Bridging the Tribal Digital Divide Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5850 To expedite and streamline the deployment of affordable broadband service on Tribal land, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2020 Mr. GALLEGO (for himself, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. COLE, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. MOORE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. LUJA´N, and Mr. CASE) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To expedite and streamline the deployment of affordable broadband service on Tribal land, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Bridging the Tribal Digital Divide Act of 2020’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5850 IH TITLE I—INTERAGENCY COORDINATION PROGRAM Sec. 101. Purpose. Sec. 102. Interagency working group. Sec. 103. Tribal broadband deployment plan. Sec. 104. Streamlined applications for support. Sec. 105. Tribal Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee. TITLE II—TRIBAL SET-ASIDE Sec. 201. Rural Utilities Service. Sec. 202. Universal Service Fund. TITLE III—UNIVERSAL SERVICE ON TRIBAL LAND Sec. 301. Universal service on Tribal land. TITLE IV—TRIBAL BROADBAND FACTOR Sec. 401. Tribal broadband factor. TITLE V—BROADBAND RIGHTS-OF-WAY Sec. 501. Pilot program for Tribal grant of rights-of-way for broadband facili- ties. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 3 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Rural Utili- 4 ties Service. 5 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 6 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 7 Commerce for Communications and Information. 8 (3) BROADBAND; BROADBAND SERVICE.—The 9 term ‘‘broadband’’ or ‘‘broadband service’’ has the 10 meaning given the term ‘‘broadband internet access 11 service’’ in section 8.1 of title 47, Code of Federal 12 Regulations, or any successor regulation. 13 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 14 means the Federal Communications Commission. 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5850 IH (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 1 has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 2 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153), as 3 amended by section 301 of this Act. 4 (6) TRIBAL BROADBAND BENCHMARK.—The 5 term ‘‘Tribal broadband benchmark’’ means the 6 minimum acceptable level of broadband service on 7 Tribal land, which shall consist of— 8 (A) speed that is not slower than the speed 9 required for the service to qualify as an ad- 10 vanced telecommunications capability, as that 11 term is defined in section 706(d) of the Tele- 12 communications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 13 1302(d)), as of the date on which that speed is 14 measured; and 15 (B) network round trip latency that is at 16 or below 100 milliseconds for not less than 95 17 percent of all peak period measurements of net- 18 work round trip latency. 19 (7) TRIBAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Tribal entity’’ 20 has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 21 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153), as 22 amended by section 301 of this Act. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5850 IH (8) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 1 government’’ means the governing body of a Tribal 2 entity. 3 (9) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Tribal land’’ 4 has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the 5 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153), as 6 amended by section 301 of this Act. 7 (10) UNDERSERVED TRIBAL ENTITY.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘underserved 9 Tribal entity’’ means a Tribal entity, the Tribal 10 land of which— 11 (i) lacks affordable broadband service; 12 or 13 (ii) has subscription rates for 14 broadband service that are below 80 per- 15 cent, as determined by the Commission. 16 (B) ASSOCIATED DEFINITION.—In this 17 paragraph, the term ‘‘affordable broadband 18 service’’ means broadband service on Tribal 19 land, the rates for which are not more than the 20 average rates charged for broadband service in 21 the 5 nearest municipalities to that Tribal land 22 that have a population of more than 10,000 in- 23 dividuals, as determined by the Commission. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5850 IH (11) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 1 Group’’ means the Tribal Broadband Interagency 2 Working Group established under section 102. 3 TITLE I—INTERAGENCY 4 COORDINATION PROGRAM 5 SEC. 101. PURPOSE. 6 The purpose of this title is to— 7 (1) expedite and streamline the deployment of 8 affordable broadband service on Tribal land through 9 the coordination of grants or other financial assist- 10 ance; 11 (2) improve the effectiveness of Federal assist- 12 ance in meeting the obligation of the Commission to 13 ensure universal availability of broadband networks 14 to all people of the United States, including individ- 15 uals living on Tribal land; and 16 (3) ensure the preservation and protection of 17 self-governance, economic opportunity, health, edu- 18 cation, public safety, and welfare of Tribal entities. 19 SEC. 102. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Secretary and 21 the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly establish a work- 22 ing group to be known as the ‘‘Tribal Broadband Inter- 23 agency Working Group’’ to carry out the duties described 24 in subsection (c). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5850 IH (b) ADMINISTRATION.— 1 (1) CHAIRS.—The Assistant Secretary and the 2 Administrator shall serve as co-chairs of the Work- 3 ing Group. 4 (2) MEMBERSHIP; STAFFING.—The Assistant 5 Secretary and the Administrator, in consultation 6 with the Tribal Broadband Deployment Advisory 7 Committee established under section 105, shall de- 8 termine the membership and staffing of the Working 9 Group. 10 (c) DUTIES.