To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit a report on the digital divide and to update the Indicators of Broadband Need mapping application, and for other purposes.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3361 To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit a report on the digital divide and to update the Indicators of Broadband Need mapping application, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 16, 2023 Mr. CA´RDENAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu- nications and Information to submit a report on the digital divide and to update the Indicators of Broadband Need mapping application, 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. REPORT ON DIGITAL DIVIDE. 3 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 4 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there- 5 after for the subsequent 10-year period, the Assistant Sec- 6 retary, in consultation with the Federal Communications 7 Commission, shall submit to the Committee on Energy 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 May 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3361.IH H3361 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3361 IH and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 2 the Senate, and make publicly available on the website of 3 the NTIA, a report on the state of the digital divide, which 4 shall include the following: 5 (1) Information on and an analysis of— 6 (A) barriers to, and trends regarding, 7 broadband access, adoption, and affordability; 8 (B) the connection between— 9 (i) broadband access, adoption, and 10 affordability; and 11 (ii) various socioeconomic indicators; 12 and 13 (C) the impact of Federal programs on 14 broadband access, adoption, and affordability. 15 (2) An assessment of the sufficiency of existing 16 data collection and data sets with respect to the 17 analysis described in paragraph (1) and, if nec- 18 essary, recommendations for NTIA actions to im- 19 prove data quality. 20 (3) Recommendations for legislative action to 21 facilitate closure of the digital divide. 22 (b) ASSEMBLY PROCESS.—In assembling each report 23 required by subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 May 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3361.IH H3361 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3361 IH (1) utilize all available and relevant data, in- 1 cluding data associated with the Indicators of 2 Broadband Need mapping application of the NTIA 3 and published research and data from individuals 4 and entities other than the NTIA; 5 (2) solicit public comment; 6 (3) hold public meetings with relevant stake- 7 holders; and 8 (4) consult with experts on and representatives 9 of communities that are unserved or underserved 10 with respect to broadband. 11 SEC. 2. INDICATORS OF BROADBAND NEED MAPPING AP- 12 PLICATION. 13 (a) UPDATE REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 15 days thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall update the 16 Indicators of Broadband Need mapping application of the 17 NTIA to ensure that such application incorporates, and 18 includes display layers with respect to, the following: 19 (1) Data from the Broadband Data Collection 20 system of the Federal Communications Commission, 21 including data on availability and subscription rates 22 for broadband tiers with a download speed of more 23 than 25 megabits per second and an upload speed 24 of more than 3 megabits per second. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 May 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3361.IH H3361 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3361 IH (2) Third-party data on the results of mobile 1 network speed and signal strength tests. 2 (3) The identification of— 3 (A) areas of persistent poverty (as such 4 term is defined in section 6702(a) of title 49, 5 United States Code); 6 (B) historically disadvantaged communities 7 (as such term is used in section 6702 of title 8 49, United States Code); 9 (C) areas impacted by previous redlining 10 practices (as determined using maps produced 11 by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation); and 12 (D) congressional districts. 13 (4) Data on eligibility and enrollment with re- 14 spect to the Affordable Connectivity Program estab- 15 lished under section 904(b) of division N of the Con- 16 solidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 U.S.C. 17 1752). 18 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 19 tion may be construed to limit the authority of the Assist- 20 ant Secretary to incorporate, as part of the Indicators of 21 Broadband Need mapping application of the NTIA, ele- 22 ments in addition to the elements identified in subsection 23 (a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 May 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3361.IH H3361 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3361 IH SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 3 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 4 Commerce for Communications and Information. 5 (2) NTIA.—The term ‘‘NTIA’’ means the Na- 6 tional Telecommunications and Information Admin- 7 istration. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 May 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3361.IH H3361 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS