Rural Internet Improvement Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3216 To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to reauthorize and improve the ReConnect loan and grant program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 11, 2023 Mrs. CAMMACK (for herself, Mr. SOTO, Mr. JACKSON of Texas, and Ms. PEREZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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 amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to reauthor- ize and improve the ReConnect loan and grant program, 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 ‘‘Rural Internet Im- 4 provement Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. STREAMLINING BROADBAND AUTHORITIES. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 601 of the Rural Elec- 7 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3216 IH (1) by striking the section heading and insert- 1 ing ‘‘RECONNECT PROGRAM’’; 2 (2) in subsection (b)— 3 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 4 paragraph (4); and 5 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 6 following: 7 ‘‘(3) RECONNECT PROGRAM.—The term ‘Re- 8 Connect Program’ means the program established 9 under this section.’’; 10 (3) in subsection (c)— 11 (A) in paragraph (2)(A)— 12 (i) in clause (i)— 13 (I) in subclause (I), by striking 14 ‘‘10-Mbps’’ and inserting ‘‘25-Mbps’’; 15 and 16 (II) in subclause (II), by striking 17 ‘‘1-Mbps’’ and inserting ‘‘3-Mbps’’; 18 and 19 (ii) by striking clause (iv) and insert- 20 ing the following: 21 ‘‘(iv) give priority to applications from 22 applicants that have demonstrated the 23 technical and financial experience required 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3216 IH to construct and operate broadband net- 1 works.’’; and 2 (B) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(5) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall es- 4 tablish an application process for grants, loans, and 5 loan guarantees under this section that— 6 ‘‘(A) reduces the amount of data required 7 to apply by limiting the required data to only— 8 ‘‘(i) the entity applying, excluding any 9 parent or affiliate entity that is not a party 10 to the application, to the greatest extent 11 practicable; and 12 ‘‘(ii) the geographic area affected by 13 the application, if a parent or affiliate is 14 not a party to the application; 15 ‘‘(B) simplifies the data interfaces for sub- 16 mission to the greatest extent practicable; and 17 ‘‘(C) allows all applicants, regardless of 18 whether an applicant is publicly traded, to rely 19 on a bond rating of at least investment grade 20 (when bond ratings are available) in place of fi- 21 nancial documentation. 22 ‘‘(6) USE OF BROADBAND MAP.—In making 23 any determination to award a loan, loan guarantee, 24 or grant under this section, the Secretary shall uti- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3216 IH lize the map created by the Federal Communications 1 Commission under section 802(c)(1)(A) of the Com- 2 munications Act of 1934.’’; 3 (4) in subsection (d)— 4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 5 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 6 ‘‘subsection (j)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 7 (l)’’; and 8 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(C) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec- 11 retary— 12 ‘‘(i) shall not restrict the eligibility of 13 an entity for a grant under this section 14 based on the legal structure of the entity; 15 ‘‘(ii) shall allow entities to apply for a 16 grant under this section without regard to, 17 or preference for, the legal structure of an 18 entity; 19 ‘‘(iii) in determining the financial abil- 20 ity of an entity to carry out a project using 21 a grant under this section, shall allow the 22 entity to demonstrate that financial ability 23 by methods that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3216 IH ‘‘(I) the Secretary determines to 1 be the least burdensome; and 2 ‘‘(II) subject to clause (v), are 3 not limited to providing the Federal 4 Government an exclusive first lien on 5 all grant-funded assets during the 6 service obligation of the grant; 7 ‘‘(iv) subject to clause (v), in deter- 8 mining the required collateral to secure 9 grant funds or to secure performance dur- 10 ing the service obligation of a grant, shall 11 allow an awardee to offer alternative secu- 12 rity, such as a letter of credit, in lieu of 13 providing the Federal Government an ex- 14 clusive first