—The Working Group shall— 11 (1)(A) serve as a forum for improving coordina- 12 tion across Federal broadband programs that are 13 available to Tribal entities; 14 (B) reduce regulatory barriers to broadband de- 15 ployment on Tribal land; 16 (C) promote awareness of the value and avail- 17 ability of Federal support for broadband deployment 18 on Tribal land; and 19 (D) develop common Federal goals, perform- 20 ance measures, and plans to deploy affordable 21 broadband to Tribal land; 22 (2) not later than 1 year after the date of en- 23 actment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, issue 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5850 IH a strategic plan regarding Tribal broadband deploy- 1 ment activities, priorities, and objectives; 2 (3) promote coordination of the activities of 3 Federal agencies on Tribal broadband deployment 4 activities, including the activities of— 5 (A) the Department of Agriculture; 6 (B) the Department of Commerce; 7 (C) the Department of Education; 8 (D) the Department of Health and Human 9 Services; 10 (E) the Department of Housing and Urban 11 Development; 12 (F) the Department of the Interior; 13 (G) the Department of Labor; 14 (H) the Commission; 15 (I) the Institute of Museum and Library 16 Services; and 17 (J) any other Federal agency that the 18 Working Group considers appropriate; 19 (4) provide technical assistance for the develop- 20 ment of Tribal broadband deployment plans to meet 21 the Tribal broadband benchmark; 22 (5) under section 104, develop a streamlined 23 and standardized application process for grants and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5850 IH other financial assistance to advance the deployment 1 of broadband on Tribal land; 2 (6) promote information exchange between Fed- 3 eral agencies— 4 (A) to identify and document Federal and 5 non-Federal programs and funding opportuni- 6 ties that support Tribal broadband deployment; 7 and 8 (B) if practicable, to leverage existing pro- 9 grams by encouraging joint solicitations, block 10 grants, and matching programs with non-Fed- 11 eral entities; and 12 (7) develop a standardized form that identifies 13 all applicable Federal statutory provisions, regula- 14 tions, policies, or procedures that the Working 15 Group determines are necessary to adhere to in 16 order to implement a Tribal broadband deployment 17 plan. 18 SEC. 103. TRIBAL BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT PLAN. 19 (a) IDENTIFICATION OF UNDERSERVED TRIBAL EN- 20 TITIES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact- 21 ment of this Act, the Chairman of the Commission, in co- 22 ordination with the Secretary of the Interior, shall identify 23 each underserved Tribal entity and publish a list of such 24 entities in the Federal Register. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5850 IH (b) NOTICE TO UNDERSERVED TRIBAL ENTITIES.— 1 Not later than 30 days after the date on which the list 2 is published in the Federal Register under subsection (a), 3 the Working Group shall send notice to each underserved 4 Tribal entity on the list inviting the entity to request tech- 5 nical assistance for the development of a Tribal broadband 6 deployment plan under this section. 7 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—At the request of an 8 underserved Tribal entity, the Working Group shall pro- 9 vide the entity with technical assistance to facilitate the 10 development, adoption, and deployment of a Tribal broad- 11 band development plan detailing the current and projected 12 efforts of the entity to meet the Tribal broadband bench- 13 mark. 14 (d) PLAN ELEMENTS.—Each Tribal broadband de- 15 ployment plan developed under this section shall— 16 (1) describe a comprehensive strategy identi- 17 fying the full range of options to meet the Tribal 18 broadband benchmark; 19 (2) describe all available Federal programs that 20 are available to assist the applicable underserved 21 Tribal entity in meeting the Tribal broadband 22 benchmark; 23 (3) describe the way in which Federal program 24 activities and funds shall be integrated, consolidated, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5850 IH and delivered to the applicable underserved Tribal 1 entity to meet the Tribal broadband benchmark; 2 (4) describe the results expected from imple- 3 menting the plan, including the expected number of 4 additional households or participants that would be 5 served due to the implementation of the plan; 6 (5) identify the projected non-Federal expendi- 7 tures under the plan; 8 (6) identify any agency of the applicable under- 9 served Tribal entity that will be involved in the deliv- 10 ery of the services integrated under the plan; 11 (7) identify all applicable Federal, State, and 12 Tribal statutory provisions, regulations, policies, or 13 procedures that the Working Group determines are 14 necessary to adhere to in order to implement the 15 plan; 16 (8) identify opportunities for the applicable un- 17 derserved Tribal entity to purchase spectrum; and 18 (9) identify— 19 (A) deployment obstacles; and 20 (B) activities that are necessary to ensure 21 access to affordable broadband, including dig- 22 ital literacy training, technical support, privacy 23 and cybersecurity expertise, or other end-user 24 technology needs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5850 IH (e) PROMOTING BROADBAND AVAILABILITY.—The 1 Working Group shall work in partnership with State, local, 2 and Tribal governments, and consumer and industry 3 groups, to promote broadband availability to each under- 4 served Tribal entity, including consumers in rural and 5 high-cost areas that are adjacent to Tribal land. 6 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 7 authorized to be appropriated to the Working Group to 8 carry out section 102 and this section $5,000,000 for each 9 of fiscal years 2020 through 2025, to remain available 10 until expended. 11 SEC. 104. STREAMLINED APPLICATIONS FOR SUPPORT. 12 (a) AGENCY CONSULTATION.—The Assistant Sec- 13 retary shall consult with each Federal agency that offers 14 a Federal broadband support program to Tribal entities 15 to streamline and standardize the application process for 16 grants or other financial assistance under the program. 17 (b) AGENCY STREAMLINING.—A Federal agency that 18 offers a Federal broadband support program to Tribal en- 19 tities shall amend the application for broadband support 20 from the program, to the extent practicable and as nec- 21 essary, in order to streamline and standardize applications 22 for Federal broadband support programs across the Fed- 23 eral Government. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:53 Feb 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5850.IH H5850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5850 IH (c) SINGLE APPLICATION.—To the greatest extent 1 practicable, the Assistant Secretary shall seek to create 2 1 application that may be submitted to apply for support 3 from all Federal broadband support programs. 4 (d) CENTRAL WEBSITE.—Not later than 180 days 5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec- 6 retary shall create a central website through which a po- 7 tential applicant can learn about and apply for support 8 from any Federal broadband support program. 9 SEC. 105. TRIBAL BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT ADVISORY 10 COMMITTEE. 11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Trib- 12 al Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee ( [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]