Save the Internet Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 74 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1644 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 11, 2019 Received; read the first time APRIL 29, 2019 Read the second time and placed on the calendar AN ACT To restore the open internet order of the Federal Communications Commission. 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 ‘‘Save the Internet Act 4 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF OPEN INTERNET ORDER. 6 (a) REPEAL OF RULE.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Declaratory Ruling, Re- 8 port and Order, and Order in the matter of restor- 9 ing internet freedom that was adopted by the Com- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 1644 PCS mission on December 14, 2017 (FCC 17–166), shall 1 have no force or effect. 2 (2) PROHIBITION ON REISSUED RULE OR NEW 3 RULE.—The Declaratory Ruling, Report and Order, 4 and Order described in paragraph (1) may not be 5 reissued in substantially the same form, and a new 6 rule that is substantially the same as such Declara- 7 tory Ruling, Report and Order, and Order may not 8 be issued, unless the reissued or new rule is specifi- 9 cally authorized by a law enacted after the date of 10 the enactment of this Act. 11 (b) RESTORATION OF REPEALED AND AMENDED 12 RULES.—The following are restored as in effect on Janu- 13 ary 19, 2017: 14 (1) The Report and Order on Remand, Declara- 15 tory Ruling, and Order in the matter of protecting 16 and promoting the open internet that was adopted 17 by the Commission on February 26, 2015 (FCC 15– 18 24). 19 (2) Part 8 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula- 20 tions. 21 (3) Any other rule of the Commission that was 22 amended or repealed by the Declaratory Ruling, Re- 23 port and Order, and Order described in subsection 24 (a)(1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 1644 PCS (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 2 means the Federal Communications Commission. 3 (2) RESTORED AS IN EFFECT ON JANUARY 19, 4 2017.—The term ‘‘restored as in effect on January 5 19, 2017’’ means, with respect to the Declaratory 6 Ruling and Order described in subsection (b)(1), to 7 permanently reinstate the rules and legal interpreta- 8 tions set forth in such Declaratory Ruling and Order 9 (as in effect on January 19, 2017), including any 10 decision (as in effect on such date) to apply or for- 11 bear from applying a provision of the Communica- 12 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) or a regu- 13 lation of the Commission. 14 (3) RULE.—The term ‘‘rule’’ has the meaning 15 given such term in section 804 of title 5, United 16 States Code. 17 SEC. 3. EXCEPTION TO ENHANCEMENT TO TRANSPARENCY 18 REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO PERFORM- 19 ANCE CHARACTERISTICS AND NETWORK 20 PRACTICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The enhancements to the trans- 22 parency rule relating to performance characteristics and 23 network practices of the Commission under section 8.3 of 24 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 1644 PCS paragraphs 165 through 184 of the Report and Order on 1 Remand, Declaratory Ruling, and Order in the matter of 2 protecting and promoting the open internet that was 3 adopted by the Commission February 26, 2015 (FCC 15– 4 24), shall not apply to any small business. 5 (b) SUNSET.—Subsection (a) shall not have any force 6 or effect after the date that is 1 year after the date of 7 the enactment of this Act. 8 (c) REPORT BY FCC.—Not later than 180 days after 9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 10 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 11 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 12 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a 13 report that contains the recommendations of the Commis- 14 sion (and data supporting such recommendations) regard- 15 ing— 16 (1) whether the exception provided by sub- 17 section (a) should be made permanent; and 18 (2) whether the definition of the term ‘‘small 19 business’’ for purposes of such exception should be 20 modified from the definition in subsection (d)(3). 21 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 22 (1) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.— 23 The term ‘‘broadband Internet access service’’ has 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 1644 PCS the meaning given such term in section 8.2 of title 1 47, Code of Federal Regulations. 2 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 3 means the Federal Communications Commission. 4 (3) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘small busi- 5 ness’’ means any provider of broadband Internet ac- 6 cess service that has not more than 100,000 sub- 7 scribers aggregated over all the provider’s affiliates. 8 SEC. 4. GAO REPORT ON INTERNET ECOSYSTEM. 9 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 10 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 11 shall submit to Congress a report examining the effect of 12 the rules described in section 2(b) on the virtuous cycle 13 of the internet ecosystem and whether such rules protect 14 the access of consumers to a free and open internet. 15 SEC. 5. REPORT. 16 Not later than 3 days after the date of the enactment 17 of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 18 submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 19 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com- 20 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 21 that lists the 27 provisions of title II of the Communica- 22 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) and the over 23 700 rules and regulations referred to in paragraphs 5 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 1644 PCS 37 of the Report and Order on Remand, Declaratory Rul- 1 ing, and Order described in section 2(b)(1). 2 SEC. 6. GAO REPORT ON IMPORTANCE OF OPEN INTERNET 3 RULES TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 6 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 7 examining the importance of the open internet rules to 8 vulnerable communities. 9 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) OPEN INTERNET RULES.—The term ‘‘open 11 internet rules’’ means the rules described in section 12 2(b). 13 (2) VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES.—The term 14 ‘‘vulnerable communities’’ means— 15 (A) ethnic and racial minorities; 16 (B) socioeconomically disadvantaged 17 groups; 18 (C) rural populations; 19 (D) individuals with disabilities; and 20 (E) the elderly. 21 SEC. 7. REPORT BY FCC ON ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. 