E-FRONTIER Act

II Calendar No. 164 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 918 [Report No. 116–66] To prohibit the President or a Federal agency from constructing, operating, or offering wholesale or retail services on broadband networks without authorization from Congress, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 27, 2019 Mr. CRUZ (for himself and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation JULY 25, 2019 Reported by Mr. WICKER, with amendments [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To prohibit the President or a Federal agency from con- structing, operating, or offering wholesale or retail serv- ices on broadband networks without authorization from Congress, 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 20:46 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S918.RS S918 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 918 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eliminate From Regu- 2 lators Opportunities to Nationalize The Internet in Every 3 Respect Act’’ or the ‘‘E-FRONTIER Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST THE PRESIDENT OR A FED- 5 ERAL AGENCY CONSTRUCTING, OPERATING, 6 OR OFFERING SERVICES ON BROADBAND 7 NETWORKS. 8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 9 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 10 the term in section 902 of title 5, United States 11 Code; 12 (2) the term ‘‘broadband network’’— 13 (A) means a communications network, the 14 primary purpose of which is to provide con- 15 sumers with the capability to transmit data to 16 and receive data from all or substantially all 17 internet endpoints; and 18 (B) includes a next-generation mobile 19 broadband network; 20 (3) the term ‘‘nationwide public safety 21 broadband network’’ has the meaning given the term 22 in section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and 23 Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401); and 24 (4) the term ‘‘President’’ means the President 25 of the United States. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S918.RS S918 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 918 RS (b) PROHIBITION.—Neither the President nor an 1 agency may construct, operate, or offer wholesale or retail 2 service on a broadband network unless a duly enacted Act 3 of Congress signed into law by the President provides the 4 President or the agency, as applicable, with that authority. 5 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 6 tion may be construed to— 7 (1) limit, restrict, or circumvent in any way— 8 (A) the implementation of the nationwide 9 public safety broadband network; or 10 (B) any rules implementing the nationwide 11 public safety broadband network under title VI 12 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Cre- 13 ation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.); 14 (2) affect the authority of the President under 15 section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 16 U.S.C. 606); or 17 (3) prevent— 18 (A) an agency from providing another 19 agency with access to a broadband network; or 20 (B) a private entity from obtaining access 21 to a broadband network at a facility that is 22 owned or operated by the Federal Government 23 if that entity is under a contract to provide 24 services at that facility.; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S918.RS S918 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 918 RS (4) affect the authority of the Federal Commu- 1 nications Commission under the Communications Act 2 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 3 SEC. 3. REPORT ON VULNERABILITIES OF UNITED STATES 4 BROADBAND NETWORKS. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 6 (1) the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 7 gress’’ means— 8 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 9 and Transportation of the Senate; 10 (B) the Committee on Armed Services of 11 the Senate; 12 (C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 13 the Senate; 14 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 15 merce of the House of Representatives; 16 (E) the Committee on Armed Services of 17 the House of Representatives; and 18 (F) the Permanent Select Committee on 19 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 20 and 21 (2) the term ‘‘broadband network’’ has the 22 meaning given the term in section 2(a). 23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 24 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S918.RS S918 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 918 RS United States shall conduct a study and submit to the ap- 1 propriate committees of Congress a report, which shall in- 2 clude— 3 (1) a discussion and analysis of— 4 (A) potential threats facing broadband net- 5 works in the United States from— 6 (i) the Government of the People’s 7 Republic of China; 8 (ii) the Government of Iran; 9 (iii) the Government of the Russian 10 Federation; and 11 (iv) any other potential foreign adver- 12 sary of the United States; and 13 (B) the risks associated with using foreign 14 equipment and services in broadband networks 15 in the United States; and 16 (2) recommendations, if any, regarding how 17 service providers with respect to broadband networks 18 in the United States can reduce the vulnerabilities of 19 those networks to foreign threats. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S918.RS S918 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 164 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 918 [Report No. 116–66] A BILL To prohibit the President or a Federal agency from constructing, operating, or offering wholesale or retail services on broadband networks without authorization from Congress, and for other pur- poses. JULY 25, 2019 Reported with amendments VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:46 Jul 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S918.RS S918 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS