[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7344 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7344
To require the Federal Communications Commission to provide broadband
availability data to the Department of the Interior.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2020
Mr. Curtis introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on
Natural Resources, and Agriculture, 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 require the Federal Communications Commission to provide broadband
availability data to the Department of the Interior.
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 ``Federal Broadband Deployment in
Unserved Areas Act''.
SEC. 2. LOCATING FEDERAL FACILITIES IN UNSERVED AREAS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives;
(B) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House
of Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate; and
(D) the Committee on Environment and Public Works
of the Senate.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(3) Communications facility.--The term ``communications
facility'' includes--
(A) any infrastructure, including any transmitting
device, tower, or support structure, and any equipment,
switches, wiring, cabling, power sources, shelters, or
cabinets, associated with the licensed or permitted
unlicensed wireless or wireline transmission of
writings, signs, signals, data, images, pictures, and
sounds of all kinds; and
(B) any antenna or apparatus that--
(i) is designed for the purpose of emitting
radio frequency;
(ii) is designed to be operated, or is
operating, from a fixed location pursuant to
authorization by the Commission or is using
duly authorized devices that do not require
individual licenses; and
(iii) is added to a tower, building, or
other structure.
(4) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means--
(A) public land administered by the Secretary of
the Interior; and
(B) National Forest System land.
(5) Department concerned.--The term ``Department
concerned'' means the Department of the Interior or the
Department of Agriculture.
(6) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
public land;
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
National Forest System land; and
(C) the Secretary of Commerce.
(b) Sharing Broadband Availability Data.--
(1) Notification.--Not later than 2 business days after
creating the maps required under section 802(c)(1) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)), the
Commission shall notify the Secretary concerned that such maps
have been created.
(2) Provision of information.--Not later than 5 business
days after the notification described in paragraph (1), the
Commission shall provide the Secretary concerned any
information the Commission has collected pursuant to title VIII
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 641 et seq.).
(3) Continuation.--The Commission shall provide the
Secretary concerned the information described in paragraph (2)
every 6 months unless the Commission no longer has such
information.
(4) Protection of information.--
(A) In general.--The Commission shall specify to
the Secretary concerned which information provided
under paragraph (2) was collected in a confidential or
proprietary manner, and the Secretary concerned may not
make such information publicly available.
(B) FOIA.--Information provided under paragraph (2)
shall not be disclosed to the public pursuant to
section 552(b)(3)(B) of title 5, United States Code.
(c) Working Group.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of enactment of this section, the Commission and the Secretary
concerned shall establish an interagency working group to
facilitate the preparation and interoperability of information
technology systems for the provision and receipt of the
information described in subsection (b)(2).
(2) Nonapplicability of faca.--The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the
interagency working group established under paragraph (1).
(3) Detail of government employees.--Any employee of the
Federal Government may be detailed to the interagency working
group established under paragraph (1) without reimbursement,
and that detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil
service status or privilege.
(d) Reports.--
(1) Preliminary assessment of potential barriers.--Not
later 120 days after the date on which the interagency working
group is established pursuant to subsection (c)(1), the
Commission and the Secretary concerned shall jointly submit a
report to the appropriate committees of Congress with a
preliminary assessment of any potential barriers to sharing the
information described under subsection (b)(2).
(2) Assessments.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the Commission provides the information described under
subsection (b)(2) to the Department concerned, the Commission
and the Secretary concerned shall jointly submit a report to
the appropriate committees of Congress with--
(A) an assessment of the effectiveness of a user's
ability to locate broadband infrastructure on covered
land in an area to be determined as unserved by the
Commission on the basis of the maps created under
section 802(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 642(c)); and
(B) an assessment of whether the Department
concerned prioritized the review of applications for a
communications use authorization in an area to be
determined as unserved by the Commission on the basis
of the maps created under section 802(c) of the
Communications Act of 1934.
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