22 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 23 of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 24 submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 1644 PCS House of Representatives and the Committee on Com- 1 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 2 that describes all enforcement actions taken by the Com- 3 mission under the rules described in section 2(b) since 4 such date of enactment, including the amount of each fine 5 imposed or settlement agreed to, the actions taken by the 6 Commission to collect such fines and settlements, and the 7 amounts of such fines and settlements collected. 8 SEC. 8. GAO REPORT ON BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS 9 SERVICE COMPETITION. 10 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 11 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 12 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 13 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that— 15 (1) examines the efforts by the Federal Com- 16 munications Commission to assess competition for 17 providers of broadband Internet access service (as 18 defined in section 8.2 of title 47, Code of Federal 19 Regulations) in the market; 20 (2) describes how the Commission can better 21 assess competition; and 22 (3) includes a description of the steps, if any, 23 the Commission can take to better increase competi- 24 tion among providers of broadband Internet access 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 1644 PCS service (as defined in section 8.2 of title 47, Code 1 of Federal Regulations) in the market. 2 SEC. 9. ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH IN INDIAN COUNTRY 3 REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF ADDRESS- 4 ING THE UNIQUE BROADBAND INTERNET AC- 5 CESS SERVICE CHALLENGES. 6 (a) ENGAGEMENT WITH TRIBAL COMMUNITIES TO 7 ADDRESS BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE 8 NEEDS.—Not later than 3 months after the date of the 9 enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Com- 10 mission shall engage with and obtain feedback from Tribal 11 stakeholders and providers of broadband Internet access 12 service (as defined in section 8.2 of title 47, Code of Fed- 13 eral Regulations) on the effectiveness of the Commission’s 14 obligation to consult with Indian Tribes to determine 15 whether the Commission needs to clarify the Commission’s 16 Tribal engagement statement and ensure accessible and 17 affordable broadband Internet access service (as defined 18 in section 8.2 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations) 19 in the Tribal lands and areas through the engagement and 20 outreach. 21 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 22 (1) According to an estimate from the U.S. 23 Census Bureau, just 53% of Native Americans living 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 1644 PCS on Tribal lands have access to high-speed internet 1 service. 2 (2) The Government Accountability Office has 3 found that the Federal Communications Commission 4 data has overstated broadband availability and ac- 5 cess on Tribal lands in the United States. 6 (3) A Federal court recently vacated a Federal 7 Communications Commission order that limited Fed- 8 eral subsidies for wireless providers serving Tribal 9 lands. 10 (4) The United States Government, industry, 11 and non-governmental organizations should do more 12 to identify and address the unique broadband access 13 challenges faced by individuals living on reservations 14 and Tribal lands. 15 SEC. 10. ACCURACY OF DATA UNDERLYING BROADBAND 16 DEPLOYMENT REPORTS. 17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 18 (1) The Commission has released reports on its 19 inquiries under section 706(b) of the Telecommuni- 20 cations Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302(b)) that detail 21 the state of the deployment of broadband service in 22 the United States. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 1644 PCS (2) Congress and the Commission have relied 1 upon the accuracy of such reports to develop 2 broadband policy. 3 (3) The findings of such reports have been par- 4 ticularly important to fostering rural broadband de- 5 ployment and broadband deployment to schools and 6 classrooms. 7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Commission— 8 (1) may not release a report on an inquiry 9 under section 706(b) of the Telecommunications Act 10 of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302(b)) based on broadband 11 deployment data that the Commission knows to be 12 inaccurate; and 13 (2) shall use its best efforts to accurately detail 14 broadband deployment in the United States and cor- 15 rect inaccuracies in statements made by the Com- 16 mission prior to the release of a report about the re- 17 port. 18 (c) COMMISSION DEFINED.—In this section, the term 19 ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal Communications Com- 20 mission. 21 SEC. 11. GAO REPORT ON HIGH-SPEED INFRASTRUCTURE. 22 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 23 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 24 the United States shall submit to Congress and the Fed- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 1644 PCS eral Communications Commission a report that con- 1 tains— 2 (1) a list of ways the Federal Government can 3 promote the deployment of broadband Internet ac- 4 cess service, especially the buildout of such service to 5 rural areas and areas without access to such service 6 at high speeds; and 7 (2) recommendations with respect to policies 8 and regulations to ensure rural areas are provided 9 affordable access to broadband Internet access serv- 10 ice. 11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE.— 13 The term ‘‘broadband Internet access service’’ has 14 the meaning given such term in section 8.2 of title 15 47, Code of Federal Regulations. 16 (2) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ 17 means any area other than— 18 (A) a city, town, or incorporated area that 19 has a population of more than 20,000 inhab- 20 itants; or 21 (B) an urbanized area contiguous and ad- 22 jacent to a city or town that has a population 23 of more than 50,000 inhabitants. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:18 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1644.PCS H1644 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 1644 PCS SEC. 12. GAO REPORT ON CHALLENGES TO ACCURATE 1 MAPPING. 2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 3 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 4 the United States shall— 5 (1) determine the accuracy and granularity of 6 the maps produced by the Federal Communications 7 Commission that depict wireline and wireless 8 broadband Internet access service deployment in the 9 United States; and 10 (2) submit to Congress a report that— 11 (A) identifies— 12 (i) any program of the Federal Com- 13 munications Commission under a rule re- 14 stored under section 2(b) that relies on 15 such maps, including any funding pro- 16 gram; and 17 (ii) any action of the Federal Commu- 18 nications Commission taken under a rule 19 restored under section 2(b) that relies on 20 such maps, including a [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]