Federal

Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 463 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (the agency that regulates telecommunications) to study and reform how money is collected for the Universal Service Fund. The Universal Service Fund is a system that requires certain telecommunications companies to contribute money to support broadband and phone service access. The bill asks the Commission to make sure contributions are fair and spread more widely among different types of companies.

Who It Affects

The Federal Communications Commission, telecommunications companies that currently contribute to the Universal Service Fund, consumers, seniors, and businesses that use telecommunications services.

Key Provisions

• The Federal Communications Commission must complete a study within 120 days after this bill becomes law to assess whether the Universal Service Fund's contribution base should be expanded to ensure fair and equal contributions. (Sec. 2) • The Federal Communications Commission must submit a report to Congress on the results of this study. (Sec. 2) • The Federal Communications Commission must complete new rules within one year after this bill becomes law to reform how the Universal Service Fund collects contributions, including by expanding which companies must contribute. (Sec. 3) • When making these new rules, the Commission must consider how the changes affect consumers, businesses and seniors, and must review the findings from the study. (Sec. 3)

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, the Federal Communications Commission will be required to expand which companies pay into the Universal Service Fund and reform how those contributions are collected to be more fair and balanced.

Important Definitions

None defined in the bill text.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1812 To require the Federal Communications Commission to reform the contribution system of the Universal Service Fund, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 27, 2023 Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mrs. FLETCHER, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. ROGERS of Ken- tucky, Mr. GROTHMAN, and Mr. GALLAGHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Federal Communications Commission to re- form the contribution system of the Universal Service Fund, 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 ‘‘Reforming Broadband 4 Connectivity Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT. 6 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 7 of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission (re- 8 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 1812 IH (1) conduct a study assessing the need to ex- 1 pand the contribution base of the Universal Service 2 Fund to ensure that the contribution requirement 3 under section 254(d) of the Communications Act of 4 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)) is imposed fairly and equi- 5 tably; and 6 (2) submit to Congress a report on the results 7 of the study conducted under paragraph (1). 8 SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND CONTRIBUTION SYSTEM 9 REFORM. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 11 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall com- 12 plete a rulemaking to reform the contribution system of 13 the Universal Service Fund, including by expanding the 14 contribution base of the Universal Service Fund. 15 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the rule- 16 making required under subsection (a), the Commission 17 shall consider— 18 (1) the relative equities and burdens of the pro- 19 posed changes to the contribution system of the Uni- 20 versal Service Fund with respect to consumers and 21 businesses; 22 (2) the impact of the proposed changes to the 23 contribution system of the Universal Service Fund 24 on seniors; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 1812 IH (3) the findings and recommendations in the re- 1 port submitted under section 2(2). 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1812.IH H1812 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.