6 (B) the term ‘‘underserved area’’ means an 7 area that— 8 (i) is not an unserved area; and 9 (ii) lacks access to broadband service 10 with a speed of not less than— 11 (I) 100 megabits per second for 12 downloads; and 13 (II) 25 megabits per second for 14 uploads; 15 (C) the term ‘‘other qualifying area’’ 16 means an area that— 17 (i) is not an unserved area or under- 18 served area; and 19 (ii) lacks access to gigabit-level 20 broadband service; and 21 (D) the term ‘‘eligible area’’ means an 22 unserved area, underserved area, or other quali- 23 fying area. 24 (2) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2071 IS (A) the term ‘‘affordable broadband service 1 plan’’ means a plan under which broadband 2 service is provided at a rate that is determined 3 by the Commission, in coordination with the As- 4 sistant Secretary, to be affordable for a 4-per- 5 son household that— 6 (i) includes 2 dependents under the 7 age of 18; and 8 (ii) has an income of 136 percent of 9 the poverty line applicable to a family of 10 the size involved (as determined under sec- 11 tion 673(2) of the Community Services 12 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))); 13 (B) the term ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ means 14 the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Com- 15 munications and Information; 16 (C) the term ‘‘broadband’’ or ‘‘broadband 17 service’’ has the meaning given the term 18 ‘‘broadband internet access service’’ in section 19 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 20 or any successor regulation; 21 (D) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the 22 Federal Communications Commission; 23 (E) the term ‘‘community anchor institu- 24 tion’’ means an entity such as a school, library, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2071 IS health clinic, hospital or other medical provider, 1 public safety entity, institution of higher edu- 2 cation, public housing organization, or commu- 3 nity support organization that facilitates great- 4 er use of broadband service by vulnerable popu- 5 lations, including low-income individuals, unem- 6 ployed individuals, and aged individuals; 7 (F) the term ‘‘digital equity’’ means the 8 condition in which all individuals and commu- 9 nities have the information technology capacity 10 needed for full participation in the society and 11 economy of the United States; 12 (G) the term ‘‘digital inclusion’’— 13 (i) means the activities that are nec- 14 essary to ensure that all individuals in the 15 United States have access to, and the use 16 of, affordable information and communica- 17 tions technologies, such as reliable fixed 18 and wireless broadband service, internet- 19 enabled devices that meet the needs of the 20 user, applications and online content de- 21 signed to enable and encourage self-suffi- 22 ciency, participation, and collaboration; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2071 IS (ii) includes obtaining access to digital 1 literacy training, the provision of quality 2 technical support, and obtaining basic 3 awareness of measures to ensure online 4 privacy and cybersecurity; 5 (H) the term ‘‘digital literacy’’ means the 6 skills associated with using technology to enable 7 users to find, evaluate, organize, create, and 8 communicate information; 9 (I) the term ‘‘eligible community anchor 10 institution’’ means a community anchor institu- 11 tion that lacks access to gigabit-level broadband 12 service; 13 (J) the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a 14 State, a territory, the District of Columbia, or 15 an eligible Tribal entity; 16 (K) the term ‘‘eligible Tribal entity’’ 17 means— 18 (i) a Tribal government; 19 (ii) a Tribal College or University (as 20 defined in section 316(b) of the Higher 21 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 22 1059c(b))); 23 (iii) the Department of Hawaiian 24 Home Lands on behalf of the Native Ha- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2071 IS waiian Community, including Native Ha- 1 waiian Education Programs; 2 (iv) a Tribal organization; or 3 (v) a Native Corporation; 4 (L) the term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 5 Broadband Access Fund established under sub- 6 section (b); 7 (M) the term ‘‘gigabit-level broadband 8 service’’ means broadband service with a speed 9 of not less than— 10 (i) 1 gigabit per second for downloads; 11 and 12 (ii) 1 gigabit per second for uploads; 13 (N) the term ‘‘high-cost area’’ means an 14 unserved area in which the Assistant Secretary 15 determines that the cost of deploying broadband 16 service is higher than the average cost of de- 17 ploying broadband service in the United States 18 because of— 19 (i) the remote location of the area; 20 (ii) the population density of the area; 21 (iii) the unique topography of the 22 area; 23 (iv) a high rate of poverty in the area; 24 or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2071 IS (v) any other factor that contributes 1 to the cost of deploying broadband service; 2 (O) the term ‘‘Native Corporation’’ has the 3 meaning given the term in section 3 of the 4 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 5 U.S.C. 1602); 6 (P) the term ‘‘Native Hawaiian’’ has the 7 meaning given the term in section 801 of the 8 Native American Housing Assistance and Self- 9 Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4221); 10 (Q) the term ‘‘State’’ means any of the 50 11 States; 12 (R) the term ‘‘subgrantee’’ means an enti- 13 ty that receives grant funds from an eligible en- 14 tity to carry out activities under subsection (g); 15 (S) the term ‘‘territory’’ means the Com- 16 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 17 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 18 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 19 lands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 20 Federated States of Micronesia, and the Repub- 21 lic of Palau; and 22 (T) the term ‘‘Tribal government’’ means 23 the governing body of any Indian or Alaska Na- 24 tive Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2071 IS munity, component band, or component reserva- 1 tion, individually recognized (including par- 2 enthetically) in the list published most recently 3 as of the date of enactment of this Act pursu- 4 ant to section 4104 of the Federally Recognized 5 Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 6 5131). 