Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3676 To require the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an assessment and analysis of the effects of broadband deployment and adoption on the economy of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 10, 2019 Mr. KHANNA (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. LUJA´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Measuring the Eco- 4 nomic Impact of Broadband Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3676.IH H3676 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3676 IH SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS REGARDING THE EF- 1 FECT OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY ON THE 2 ECONOMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 5 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 6 gress’’ means— 7 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 8 and Transportation of the Senate; 9 (B) the Committee on Environment and 10 Public Works of the Senate; 11 (C) the Committee on Small Business and 12 Entrepreneurship of the Senate; 13 (D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 14 merce of the House of Representatives; 15 (E) the Committee on Transportation and 16 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; 17 and 18 (F) the Committee on Small Business of 19 the House of Representatives. 20 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 21 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 22 Commerce for Communications and Information. 23 (3) BROADBAND.—The term ‘‘broadband’’ 24 means an Internet Protocol-based transmission serv- 25 ice that enables users to send and receive voice, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3676.IH H3676 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3676 IH video, data, or graphics, or a combination of those 1 items. 2 (4) DIGITAL ECONOMY.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 4 graph (B), the term ‘‘digital economy’’ has the 5 meaning given the term by the Secretary in car- 6 rying out this section. 7 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing a 8 definition for the term ‘‘digital economy’’ under 9 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall con- 10 sider— 11 (i) the digital-enabling infrastructure 12 that a computer network needs to exist 13 and operate; and 14 (ii) the roles of e-commerce and dig- 15 ital media. 16 (5) DIGITAL MEDIA.—The term ‘‘digital media’’ 17 means the content that participants in e-commerce 18 create and access. 19 (6) E-COMMERCE.—The term ‘‘e-commerce’’ 20 means the digital transactions that take place using 21 the infrastructure described in paragraph (4)(B)(i). 22 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 23 the Secretary of Commerce. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3676.IH H3676 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3676 IH (b) BIENNIAL ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS RE- 1 QUIRED.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact- 2 ment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary, 3 in consultation with the Director of the Bureau of Eco- 4 nomic Analysis of the Department of Commerce and the 5 Assistant Secretary, shall conduct an assessment and 6 analysis regarding the contribution of the digital economy 7 to the economy of the United States. 8 (c) CONSIDERATIONS AND CONSULTATION.—In con- 9 ducting each assessment and analysis required under sub- 10 section (b), the Secretary shall— 11 (1) consider the impact of— 12 (A) the deployment and adoption of— 13 (i) digital-enabling infrastructure; and 14 (ii) broadband; 15 (B) e-commerce and platform-enabled 16 peer-to-peer commerce; and 17 (C) the production and consumption of 18 digital media, including free media; and 19 (2) consult with— 20 (A) the heads of any agencies and offices 21 of the Federal Government as the Secretary 22 considers appropriate, including the Secretary 23 of Agriculture, the Commissioner of the Bureau 24 of Labor Statistics, the Administrator of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3676.IH H3676 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3676 IH Small Business Administration, and the Federal 1 Communications Commission; 2 (B) representatives of the business commu- 3 nity, including rural and urban internet service 4 providers and telecommunications infrastruc- 5 ture providers; 6 (C) representatives from State, local, and 7 tribal government agencies; and 8 (D) representatives from consumer and 9 community organizations. 10 (d) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the ap- 11 propriate committees of Congress a report regarding the 12 findings of the Secretary with respect to each assessment 13 and analysis conducted under subsection (b). 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:29 Jul 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3676.IH H3676 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS