ReConnecting Rural America Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4227 To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish the ReConnect program under that Act, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 20, 2023 Mr. NUNN of Iowa (for himself, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. SORENSEN, Mr. BOST, Mr. MOLINARO, Ms. CARAVEO, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mr. KILMER, Mr. COSTA, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. TRONE, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mr. MOOLENAAR, and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4227 IH SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 1 SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 601 of the Rural Elec- 3 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— 4 (1) by striking subsections (a) through (f) and 5 inserting the following: 6 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 7 provide assistance in the form of grants, loans, and com- 8 binations of grants and loans for the costs of the construc- 9 tion, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equip- 10 ment for broadband service in rural areas. 11 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 ‘‘(1) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 13 ‘broadband service’ means any technology identified 14 by the Secretary as having the capacity to transmit 15 data to enable a subscriber to the service to origi- 16 nate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, 17 and video. 18 ‘‘(2) RURAL AREA.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘rural area’ 20 means any area other than— 21 ‘‘(i) an area described in clause (i) or 22 (ii) of section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Con- 23 solidated Farm and Rural Development 24 Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4227 IH ‘‘(ii) a city, town, or incorporated area 1 that has a population of greater than 2 20,000 inhabitants. 3 ‘‘(B) URBAN AREA GROWTH.—The Sec- 4 retary may, by regulation only, consider an area 5 described in section 343(a)(13)(F)(i)(I) of that 6 Act to not be a rural area for purposes of this 7 section. 8 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN POPU- 9 LATIONS.—The term ‘rural area’ does not in- 10 clude any population described in subparagraph 11 (H) or (I) of section 343(a)(13) of the Consoli- 12 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 13 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)). 14 ‘‘(c) GRANTS, LOANS, AND COMBINATIONS.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 16 grants, loans, and combinations of grants and loans 17 to eligible entities described in subsection (d) to pro- 18 vide funds for the construction, improvement, or ac- 19 quisition of facilities and equipment for the provision 20 of broadband service in rural areas. 21 ‘‘(2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for 22 a grant, loan, or grant and loan combination under 23 paragraph (1), in addition to the requirements of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4227 IH subsection (d), the project that is the subject of the 1 grant, loan, or grant and loan combination shall— 2 ‘‘(A) provide broadband service of at 3 least— 4 ‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans- 5 mission capacity; and 6 ‘‘(ii) a 100–Mbps upstream trans- 7 mission capacity; and 8 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (4), be carried 9 out in a proposed service territory in which at 10 least 75 percent of the households lack access 11 to broadband service of at least— 12 ‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans- 13 mission capacity; and 14 ‘‘(ii) a 20–Mbps upstream trans- 15 mission capacity. 16 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making grants, loans, and 17 grant and loan combinations under paragraph (1), 18 the Secretary— 19 ‘‘(A) shall give priority to applications for 20 projects to provide broadband service in a pro- 21 posed service territory in which at least 90 per- 22 cent of households lack access to broadband 23 service of at least— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4227 IH ‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans- 1 mission capacity; and 2 ‘‘(ii) a 20–Mbps upstream trans- 3 mission capacity; and 4 ‘‘(B) may give priority to applications for 5 projects to provide broadband service— 6 ‘‘(i) in proposed service territories— 7 ‘‘(I) with a population of less 8 than 10,000 permanent residents; 9 ‘‘(II) that are experiencing out- 10 migration and have adopted a stra- 11 tegic community investment plan 12 under section 379H(d) of the Consoli- 13 dated Farm and Rural Development 14 Act (7 U.S.C. 2008v(d)) that includes 15 considerations for improving and ex- 16 panding broadband service; 17 ‘‘(III) with a high percentage of 18 low income families or persons (as de- 19 fined in section 501(b) of the Housing 20 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471(b)); or 21 ‘‘(IV) that are isolated from 22 other significant population centers; 23 ‘‘(ii) that would ensure that all labor- 24 ers and mechanics employed by contractors 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4227 IH or subcontractors on the construction work 1 performed on projects financed, in whole or 2 in part, with the grant, loan, or grant and 3 loan combination shall be paid wages at 4 rates not less than those prevailing on 5 similar construction in the immediate local- 6 ity as determined by the Secretary of 7 Labor in accordance with sections 3141 8 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, 9 United States Code; 10 ‘‘(iii) that would provide rapid and ex- 11 panded deployment of fixed and mobile 12 broadband service on cropland and ranch- 13 land within the service territory for use in 14 various applications of precision agri- 15 culture; or 16 ‘‘(iv) submitted by an eligible entity 17 that has provided broadband service or 18 other utility service for not less than 5 19 years in rural areas in the State in which 20 the project would be carried out. 21 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANT- 22 ONLY AWARDS.—To be eligible for assistance under 23 paragraph (1) in the form of a grant only, in addi- 24 tion to the requirements of subsection (d)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4227 IH ‘‘(A) an entity shall be— 1 ‘‘(i) a Tribal organization (as defined 2 in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina- 3 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 4 U.S.C. 5304)); 5 ‘‘(ii) a colonia; 6 ‘‘(iii) a persistent poverty county, as 7 determined by the Secretary; or 8 ‘‘(iv) a socially vulnerable community, 9 as determined by the Secretary; or 10 ‘‘(B) the project that is the subject of the 11 grant shall be carried out in a proposed service 12 territory in which at least 90 percent of house- 13 holds lack access to broadband service of at 14 least— 15 ‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans- 16 mission capacity; and 17 ‘‘(ii) a 20–Mbps upstream trans- 18 mission capacity. 