COVID–19 DISASTER in Indian Country Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6819 To fund grants for the immediate deployment of temporary wireless broadband service on Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands, to provide emergency special temporary authority to use electromagnetic spectrum for the provision of wireless broadband service on Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 12, 2020 Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Mr. COLE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. KILMER, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CASE, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. SOTO, and Ms. GABBARD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To fund grants for the immediate deployment of temporary wireless broadband service on Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands, to provide emergency special temporary authority to use electromagnetic spectrum for the provi- sion of wireless broadband service on Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands, 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 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6819 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Designa- 2 tion of Immediate Special Authority of Spectrum for 3 Tribes’ Emergency Response in Indian Country Act’’ or 4 the ‘‘COVID–19 DISASTER in Indian Country Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The immediate grant of emergency special 8 temporary authority of available spectrum that will 9 efficiently support temporary wireless broadband 10 networks and allow Indian Tribes to provide Tribal 11 members with wireless broadband service over Tribal 12 lands or Hawaiian Home Lands during the COVID– 13 19 crisis due to the increased demand for tele- 14 communications and disproportionate impacts of the 15 COVID–19 pandemic in Indian Country is essential. 16 (2) Reservations are the most digitally discon- 17 nected areas in the United States that lack basic ac- 18 cess to broadband and wireless services at rates 19 comparable to, and in some cases lower than, third- 20 world countries. 21 (3) In 2018, the Government Accountability Of- 22 fice and the Federal Communications Commission 23 reported that only 65 percent of American Indian 24 and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) living on Tribal lands 25 had access to fixed broadband services, and only 68 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6819 IH percent of AI/AN households on rural Tribal lands 1 had telephone services. This is a stark comparison to 2 only 8 percent of the national average that lacks ac- 3 cess to fixed broadband services. 4 (4) Indian Tribes have previously encountered 5 substantial barriers to accessing broadband and 6 other communications services on Tribal lands to de- 7 ploy telecommunication services for the safety and 8 well-being of Tribal members and to decrease the 9 alarming rates of unnecessary loss of lives that AI/ 10 ANs disproportionately experience, especially 11 through the lack of access to health care services 12 and emergency resources, as demonstrated during 13 the COVID–19 pandemic that continues to dis- 14 proportionately impact Indian Country. 15 (5) Indian Tribes’ lack of access to broadband 16 services on Tribal lands and Hawaiian Home Lands 17 during the COVID–19 pandemic further highlights 18 the digital divide in Indian Country. 19 (6) The Government Accountability Office 20 found that health information technology systems at 21 the Indian Health Service rank as the Federal Gov- 22 ernment’s third-highest need for agency system mod- 23 ernization, since 50 percent of Indian Health Service 24 facilities depend on outdated circuit connections 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6819 IH based on one or two TI circuit lines (3 Mbps), cre- 1 ating slower response times than any other health 2 facility system in the United States. 3 (7) A 2018 Tribal health reform comment filed 4 with the Federal Communications Commission has 5 further stated that approximately 1.5 million people 6 living on Tribal lands lack access to broadband and, 7 of the 75 percent of rural Indian Health Service fa- 8 cilities, many still lack reliable broadband networks 9 for American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) 10 to access telehealth or clinical health care services, 11 which is a critical need in the most geographically 12 isolated areas of the country with some of the high- 13 est poverty rates, and lack of access to reliable 14 transportation. 