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II
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1167
To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and
Information to establish a State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program,
and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
APRIL 11, 2019
Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. KING, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms.
SMITH, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr.
PETERS, Mr. REED, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu-
nications and Information to establish a State Digital
Equity Capacity Grant Program, 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 ‘‘Digital Equity Act of
4
2019’’.
5
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
6
In this Act:
7
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(1) ADOPTION
OF
BROADBAND.—The term
1
‘‘adoption of broadband’’ means the process by
2
which an individual obtains daily access to the inter-
3
net—
4
(A) at a speed, quality, and capacity—
5
(i) that is necessary for the individual
6
to accomplish common tasks; and
7
(ii) such that the access qualifies as
8
an advanced telecommunications capability;
9
(B) with the digital skills that are nec-
10
essary for the individual to participate online;
11
and
12
(C) on a—
13
(i) personal device; and
14
(ii) secure and convenient network.
15
(2) ADVANCED
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
CAPA-
16
BILITY.—The term ‘‘advanced telecommunications
17
capability’’ has the meaning given the term in sec-
18
tion 706(d) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
19
(47 U.S.C. 1302(d)).
20
(3) AGING INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘aging indi-
21
vidual’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘older indi-
22
vidual’’ in section 102 of the Older Americans Act
23
of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002).
24
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(4)
APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CON-
1
GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con-
2
gress’’ means—
3
(A) the Committee on Appropriations of
4
the Senate;
5
(B) the Committee on Commerce, Science,
6
and Transportation of the Senate;
7
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of
8
the House of Representatives; and
9
(D) the Committee on Energy and Com-
10
merce of the House of Representatives.
11
(5) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
12
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of
13
Commerce for Communications and Information.
14
(6) COMMUNITY
ANCHOR
INSTITUTION.—The
15
term ‘‘community anchor institution’’ means a pub-
16
lic school, a library, a medical or healthcare pro-
17
vider, a community college or other institution of
18
higher education, a State library agency, and any
19
other nonprofit or governmental community support
20
organization.
21
(7) COVERED HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘covered
22
household’’ means a household, the taxable income
23
of which for the most recently completed taxable
24
year is not more than 150 percent of an amount
25
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equal to the poverty level, as determined by using
1
criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the
2
Census.
3
(8) COVERED POPULATIONS.—The term ‘‘cov-
4
ered populations’’ means—
5
(A) individuals who live in covered house-
6
holds;
7
(B) aging individuals;
8
(C) incarcerated individuals, other than in-
9
dividuals who are incarcerated in a Federal cor-
10
rectional facility;
11
(D) veterans;
12
(E) individuals with disabilities;
13
(F) individuals with a language barrier, in-
14
cluding individuals who—
15
(i) are English learners; and
16
(ii) have low levels of literacy;
17
(G) individuals who are members of a ra-
18
cial or ethnic minority group; and
19
(H) individuals who primarily reside in a
20
rural area.
21
(9) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘covered
22
programs’’ means the State Digital Equity Capacity
23
Grant Program established under section 4 and the
24
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Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program estab-
1
lished under section 5.
2
(10) DIGITAL EQUITY.—The term ‘‘digital eq-
3
uity’’ means the condition in which individuals and
4
communities have the information technology capac-
5
ity that is needed for full participation in the society
6
and economy of the United States.
7
(11) DIGITAL INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘digital
8
inclusion’’—
9
(A) means the activities that are necessary
10
to ensure that all individuals in the United
11
States have access to, and the use of, affordable
12
information and communication technologies,
13
such as—
14
(i)
reliable
fixed
and
wireless
15
broadband internet service;
16
(ii) internet-enabled devices that meet
17
the needs of the user; and
18
(iii) applications and online content
19
designed to enable and encourage self-suf-
20
ficiency, participation, and collaboration;
21
and
22
(B) includes—
23
(i) obtaining access to digital literacy
24
training;
25
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(ii) the provision of quality technical
1
support; and
2
(iii) obtaining basic awareness of
3
measures to ensure online privacy and cy-
4
bersecurity.
5
(12) DIGITAL LITERACY.—The term ‘‘digital lit-
6
eracy’’ means the skills associated with using tech-
7
nology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize,
8
create, and communicate information.
9
(13) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has
10
the meaning given the term in section 3 of the
11
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
12
12102).
13
(14) ELIGIBLE
STATE.—The term ‘‘eligible
14
State’’ means—
15
(A) with respect to planning grants made
16
available under section 4(c)(3), a State with re-
17
spect to which the Assistant Secretary has ap-
18
proved an application submitted to the Assist-
19
ant Secretary under section 4(c)(3)(C); and
20
(B) with respect to capacity grants award-
21
ed under section 4(d), a State with respect to
22
which the Assistant Secretary has approved an
23
application submitted to the Assistant Secretary
24
under section 4(d)(2), including approval of the
25
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State Digital Equity Plan developed by the
1
State under section 4(c).
2
(15) GENDER
IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender
3
identity’’ has the meaning given the term in section
4
249(c) of title 18, United States Code.
5
(16) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’
6
has the meaning given the term in section 4(e) of
7
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist-
8
ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)).
9
(17) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—
10
The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’—
11
(A) has the meaning given the term in sec-
12
tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
13
(20 U.S.C. 1001); and
14
(B) includes a postsecondary vocational in-
15
stitution.
16
(18) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term
17
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given
18
the term in section 8101(30) of the Elementary and
19
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
20
7801(30)).
