Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act of 2019

IC 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1289 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 10, 2019 Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce AN ACT To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assess- ment and analysis of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on the economy of the United States, 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 02:38 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1289.RFH S1289 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 S 1289 RFH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Measuring the Eco- 2 nomic Impact of Broadband Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS REGARDING THE EF- 4 FECT OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY ON THE 5 ECONOMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 8 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 9 gress’’ means— 10 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 11 and Transportation of the Senate; 12 (B) the Committee on Environment and 13 Public Works of the Senate; 14 (C) the Committee on Small Business and 15 Entrepreneurship of the Senate; 16 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 17 merce of the House of Representatives; 18 (E) the Committee on Transportation and 19 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 20 and 21 (F) the Committee on Small Business of 22 the House of Representatives. 23 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 24 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 25 Commerce for Communications and Information. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1289.RFH S1289 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 S 1289 RFH (3) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ 1 means an Internet Protocol-based transmission serv- 2 ice that enables users to send and receive voice, 3 video, data, or graphics, or a combination of those 4 items. 5 (4) DIGITAL ECONOMY.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 7 graph (B), the term ‘‘digital economy’’ has the 8 meaning given the term by the Secretary in car- 9 rying out this section. 10 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing a 11 definition for the term ‘‘digital economy’’ under 12 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall con- 13 sider— 14 (i) the digital-enabling infrastructure 15 that a computer network needs to exist 16 and operate; and 17 (ii) the roles of e-commerce and dig- 18 ital media. 19 (5) DIGITAL MEDIA.—The term ‘‘digital media’’ 20 means the content that participants in e-commerce 21 create and access. 22 (6) E-COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘e-commerce’’ 23 means the digital transactions that take place using 24 the infrastructure described in paragraph (4)(B)(i). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1289.RFH S1289 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 S 1289 RFH (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Commerce. 2 (b) BIENNIAL ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS RE- 3 QUIRED.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact- 4 ment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary, 5 in consultation with the Director of the Bureau of Eco- 6 nomic Analysis of the Department of Commerce and the 7 Assistant Secretary, shall conduct an assessment and 8 analysis regarding the contribution of the digital economy 9 to the economy of the United States. 10 (c) CONSIDERATIONS AND CONSULTATION.—In con- 11 ducting each assessment and analysis required under sub- 12 section (b), the Secretary shall— 13 (1) consider the impact of— 14 (A) the deployment and adoption of— 15 (i) digital-enabling infrastructure; and 16 (ii) broadband; 17 (B) e-commerce and platform-enabled 18 peer-to-peer commerce; and 19 (C) the production and consumption of 20 digital media, including free media; and 21 (2) consult with— 22 (A) the heads of any agencies and offices 23 of the Federal Government as the Secretary 24 considers appropriate, including the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1289.RFH S1289 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 5 S 1289 RFH of Agriculture, the Commissioner of the Bureau 1 of Labor Statistics, the Administrator of the 2 Small Business Administration, and the Federal 3 Communications Commission; 4 (B) representatives of the business commu- 5 nity, including rural and urban internet service 6 providers and telecommunications infrastruc- 7 ture providers; 8 (C) representatives from State, local, and 9 tribal government agencies; and 10 (D) representatives from consumer and 11 community organizations. 12 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the ap- 13 propriate committees of Congress a report regarding the 14 findings of the Secretary with respect to each assessment 15 and analysis conducted under subsection (b). 16 Passed the Senate June 5, 2019. Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, Secretary. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1289.RFH S1289 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS