[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5486 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5486
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve access to
broadband telecommunications services in rural areas, including by
encouraging the provision of broadband loans and grants to increase
broadband service in emerging harbor projects, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 18, 2019
Ms. Plaskett (for herself, Mr. Yoho, and Miss Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto
Rico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee 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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve access to
broadband telecommunications services in rural areas, including by
encouraging the provision of broadband loans and grants to increase
broadband service in emerging harbor projects, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Broadband Internet for Small Ports
Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS.
Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C.
950bb) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) in clause (i)--
(aa) by striking ``of at
least--'' and inserting a
semicolon; and
(bb) by striking subclauses
(I) and (II);
(II) in clause (iii), by striking
``and'' at the end;
(III) in clause (iv), by striking
the period at the end and inserting ``;
and''; and
(IV) by adding at the end the
following:
``(v) give priority to applications for
projects to provide rapid and expanded
deployment of fixed and mobile broadband on
cropland and ranchland within a service
territory for use in various applications of
precision agriculture.'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) in clause (i)--
(aa) in subclause (III), by
inserting ``or'' after the
semicolon;
(bb) in subclause (IV), by
striking ``or'' and inserting
``and''; and
(cc) by striking subclause
(V); and
(II) in clause (ii)--
(aa) in the matter
preceding subclause (I), by
striking ``2'' and inserting
``1'';
(bb) in subclause (IV), by
inserting ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(cc) in subclause (V), by
striking ``; and'' and
inserting a period at the end;
and
(dd) by striking subclause
(VI); and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Emerging harbor project priority.--In
addition to the priority given under subparagraph (B),
the Secretary shall give equal priority to an
application for a project that would increase the
availability of broadband service in an emerging harbor
project (as defined in section 210(f) of the Water
Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2238(f))),
without regard to whether the application is from an
emerging harbor project.
``(D) Identification of unserved communities.--
``(i) In general.--In the case of an
application given the highest priority under
subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary shall
confirm that each unserved rural community
identified in the application is eligible for
funding by--
``(I) conferring with and obtaining
data from the Federal Communications
Commission and the Assistant Secretary
of Commerce for Communications and
Information with respect to the service
area proposed in the application;
``(II) reviewing any other source
that is relevant to service data
validation, as determined by the
Secretary; and
``(III) performing site-specific
testing to verify the unavailability of
any residential broadband service in
the unserved rural community.
``(ii) Adjustments.--Not less often than
once every 2 years, the Secretary shall review,
and may adjust through notice published in the
Federal Register, the unserved communities
identified under clause (i).''; and
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraphs (C)
and (D) and inserting the following:
``(C) Maximum.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(D), the amount of any grant made under this section
shall not exceed 50 percent of the development costs of
the project for which the grant is provided.
``(D) Secretarial authority to adjust.--The
Secretary may make grants of up to 75 percent of the
development costs of the project for which the grant is
provided to an eligible entity if the Secretary
determines that the project serves--
``(i) an area of rural households described
in paragraph (2)(A)(ii); and
``(ii) a rural community described in any
of subclauses (I) through (IV) of paragraph
(2)(B)(i).'';
(2) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``subsection (j)'' and inserting ``subsection
(l)''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Relation to universal service high-cost
support.--The Secretary shall coordinate with the
Federal Communications Commission to ensure that any
grants, loans, or loan guarantees made under this
section complement and do not conflict with universal
service high-cost support (as defined in section 54.5
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any
successor regulation) provided by the Commission.'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) in clause (i), by striking
``50'' and inserting ``90''; and
(II) in clause (ii), by striking
``3'' and inserting ``2''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Application process.--The Secretary shall provide to
an applicant of a grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this
section feedback and decisions on funding in a timely
manner.'';
(3) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as subsections
(l) and (m), respectively;
(4) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
``(j) Broadband Buildout Data.--As a condition of receiving a
grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this section, a recipient of
assistance shall provide to the Secretary complete, reliable, and
precise geolocation information that indicates the location of new
broadband service that is being provided or upgraded within the service
territory supported by the grant, loan, or loan guarantee not later
than 30 days after the earlier of--
``(1) the date of completion of any project milestone
established by the Secretary; or
``(2) the date of completion of the project.
``(k) Environmental Reviews.--The Secretary may obligate, but not
disperse, funds under this Act before the completion of otherwise
required environmental, historical, or other types of reviews if the
Secretary determines that a subsequent site-specific review shall be
adequate and easily accomplished for the location of towers, poles, or
other broadband facilities in the service area of the borrower without
compromising the project or the required reviews.''; and
(5) in subsection (l)(2)(A) (as so redesignated)--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) set aside at least 1 percent to be
used for--
``(I) conducting oversight under
this section; and
``(II) implementing accountability
measures and related activities
authorized under this section.''.
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