lien on all grant-funded assets; 15 and 16 ‘‘(v) if the Secretary reasonably deter- 17 mines that alternative methods or alter- 18 native security established under clause 19 (iii)(II) or (iv) are insufficient to secure 20 performance with respect to a project 21 under this section— 22 ‘‘(I) may require an entity to 23 provide the Federal Government an 24 exclusive first lien all grant-funded as- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3216 IH sets during the service obligation of 1 the grant; and 2 ‘‘(II) shall release that lien after 3 the Secretary determines that the en- 4 tity is performing to the satisfaction 5 of the Secretary.’’; and 6 (B) in paragraph (2)— 7 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 8 ‘‘50’’ and inserting ‘‘90’’; and 9 (ii) by adding at the end the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(D) OBLIGATIONS TO PROVIDE 12 BROADBAND SERVICE IN THE SAME SERVICE 13 TERRITORY.— 14 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF BROADBAND IN- 15 FRASTRUCTURE.—In this subparagraph, 16 the term ‘broadband infrastructure’ means 17 any cables, fiber optics, wiring, or other 18 permanent infrastructure that is integral 19 to the structure, including fixed wireless 20 infrastructure, that— 21 ‘‘(I) is capable of providing ac- 22 cess to internet connections in indi- 23 vidual locations; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3216 IH ‘‘(II) offers an advanced tele- 1 communications capability (as defined 2 in section 706(d) of the Telecommuni- 3 cations Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 4 1302(d))). 5 ‘‘(ii) OTHER PROVIDERS.—The Sec- 6 retary shall consider a proposed service 7 territory with respect to which an eligible 8 entity submits an application to carry out 9 a project under this section to be served by 10 broadband service if a broadband service 11 provider other than that eligible entity is 12 subject to an obligation by a Federal, 13 State, or local government entity to build 14 broadband infrastructure and offer 15 broadband service in that service territory, 16 subject to conditions— 17 ‘‘(I) under a Federal, State, or 18 local funding award program; or 19 ‘‘(II) otherwise required by the 20 Federal, State, or local government 21 entity. 22 ‘‘(iii) OTHER FUNDING.—Subject to 23 clause (iv), the Secretary shall not be re- 24 quired to consider a proposed service terri- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3216 IH tory with respect to which an eligible entity 1 submits an application to carry out a 2 project under this section to be served by 3 broadband service if that eligible entity has 4 accepted an obligation under a Federal, 5 State, or local funding award program to 6 build broadband infrastructure and offer 7 broadband service in that service territory, 8 if the proposed project under this sec- 9 tion— 10 ‘‘(I) would not be duplicative of 11 the obligation under the other award 12 program; and 13 ‘‘(II) would build broadband in- 14 frastructure that results in faster 15 speeds or expedited milestones of de- 16 ployment of broadband infrastructure 17 in that service territory, as compared 18 to the obligation under the other 19 award program. 20 ‘‘(iv) OTHER OBLIGATIONS FOR 21 LOWER TRANSMISSION CAPACITY.—The 22 Secretary shall consider a proposed service 23 territory with respect to which an eligible 24 entity submits an application to carry out 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3216 IH a project under this section to be unserved 1 by broadband service if an obligation under 2 another award program described in clause 3 (iii) would not provide broadband service of 4 at least— 5 ‘‘(I) a 25-Mbps downstream 6 transmission capacity; and 7 ‘‘(II) a 3-Mbps upstream trans- 8 mission capacity. 9 ‘‘(E) REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNDING.— 10 ‘‘(i) AFFILIATE OWNED AND OPER- 11 ATED NETWORKS.—A grant, loan, or loan 12 guarantee under this section may be used 13 to construct networks that will be owned 14 and operated by an affiliate of the eligible 15 entity receiving the grant, loan, or loan 16 guarantee, subject to the condition that the 17 eligible entity, the affiliate, or both, as the 18 Secretary determines to be necessary, shall 19 provide adequate security for the grant, 20 loan, or loan guarantee. 21 ‘‘(ii) NEGATIVE COVENANTS AND CON- 22 DITIONS.