ACCESS BROADBAND Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1328 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 9, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To establish the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1328 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Critical 2 Connectivity Expands Service, Small Business Resources, 3 Opportunities, Access, and Data Based on Assessed Need 4 and Demand Act’’ or the ‘‘ACCESS BROADBAND Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF INTERNET 6 CONNECTIVITY AND GROWTH. 7 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 8 ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall establish 9 the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth within the 10 National Telecommunications and Information Adminis- 11 tration. 12 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 13 (a) OUTREACH.—The Office shall— 14 (1) connect with communities that need access 15 to high-speed internet and improved digital inclusion 16 efforts through various forms of outreach and com- 17 munication techniques; 18 (2) hold regional workshops across the country 19 to share best practices and effective strategies for 20 promoting broadband access and adoption; 21 (3) develop targeted broadband training and 22 presentations for various demographic communities 23 through various media; and 24 (4) develop and distribute publications (includ- 25 ing toolkits, primers, manuals, and white papers) 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1328 RFS providing guidance, strategies, and insights to com- 1 munities as the communities develop strategies to 2 expand broadband access and adoption. 3 (b) TRACKING OF FEDERAL DOLLARS.— 4 (1) BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.—The Of- 5 fice shall track the construction and use of and ac- 6 cess to any broadband infrastructure built using any 7 Federal support in a central database. 8 (2) ACCOUNTING MECHANISM.—The Office 9 shall develop a streamlined accounting mechanism 10 by which any agency offering a Federal broadband 11 support program and the Commission through the 12 Universal Service Fund shall provide the information 13 described in paragraph (1) in a standardized and ef- 14 ficient fashion. 15 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 16 date of the enactment of this Act, and every year 17 thereafter, the Office shall make public on the 18 website of the Office and submit to the Committee 19 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 20 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 21 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 22 on the following: 23 (A) A description of the work of the Office 24 for the previous year and the number of resi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1328 RFS dents of the United States that received 1 broadband as result of Federal broadband sup- 2 port programs and the Universal Service Fund 3 program. 4 (B) A description of how many residents of 5 the United States were provided broadband by 6 which universal service mechanism or which 7 Federal broadband support program. 8 (C) An estimate of the economic impact of 9 such broadband deployment efforts on the local 10 economy, including any effect on small busi- 11 nesses or jobs. 12 SEC. 4. STREAMLINED APPLICATIONS FOR SUPPORT. 13 (a) AGENCY CONSULTATION.—The Office shall con- 14 sult with any agency offering a Federal broadband support 15 program to streamline and standardize the applications 16 process for financial assistance or grants for such pro- 17 gram. 18 (b) AGENCY STREAMLINING.—Any agency offering a 19 Federal broadband support program shall amend their ap- 20 plications for broadband support, to the extent practicable 21 and as necessary, to streamline and standardize applica- 22 tions for Federal broadband support programs across the 23 Government. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1328 RFS (c) SINGLE APPLICATION.—To the greatest extent 1 practicable, the Office shall seek to create one application 2 that may be submitted to apply for all, or substantially 3 all, Federal broadband support programs. 4 (d) WEBSITE REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Office shall 6 create a central website through which potential applicants 7 can learn about and apply for support through any Fed- 8 eral broadband support program. 9 SEC. 5. COORDINATION OF SUPPORT. 10 The Office, any agency that offers a Federal broad- 11 band support program, and the Commission through the 12 Universal Service Fund shall coordinate with the Office 13 to ensure that support is being distributed in an efficient, 14 technology-neutral, and financially sustainable manner, 15 with the goal of serving the largest number of persons in 16 the United States while avoiding overbuilding and pro- 17 moting the most job and economic growth for all residents 18 of the United States. 19 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 20 In this Act: 21 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 22 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, 23 United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1328 RFS (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 1 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 2 Commerce for Communications and Information. 3 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 4 means the Federal Communications Commission. 5 (4) FEDERAL BROADBAND SUPPORT PRO- 6 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Federal broadband support pro- 7 gram’’ does not include any Universal Service Fund 8 program and means any of the following programs 9 (or any other similar Federal program) to the extent 10 the program offers broadband internet service or 11 programs for promoting broadband access and adop- 12 tion for various demographic communities through 13 various media for residential, commercial, commu- 14 nity providers, or academic establishments: 15 (A) The Telecommunications and Tech- 16 nology Program of the Appalachian Regional 17 Commission. 18 (B) The Telecommunications Infrastruc- 19 ture Loans and Loan Guarantees, the Rural 20 Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantees, 21 the Substantially Underserved Trust Areas Pro- 22 visions, the Community Connect Grant Pro- 23 gram, and the Distance Learning and Tele- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1328 RFS medicine Grant Program of the Rural Utilities 1 Service of the Department of Agriculture. 2 (C) The Public Works and Economic Ad- 3 justment Assistance Programs and the Plan- 4 ning and Local Technical Assistance Programs 5 of the Economic Development Administration of 6 the Department of Commerce. 7 (D) The Community Development Block 8 Grants and Section 108 Loan Guarantees, the 9 Funds for Public Housing Authorities: Capital 10 Fund and Operating Fund, the Multifamily 11 Housing, the Indian Community Development 12 Block Grant Program, the Indian Housing 13 Block Grant Program, the Title VI Loan Guar- 14 antee Program, Choice Neighborhoods, the 15 HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the 16 Housing Trust Fund, and the Housing Oppor- 17 tunities for Persons with AIDS of the Depart- 18 ment of Housing and Urban Development. 19 (E) The American Job Centers of the Em- 20 ployment and Training Administration of the 21 Department of Labor. 22 (F) The Library Services and Technology 23 Grant Programs of the Institute of Museum 24 and Library Services. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1328 RFS (5) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of- 1 fice of Internet Connectivity and Growth established 2 pursuant to section 2. 3 (6) UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND PROGRAM.—The 4 term ‘‘Universal Service Fund program’’ means any 5 program authorized under section 254 of the Com- 6 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) to help de- 7 ploy broadband. 8 (7) UNIVERSAL SERVICE MECHANISM.—The 9 term ‘‘universal service mechanism’’ means any 10 funding stream provided by a Universal Service 11 Fund program to support broadband access. 12 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 13 Nothing in this Act is intended to alter or amend any 14 provision of section 254 of the Communications Act of 15 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254). 16 SEC. 8. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 17 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 18 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 19 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 20 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 21 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 22 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 1328 RFS vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 1 vote on passage. 2 Passed the House of Representatives May 8, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:12 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1328.RFS H1328 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS