ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1642 To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish the ReConnect program under that Act, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 17, 2023 Mr. WELCH (for himself and Mr. MARSHALL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu- trition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish the ReConnect program under that Act, 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 ‘‘ReConnecting Rural 4 America Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 6 SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 601 of the Rural Elec- 8 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 May 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1642 IS (1) by striking subsections (a) through (f) and 1 inserting the following: 2 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 3 provide assistance in the form of grants, loans, and com- 4 binations of grants and loans for the costs of the construc- 5 tion, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equip- 6 ment for broadband service in rural areas. 7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 9 ‘broadband service’ means any technology identified 10 by the Secretary as having the capacity to transmit 11 data to enable a subscriber to the service to origi- 12 nate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, 13 and video. 14 ‘‘(2) RURAL AREA.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘rural area’ 16 means any area other than— 17 ‘‘(i) an area described in clause (i) or 18 (ii) of section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Con- 19 solidated Farm and Rural Development 20 Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)); and 21 ‘‘(ii) a city, town, or incorporated area 22 that has a population of greater than 23 20,000 inhabitants. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1642 IS ‘‘(B) URBAN AREA GROWTH.—The Sec- 1 retary may, by regulation only, consider an area 2 described in section 343(a)(13)(F)(i)(I) of that 3 Act to not be a rural area for purposes of this 4 section. 5 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN POPU- 6 LATIONS.—The term ‘rural area’ does not in- 7 clude any population described in subparagraph 8 (H) or (I) of section 343(a)(13) of the Consoli- 9 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 10 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)). 11 ‘‘(c) GRANTS, LOANS, AND COMBINATIONS.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 13 grants, loans, and combinations of grants and loans 14 to eligible entities described in subsection (d) to pro- 15 vide funds for the construction, improvement, or ac- 16 quisition of facilities and equipment for the provision 17 of broadband service in rural areas. 18 ‘‘(2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for 19 a grant, loan, or grant and loan combination under 20 paragraph (1), in addition to the requirements of 21 subsection (d), the project that is the subject of the 22 grant, loan, or grant and loan combination shall— 23 ‘‘(A) provide broadband service of at 24 least— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1642 IS ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans- 1 mission capacity; and 2 ‘‘(ii) a 100-Mbps upstream trans- 3 mission capacity; and 4 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (4), be carried 5 out in a proposed service territory in which at 6 least 75 percent of the households lack access 7 to broadband service of at least— 8 ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans- 9 mission capacity; and 10 ‘‘(ii) a 20-Mbps upstream trans- 11 mission capacity. 12 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making grants, loans, and 13 grant and loan combinations under paragraph (1), 14 the Secretary— 15 ‘‘(A) shall give priority to applications for 16 projects to provide broadband service in a pro- 17 posed service territory in which at least 90 per- 18 cent of households lack access to broadband 19 service of at least— 20 ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans- 21 mission capacity; and 22 ‘‘(ii) a 20-Mbps upstream trans- 23 mission capacity; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1642 IS ‘‘(B) may give priority to applications for 1 projects to provide broadband service— 2 ‘‘(i) in proposed service territories— 3 ‘‘(I) with a population of less 4 than 10,000 permanent residents; 5 ‘‘(II) that are experiencing out- 6 migration and have adopted a stra- 7 tegic community investment plan 8 under section 379H(d) of the Consoli- 9 dated Farm and Rural Development 10 Act (7 U.S.C. 2008v(d)) that includes 11 considerations for improving and ex- 12 panding broadband service; 13 ‘‘(III) with a high percentage of 14 low income families or persons (as de- 15 fined in section 501(b) of the Housing 16 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471(b))); or 17 ‘‘(IV) that are isolated from 18 other significant population centers; 19 ‘‘(ii) that would ensure that all labor- 20 ers and mechanics employed by contractors 21 or subcontractors on the construction work 22 performed on projects financed, in whole or 23 in part, with the grant, loan, or grant and 24 loan combination shall be paid wages at 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 May 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1642 IS rates not less than those prevailing on 1 similar construction in the immediate local- 2 ity as determined by the Secretary of 3 Labor in accordance with sections 3141 4 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, 5 United States Code; 6 ‘‘(iii) that would provide rapid and ex- 7 panded deployment of fixed and mobile 8 broadband service on cropland and ranch- 9 land within the service territory for use in 10 various applications of precision agri- 11 culture; or 12 ‘‘(iv) submitted by an eligible entity 13 that has provided broadband service or 14 other utility service for not less than 5 15 years in rural areas in the State in which 16 the project would be carried out. 17 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT- 18 ONLY AWARDS.—To be eligible for assistance under 19 paragraph (1) in the form of a grant only, in addi- 20 tion to the requirements of subsection (d)— 21 ‘‘(A) an entity shall be— 22 ‘‘(i) a Tribal organization (as defined 23 in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1642 IS tion and Education Assistance Act (25 1 U.S.C. 5304)); 2 ‘‘(ii) a colonia; 3 ‘‘(iii) a persistent poverty county, as 4 determined by the Secretary; or 5 ‘‘(iv) a socially vulnerable community, 6 as determined by the Secretary; or 7 ‘‘(B) the project that is the subject of the 8 grant shall be carried out in a proposed service 9 territory in which at least 90 percent of house- 10 holds lack access to broadband service of at 11 least— 12 ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans- 13 mission capacity; and 14 ‘‘(ii) a 20-Mbps upstream trans- 15 mission capacity. 16 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.— 17 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to ob- 19 tain a grant, loan, or grant and loan combina- 20 tion under subsection (c), an entity shall— 21 ‘‘(i) submit to the Secretary an appli- 22 cation at such time, in such manner, and 23 containing such information as the Sec- 24 retary may require; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1642 IS ‘‘(ii) agree to complete buildout of the 1 broadband infrastructure described in the 2 application by not later than 5 years after 3 the initial date on which assistance under 4 subsection (c) is made available; and 5 ‘‘(iii) participate or agree to partici- 6 pate in— 7 ‘‘(I) the Affordable Connectivity 8 Program established under section 9 904(b) of division N of the Consoli- 10 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 11 U.S.C. 1752(b)); 12 ‘‘(II) the Lifeline program under 13 subpart E of part 54 of title 47, Code 14 of Federal Regulations (or any suc- 15 cessor regulation); or 16 ‘‘(III) any successor Federal 17 internet affordability assistance pro- 18 gram. 19 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—An entity eligible to 20 obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com- 21 bination under subsection (c) may include— 22 ‘‘(i) a State or local government, in- 23 cluding any agency, subdivision, instru- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1642 IS mentality, or political subdivision of a 1 State or local government; 2 ‘‘(ii) a territory or possession of the 3 United States; 4 ‘‘(iii) an Indian Tribe (as defined in 5 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 6 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 7 5304)); 8 ‘‘(iv) a cooperative or mutual organi- 9 zation; 10 ‘‘(v) an organization of 2 or more in- 11 corporated areas that have established an 12 intermunicipal legal agreement for the pur- 13 pose of delivering communication services 14 to residents; 15 ‘‘(vi) a corporation; and 16 ‘‘(vii) a limited liability company or 17 limited liability partnership. 18 ‘‘(C) INELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An indi- 19 vidual or legal general partnership that is 20 formed with individuals shall not be eligible to 21 obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com- 22 bination under subsection (c). 23 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1642 IS ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 1 described in this paragraph that provides 2 telecommunications or broadband service 3 to at least 20 percent of the households in 4 the United States may not receive an 5 amount of funds under this section for a 6 fiscal year in excess of 15 percent of the 7 funds authorized and appropriated under 8 subsection (i) for the fiscal year. 9 ‘‘(ii) STATES AND STATE AGENCIES 10 AND INSTRUMENTALITIES.—A State or an 11 agency or instrumentality of a State may 12 not, in total, receive an amount of funds 13 under this section for a fiscal year in ex- 14 cess of 15 percent of the funds authorized 15 and appropriated under subsection (i) for 16 the fiscal year. 17 ‘‘(E) PREVIOUS AWARDS.—An entity to 18 which a grant, loan, or grant and loan combina- 19 tion is made under subsection (c) shall not use 20 the grant, loan, or grant and loan combination 21 to deploy broadband service in a service area in 22 which broadband service is deployed by any 23 other entity that has received a broadband 24 grant or loan from the Rural Utilities Service, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1642 IS the National Telecommunications and Informa- 1 tion Administration, the Department of the 2 Treasury, the Federal Communications Com- 3 mission, or a State broadband grant program, 4 unless the service provided by the other entity 5 does not provide to at least 75 percent of the 6 households in the service area access to 7 broadband service of at least— 8 ‘‘(i) a 100-Mbps downstream trans- 9 mission capacity; and 10 ‘‘(ii) a 20-Mbps upstream trans- 11 mission capacity. 12 ‘‘(2) EQUITY REQUIREMENTS.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may re- 14 quire an entity to provide a cost share in an 15 amount not to exceed 25 percent of the amount 16 of the grant (including the grant in a grant and 17 loan combination) under subsection (c) re- 18 quested in the application of the entity. 19 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 20 the cost share requirement under subparagraph 21 (A) for entities or projects described in sub- 22 section (c)(4). 23 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1642 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 1 provide to eligible entities described in para- 2 graph (1) that are applying for assistance 3 under this section for a project described in 4 subsection (c)(3)(A) technical assistance and 5 training— 6 ‘‘(i) to prepare reports and surveys 7 necessary to request grants, loans, and 8 grant and loan combinations under this 9 section for broadband deployment; 10 ‘‘(ii) to improve management, includ- 11 ing financial management, relating to the 12 proposed broadband deployment; 13 ‘‘(iii) to prepare applications for 14 grants, loans, and grant and loan combina- 15 tions under this section; or 16 ‘‘(iv) to assist with other areas of 17 need identified by the Secretary. 18 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—Not less than 3 percent 19 and not more than 5 percent of amounts appro- 20 priated under subsection (i) to carry out this 21 section for a fiscal year shall be used for tech- 22 nical assistance and training under this para- 23 graph. 24 ‘‘(e) BROADBAND SERVICE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:19 May 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1642.IS S1642 rfrederick on DSKB3L4F33PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1642 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 1 for purposes of this section, the minimum acceptable 2 level of broadband service for a rural area shall be 3 at least— 4 ‘‘(A) a 100-Mbps downstream transmission 5 capacity; and 6 ‘‘(B) a 100-Mbps upstream transmission 7 capacity. 8 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—At least once every 2 9 years, the Secretary shall review, and may adjust 10 through notice published in the Federal Register, 11 the minimum acceptable level of broadband service 12 established under paragraph (1) and broadband 13 buildout requirements under paragraph (3) to en- 14 sure that high-quality, cost-effective broadband serv- 15 ice is provided to rural areas over time. 16 ‘‘(3) BROADBAND BUILDOUT REQUIREMENTS.— 17 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF BROADBAND BUILD- 18 OUT REQUIREMENT.—In this paragraph, the 19 term ‘broadband buildout requirement’ means 20 the level of internet service an applicant receiv- 21 ing assistance under this section must agree, at 22 the time the application is finalized, to provide 23 for the duration of any project-re [Text truncated for display. 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