15 (8) The Bureau of Indian Education has stated 16 that recent estimates from 142 out of 174 schools 17 have indicated that approximately 15 to 95 percent 18 of students do not have access to internet services 19 at home depending on Bureau school location and 20 limitations on data caps during the COVID–19 cri- 21 sis. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6819 IH SEC. 3. DEPLOYMENT OF WIRELESS BROADBAND SERVICE 1 ON TRIBAL LANDS AND HAWAIIAN HOME 2 LANDS. 3 (a) FUNDING OF GRANTS FOR IMMEDIATE DEPLOY- 4 MENT OF WIRELESS BROADBAND SERVICE ON TRIBAL 5 LANDS AND HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.—In addition to any 6 other amounts made available, out of any money in the 7 Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 8 there are appropriated— 9 (1) $297,500,000 for grants under the commu- 10 nity facilities grant program under section 11 306(a)(19) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De- 12 velopment Act to Indian Tribes, qualifying Tribal 13 entities, and the Director of the Department of Ha- 14 waiian Home Lands, for the immediate deployment 15 of wireless broadband service on Tribal lands and 16 Hawaiian Home Lands, respectively, through the 17 use of emergency special temporary authority grant- 18 ed under subsection (b) of this section, including 19 backhaul costs, repairs to damaged infrastructure, 20 the cost of the repairs to which would be less expen- 21 sive than the cost of new infrastructure and would 22 support the emergency special temporary use, and 23 the Federal share applicable to grants from such 24 amount shall be 100 percent, which amount shall re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6819 IH main available for one year from the enactment of 1 this Act; and 2 (2) $3,000,000 for grants under the community 3 facilities technical assistance and training grant pro- 4 gram under section 306(a)(26) of such Act, without 5 regard to sections 306(a)(26)(B) and 306(a)(26)(C) 6 of such Act, to assist Indian Tribes, qualifying Trib- 7 al entities, and the Director of the Department of 8 Hawaiian Home Lands in preparing applications for 9 the grants referred to in paragraph (1) of this sub- 10 section, which amount shall remain available for one 11 year from the enactment of this Act. Grants referred 12 to under paragraph (2) shall be available to Indian 13 Tribes, qualifying Tribal entities and shall also be 14 available to inter-Tribal government organizations, 15 universities, and colleges with Tribal serving institu- 16 tions for the purposes stated herein. 17 (b) EMERGENCY SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY 18 TO USE AVAILABLE AND EFFICIENT SPECTRUM ON TRIB- 19 AL LANDS AND HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.— 20 (1) GRANT OF AUTHORITY.—Not later than 10 21 days after receiving a request from an Indian Tribe, 22 a qualifying Tribal entity, or the Director of the De- 23 partment of Hawaiian Home Lands for emergency 24 special temporary authority to use electromagnetic 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:25 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6819 IH spectrum described in paragraph (3) for the provi- 1 sion of wireless broadband service over the Tribal 2 lands over which the Indian Tribe or qualifying 3 Tribal entity has jurisdiction or (in the case of a re- 4 quest from the Director of the Department of Ha- 5 waiian Home Lands) over the Hawaiian Home 6 Lands, allowing unlicensed radio transmitters to op- 7 erate for such provision on such spectrum at loca- 8 tions on such Tribal lands or Hawaiian Home Lands 9 where such spectrum is not being used, the Commis- 10 sion shall grant such request on a secondary non-in- 11 terference basis. 12 (2) DURATION.—A grant of emergency special 13 temporary authority under paragraph (1) shall be 14 for a period of operation to begin not later than 6 15 months after the date of the enactment of this Act 16 and to remain in operation for not longer than 6 17 months, absent extensions granted by the Commis- 18 sion pursuant to the procedures of the Commission 19 relating to special temporary authority. 20 (3) ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM DE- 21 SCRIBED.—The electromagnetic spectrum described 22 in this paragraph for utilization on the temporary 23 basis is any portion of the electromagnetic spec- 24 trum— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6819 IH (A) that is— 1 (i) between the frequencies of 2496 2 megahertz and 2690 megahertz, inclusive; 3 (ii) in the white spaces of the tele- 4 vision broadcast spectrum between the fre- 5 quencies of 470 megahertz and 790 mega- 6 hertz, inclusive, excluding those frequencies 7 utilized for other purposes under subpart 8 H of part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal 9 Regulations; 10 (iii) between the frequencies of 5925 11 megahertz and 7125 megahertz, inclusive; 12 or 13 (iv) between frequencies of 3550 14 megahertz and 3700 megahertz, inclusive; 15 and 16 (B) with respect to the Tribal lands or Ha- 17 waiian Home Lands over which authority to use 18 such spectrum is requested under paragraph 19 (1), is not assigned to any licensee. 