—To the greatest extent prac- 23 ticable, a project carried out using a grant, 24 loan, or loan guarantee under this section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3216 IH shall not add any new negative covenants 1 or conditions to the grant, loan, or loan 2 guarantee agreement that were not pre- 3 viously disclosed to the eligible entity at 4 the time of application for the grant, loan, 5 or loan guarantee. 6 ‘‘(iii) OWNERSHIP OF SYSTEMS.— 7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A network 8 constructed with a grant, loan, or loan 9 guarantee under this section may be 10 transferred to an unaffiliated provider 11 that agrees— 12 ‘‘(aa) to assume the service 13 obligation; and 14 ‘‘(bb) to provide appropriate 15 and sufficient security for that 16 network. 17 ‘‘(II) DETERMINATION.—The 18 Secretary shall not unreasonably with- 19 hold consent to enter into an appro- 20 priate agreement described in sub- 21 clause (I) with the transferee based on 22 an evaluation by the Secretary of the 23 ability of the transferee to assume the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3216 IH agreement and provide security de- 1 scribed in item (bb) of that subclause. 2 ‘‘(iv) REPORTING AND AUDITING.— 3 The Secretary shall— 4 ‘‘(I) simplify, to the maximum 5 extent practicable, ongoing reporting 6 and auditing requirements for recipi- 7 ents of a grant, loan, or loan guar- 8 antee under this section; and 9 ‘‘(II) allow a recipient described 10 in subclause (I) whose financial infor- 11 mation is consolidated with the finan- 12 cial information of a parent entity to 13 rely on that consolidated financial in- 14 formation in complying with the re- 15 quirements described in that sub- 16 clause if the parent entity is providing 17 a guarantee on behalf of a subsidiary 18 of the parent entity with respect to 19 the grant, loan, or loan guarantee. 20 ‘‘(v) PROCUREMENT AND CON- 21 TRACTING.—The Secretary— 22 ‘‘(I) shall simplify, to the max- 23 imum extent practicable, requirements 24 for recipients of a grant, loan, or loan 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3216 IH guarantee under this section relating 1 to the procurement of materials and 2 retention of contractors; and 3 ‘‘(II) shall not unreasonably re- 4 strict the ability of a recipient de- 5 scribed in subclause (I) to obtain 6 goods and services from affiliated en- 7 tities.’’; 8 (5) in subsection (e)(1)— 9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘25- 10 Mbps’’ and inserting ‘‘100-Mbps’’; and 11 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘3- 12 Mbps’’ and inserting ‘‘20-Mbps’’; 13 (6) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as 14 subsections (l) and (m), respectively; 15 (7) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol- 16 lowing: 17 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regu- 18 lations to carry out this section in accordance with section 19 553 of title 5, United States Code. 20 ‘‘(k) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 120 days 21 after the date of enactment of the Rural Internet Improve- 22 ment Act of 2023, and not less frequently than annually 23 thereafter, the Secretary shall— 24 ‘‘(1) publish a report describing— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 3216 IH ‘‘(A) the distribution of amounts made 1 available under the ReConnect Program for the 2 preceding year; 3 ‘‘(B) the number of locations at which 4 broadband service was made available using 5 amounts under the ReConnect Program for the 6 preceding year; 7 ‘‘(C) the number of locations described in 8 subparagraph (B) at which broadband service 9 was used; and 10 ‘‘(D) the highest level of broadband service 11 made available at each location described in 12 subparagraph (B); and 13 ‘‘(2) submit the report described in paragraph 14 (1) to— 15 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri- 16 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 17 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Commerce, 18 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 19 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Agriculture of the 20 House of Representatives; and 21 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Energy and Com- 22 merce of the House of Representatives.’’; and 23 (8) in subsection (l) (as so redesignated), in 24 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3216.IH H3216 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 14 •HR 3216 IH 2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘for each fiscal 1 year’’. 2 (b) SUNSET.—Beginning on the date that is 120 days 3 after the date of enactm [Text truncated for display. 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