21
(19) POSTSECONDARY
VOCATIONAL
INSTITU-
22
TION.—The term ‘‘postsecondary vocational institu-
23
tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section
24
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102(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
1
U.S.C. 1002(c)).
2
(20) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has
3
the meaning given the term in section 601(b)(3) of
4
the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C.
5
950bb(b)(3)).
6
(21) SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVAN-
7
TAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN.—The term ‘‘so-
8
cially and economically disadvantaged small business
9
concern’’ has the meaning given the term in section
10
8(a)(4) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
11
637(a)(4)).
12
(22) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means—
13
(A) any State of the United States;
14
(B) the District of Columbia; and
15
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
16
(23) VETERAN.—The term ‘‘veteran’’ has the
17
meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38,
18
United States Code.
19
(24) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.—
20
The term ‘‘workforce development program’’ has the
21
meaning given the term in section 3 of the Work-
22
force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
23
3102).
24
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SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
1
It is the sense of Congress that—
2
(1) a broadband connection and digital literacy
3
are increasingly critical to how individuals—
4
(A) participate in the society, economy,
5
and civic institutions of the United States; and
6
(B) access health care and essential serv-
7
ices, obtain education, and build careers;
8
(2) digital exclusion—
9
(A) carries a high societal and economic
10
cost;
11
(B) materially harms the opportunity of an
12
individual with respect to the economic success,
13
educational achievement, positive health out-
14
comes, social inclusion, and civic engagement of
15
that individual; and
16
(C) exacerbates existing wealth and income
17
gaps, especially those experienced by covered
18
populations;
19
(3) achieving digital equity for all people of the
20
United States requires additional and sustained in-
21
vestment and research efforts;
22
(4) the Federal Government, as well as State,
23
tribal, territorial, and local governments, have made
24
social, legal, and economic obligations that nec-
25
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•S 1167 IS
essarily extend to how the citizens and residents of
1
those governments access and use the internet; and
2
(5) achieving digital equity is a matter of social
3
and economic justice and is worth pursuing.
4
SEC. 4. STATE DIGITAL EQUITY CAPACITY GRANT PRO-
5
GRAM.
6
(a) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—
7
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary
8
shall establish in the Department of Commerce the
9
State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program (re-
10
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Program’’)—
11
(A) the purpose of which is to promote the
12
achievement of digital equity, support digital in-
13
clusion activities, and build capacity for efforts
14
by States relating to the adoption of broadband
15
by residents of those States;
16
(B) through which the Assistant Secretary
17
shall make grants to States in accordance with
18
the requirements of this section; and
19
(C) which shall ensure that States have the
20
capacity to promote the achievement of digital
21
equity and support digital inclusion activities.
22
(2) CONSULTATION
WITH
OTHER
FEDERAL
23
AGENCIES; NO CONFLICT.—In establishing the Pro-
24
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gram under paragraph (1), the Assistant Secretary
1
shall—
2
(A) consult with—
3
(i) the Secretary of Agriculture;
4
(ii) the Secretary of Housing and
5
Urban Development;
6
(iii) the Secretary of Education;
7
(iv) the Secretary of Labor;
8
(v) the Secretary of Health and
9
Human Services;
10
(vi) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
11
(vii) the Secretary of the Interior;
12
(viii) the Federal Communications
13
Commission;
14
(ix) the Federal Trade Commission;
15
(x) the Director of the Institute of
16
Museum and Library Services;
17
(xi) the Administrator of the Small
18
Business Administration;
19
(xii) the Federal Co-Chair of the Ap-
20
palachian Regional Commission; and
21
(xiii) the head of any other agency
22
that the Assistant Secretary determines to
23
be appropriate; and
24
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(B) ensure that the Program complements
1
and enhances, and does not conflict with, other
2
Federal broadband initiatives and programs.
3
(b) ADMINISTERING ENTITY.—
4
(1) SELECTION; FUNCTION.—The governor (or
5
equivalent official) of a State that wishes to be
6
awarded a grant under this section shall, from
7
among entities that are eligible under paragraph (2),
8
select an administering entity for that State, which
9
shall—
10
(A) serve as the recipient of, and admin-
11
istering agent for, any grant awarded to the
12
State under this section;
13
(B) develop, implement, and oversee the
14
State Digital Equity Plan for the State de-
15
scribed in subsection (c);
16
(C) make subgrants to any entity described
17
in subsection (c)(1)(D) that is located in the
18
State in support of—
19
(i) the State Digital Equity Plan for
20
the State; and
21
(ii) digital inclusion activities in the
22
State generally; and
23
(D) serve as—
24
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(i) an advocate for digital equity pol-
1
icy and digital inclusion activities; and
2
(ii) a repository of best practice mate-
3
rials regarding the policies and activities
4
described in clause (i).
5
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Any of the following
6
entities may serve as the administering entity for a
7
State for the purposes of this section if the entity
8
has demonstrated a capacity to administer the Pro-
9
gram on a statewide level:
10
(A) The State, a political subdivision,
11
agency, or instrumentality of the State, an In-
12
dian tribe located in the State, an Alaska Na-
13
tive entity located in the State, or a Native Ha-
14
waiian organization located in the State.
15
(B) A foundation, corporation, institution,
16
association, or coalition that is—
17
(i) a not-for-profit entity;
18
(ii) located in the State; and
19
(iii) not a school.
20
(C) A community anchor institution, other
21
than a school, that is located in the State.
22
(D
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]
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