20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 22 means the Federal Communications Commission. 23 (2) HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS.—The term ‘‘Ha- 24 waiian Home Lands’’ means lands held in trust for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6819 IH Native Hawaiians by Hawaii pursuant to the Hawai- 1 ian Homes Commission Act, 1920. 2 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 3 means the governing body of any individually identi- 4 fied and federally recognized Indian or Alaska Na- 5 tive Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, community, 6 affiliated tribal group, or component reservation in 7 the list published pursuant to section 104(a) of the 8 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 9 (25 U.S.C. 5131(a)). 10 (4) QUALIFYING TRIBAL ENTITY.—The term 11 ‘‘qualifying Tribal entity’’ means an entity des- 12 ignated by the Indian Tribe with jurisdiction over 13 particular Tribal lands for which the spectrum ac- 14 cess is sought. The following may be designated as 15 a qualifying Tribal entity: 16 (A) Indian Tribes. 17 (B) Tribal consortia which consists of two 18 or more Indian Tribes, or an Indian Tribe and 19 an entity that is more than 50 percent owned 20 and controlled by one or more Indian Tribes. 21 (C) Federally chartered Tribal corpora- 22 tions created under section 17 of the Indian Re- 23 organization Act (25 U.S.C. 5124), and created 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6819 IH under section 4 of the Oklahoma Indian Wel- 1 fare Act (25 U.S.C. 5204). 2 (D) Entities that are more than 50 percent 3 owned and controlled by an Indian Tribe or In- 4 dian Tribes. 5 (5) ENTITY THAT IS MORE THAN 50 PERCENT 6 OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY ONE OR MORE INDIAN 7 TRIBES.—The term ‘‘entity that is more than 50 8 percent owned and controlled by one or more Indian 9 Tribes’’ means an entity over which one or more In- 10 dian Tribes have both de facto and de jure control 11 of the entity. De jure control of the entity is evi- 12 denced by ownership of greater than 50 percent of 13 the voting stock of a corporation, or in the case of 14 a partnership, general partnership interests. De 15 facto control of an entity is determined on a case- 16 by-case basis. An Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 17 must demonstrate indicia of control to establish that 18 such Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes retain de facto 19 control of the applicant seeking eligibility as a 20 ‘‘qualifying Tribal entity’’, including the following: 21 (A) The Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 22 constitute or appoint more than 50 percent of 23 the board of directors or management com- 24 mittee of the entity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6819 IH (B) The Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 1 have authority to appoint, promote, demote, 2 and fire senior executives who control the day- 3 to-day activities of the entity. 4 (C) The Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 5 play an integral role in the management deci- 6 sions of the entity. 7 (D) The Indian Tribe or Indian Tribes 8 have the authority to make decisions or other- 9 wise engage in practices or activities that deter- 10 mine or significantly influence— 11 (i) the nature or types of services of- 12 fered by such an entity; 13 (ii) the terms upon which such serv- 14 ices are offered; or 15 (iii) the prices charged for such serv- 16 ices. 17 (6) TRIBAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Tribal lands’’ 18 has the meaning given that term in section 73.7000 19 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as of April 20 16, 2020, and includes the definition ‘‘Indian Coun- 21 try’’ as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United 22 States Code, and includes fee simple and restricted 23 fee land held by an Indian Tribe. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 May 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6819.IH H6819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6819 IH (7) WIRELESS BROADBAND SERVICE.—The 1 term ‘‘wireless broadband service’’ means wireless 2 broadband internet access service that is delivered— 3 (A) [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]