7 (b) BROADBAND ACCESS FUND.— 8 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 9 the Treasury of the United States a fund to be 10 known as the ‘‘Broadband Access Fund’’. 11 (2) DIRECT APPROPRIATION TO FUND.—There 12 is appropriated to the Fund, out of amounts in the 13 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal 14 year ending September 30, 2021, $40,000,000,000, 15 to remain available until expended. 16 (3) AVAILABILITY OF FUND.—Amounts in the 17 Fund shall be available to the Assistant Secretary to 18 make grants to eligible entities to— 19 (A) deploy broadband; and 20 (B) fund efforts that bridge the digital di- 21 vide, increase the adoption of broadband, and 22 facilitate affordable access to broadband. 23 (c) GRANTS.—From the amounts appropriated under 24 subsection (b), the Assistant Secretary shall award a grant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2071 IS to each eligible entity that submits an initial proposal or 1 final proposal that the Assistant Secretary approves. 2 (d) ALLOCATION.— 3 (1) MINIMUM AMOUNTS.—Of the amounts ap- 4 propriated under subsection (b)— 5 (A) $100,000,000 shall be made available 6 to each State; 7 (B) $75,000,000 shall be made available to 8 each of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and 9 the District of Columbia; 10 (C) $100,000,000 shall be made available 11 to, and divided equally among, the United 12 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 13 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 14 lands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 15 Federated States of Micronesia, and the Repub- 16 lic of Palau; and 17 (D) not less than 5 percent shall be made 18 available to eligible Tribal entities— 19 (i) on an equitable basis; and 20 (ii) of which not less than 3 percent 21 shall be made available for the benefit of 22 Native Hawaiians. 23 (2) REMAINING AMOUNTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2071 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts remaining 1 after the allocations under paragraph (1) shall 2 be allocated to States based on population in 3 accordance with subparagraph (B) of this para- 4 graph. 5 (B) ALLOCATIONS.—Of the amounts allo- 6 cated under subparagraph (A)— 7 (i) 50 percent shall be allocated 8 among the States based on the proportion 9 that the population of each State bears to 10 the population of all States; 11 (ii) 25 percent shall be allocated 12 among the States based on the proportion 13 that the number of individuals living in 14 rural areas in each State, as determined by 15 the Bureau of the Census, bears to the 16 number of individuals living in rural area 17 in all States, as determined by the Bureau 18 of the Census; and 19 (iii) 25 percent shall be allocated 20 among the States based on the proportion 21 that the number of individuals with a 22 household income that is below 150 per- 23 cent of the poverty line applicable to a 24 family of the size involved (as determined 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2071 IS under section 673(2) of the Community 1 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 2 9902(2)) in each State bears to the num- 3 ber of such individuals in all States. 4 (C) POPULATION DETERMINATION.—For 5 purposes of subparagraph (B), the population 6 of a State or a category of residents of a State 7 shall be determined based on the most recent 8 year for which data are available from the Bu- 9 reau of the Census. 10 (3) REALLOCATION.— 11 (A) FAILURE TO SUBMIT INITIAL PRO- 12 POSAL.—If an eligible entity does not submit an 13 initial proposal under subsection (f)(2) for 14 amounts allocated to the eligible entity under 15 this subsection by the applicable date under 16 subparagraph (A) of that subsection, the As- 17 sistant Secretary shall reallocate the amounts 18 on a competitive basis to— 19 (i) in the case of an eligible entity de- 20 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of 21 paragraph (1) of this subsection, other eli- 22 gible entities described in those subpara- 23 graphs that have submitted an initial pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2071.IS S2071 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2071 IS posal under subsection (f)(2) as of that 1 date; or 2 (ii) in the case of an eligible entity de- 3 scribed in subparagraph (D) of paragraph 4 (1) of this subsection, other eligible entities 5 described in that subparagraph that have 6 submitted an initial proposal under sub- 7 section (f)(2) as of that date. 8 (B) FAILURE TO SUBMIT FINAL PRO- 9 POSAL.—If an eligible entity does not submit a 10 final proposal under subsection (f)(3) for the 11 remainder of the amounts allocated to the eligi- 12 ble entity under this subsection by the applica- 13 ble date under subparagraph (A) of that sub- 14 section, the Assistant Secretary shall reallocate 15 the amounts on a competitive basis to— 16 (i) in the case of an eligib [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]