19 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY.— 20 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to ob- 22 tain a grant, loan, or grant and loan combina- 23 tion under subsection (c), an entity shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4227 IH ‘‘(i) submit to the Secretary an appli- 1 cation at such time, in such manner, and 2 containing such information as the Sec- 3 retary may require; 4 ‘‘(ii) agree to complete buildout of the 5 broadband infrastructure described in the 6 application by not later than 5 years after 7 the initial date on which assistance under 8 subsection (c) is made available; and 9 ‘‘(iii) participate or agree to partici- 10 pate in— 11 ‘‘(I) the Affordable Connectivity 12 Program established under section 13 904(b) of division N of the Consoli- 14 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (47 15 U.S.C. 1752(b)); 16 ‘‘(II) the Lifeline program under 17 subpart E of part 54 of title 47, Code 18 of Federal Regulations (or any suc- 19 cessor regulation); or 20 ‘‘(III) any successor Federal 21 internet affordability assistance pro- 22 gram. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4227 IH ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—An entity eligible to 1 obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com- 2 bination under subsection (c) may include— 3 ‘‘(i) a State or local government, in- 4 cluding any agency, subdivision, instru- 5 mentality, or political subdivision of a 6 State or local government; 7 ‘‘(ii) a territory or possession of the 8 United States; 9 ‘‘(iii) an Indian Tribe (as defined in 10 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 11 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 12 5304)); 13 ‘‘(iv) a cooperative or mutual organi- 14 zation; 15 ‘‘(v) an organization of 2 or more in- 16 corporated areas that have established an 17 intermunicipal legal agreement for the pur- 18 pose of delivering communication services 19 to residents; 20 ‘‘(vi) a corporation; and 21 ‘‘(vii) a limited liability company or 22 limited liability partnership. 23 ‘‘(C) INELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An indi- 24 vidual or legal general partnership that is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4227 IH formed with individuals shall not be eligible to 1 obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com- 2 bination under subsection (c). 3 ‘‘(D) LIMITATION.— 4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 5 described in this paragraph that provides 6 telecommunications or broadband service 7 to at least 20 percent of the households in 8 the United States may not receive an 9 amount of funds under this section for a 10 fiscal year in excess of 15 percent of the 11 funds authorized and appropriated under 12 subsection (i) for the fiscal year. 13 ‘‘(ii) STATES AND STATE AGENCIES 14 AND INSTRUMENTALITIES.—A State or an 15 agency or instrumentality of a State may 16 not, in total, receive an amount of funds 17 under this section for a fiscal year in ex- 18 cess of 15 percent of the funds authorized 19 and appropriated under subsection (i) for 20 the fiscal year. 21 ‘‘(E) PREVIOUS AWARDS.—An entity to 22 which a grant, loan, or grant and loan combina- 23 tion is made under subsection (c) shall not use 24 the grant, loan, or grant and loan combination 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4227 IH to deploy broadband service in a service area in 1 which broadband service is deployed by any 2 other entity that has received a broadband 3 grant or loan from the Rural Utilities Service, 4 the National Telecommunications and Informa- 5 tion Administration, the Department of the 6 Treasury, the Federal Communications Com- 7 mission, or a State broadband grant program, 8 unless the service provided by the other entity 9 does not provide to at least 75 percent of the 10 households in the service area access to 11 broadband service of at least— 12 ‘‘(i) a 100–Mbps downstream trans- 13 mission capacity; and 14 ‘‘(ii) a 20–Mbps upstream trans- 15 mission capacity. 16 ‘‘(2) EQUITY REQUIREMENTS.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may re- 18 quire an entity to provide a cost share in an 19 amount not to exceed 25 percent of the amount 20 of the grant (including the grant in a grant and 21 loan combination) under subsection (c) re- 22 quested in the application of the entity. 23 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 24 the cost share requirement under subparagraph 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4227 IH (A) for entities or projects described in sub- 1 section (c)(4). 2 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 4 provide to eligible entities described in para- 5 graph (1) that are applying for assistance 6 under this section for a project described in 7 subsection (c)(3)(A) technical assistance and 8 training— 9 ‘‘(i) to prepare reports and surveys 10 necessary to request grants, loans, and 11 grant and loan combinations under this 12 section for broadband deployment; 13 ‘‘(ii) to improve management, includ- 14 ing financial management, relating to the 15 proposed broadband deployment; 16 ‘‘(iii) to prepare applications for 17 grants, loans, and grant and loan combina- 18 tions under this section; or 19 ‘‘(iv) to assist with other areas of 20 need identified by the Secretary. 21 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—Not less than 3 percent 22 and not more than 5 percent of amounts appro- 23 priated under subsection (i) to carry out this 24 section for a fiscal year shall be used for tech- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:01 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4227.IH H4227 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 4227 IH nical assistance and training under this para- 1 graph. 2 ‘‘(e) BROADBAND SERVICE.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 4 for purposes of this section, the minimum acceptable 5 level of broadband service for a rural area shall be 6 at least— 7 ‘‘(A) a 100–Mbps downstream trans- 8 mission capacity; and 9 ‘‘(B) a 100–Mbps upstream transmission 10 capacity. 11 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—At least once every 2 12 years, the Secretary shall review, and may adjust 13 through notice published in the Federal Register, 14 the minimum acceptable level of broadband service 15 established under paragraph (1) and broadband 16 buildout requirements under paragraph (3) to en- 17 sure that high quality, cost-effective broadband serv- 18 ice is provided to rural a [Text truncated for display. 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