[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3362 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3362
To require the Federal Communications Commission to use a portion of
the proceeds from the auction of the C-band to fund measures to provide
students with access to the internet at home, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 27, 2020
Mr. Van Hollen introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Communications Commission to use a portion of
the proceeds from the auction of the C-band to fund measures to provide
students with access to the internet at home, 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 ``Homework Gap Trust Fund Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the Joint Economic Committee, as many as
12,000,000 students in the United States do not have access to
the internet at home.
(2) Lack of internet access at home for a student can lead
to reduced academic preparedness, decreased academic
performance, and decreased classroom engagement in school.
(3) Nearly 50 percent of students in the United States have
reported being unable to complete a homework assignment because
those students did not have access to the internet or a
computer.
(4) Seventeen percent of students in the United States do
not have access to computers at home and 18 percent do not have
home access to broadband internet access service.
(5) Computer ownership and internet use are strongly
correlated with household income.
(6) Approximately 30 percent of households in the United
States with incomes below $50,000 do not have a connection to
broadband internet access service.
(7) Students without broadband internet access service at
home are more likely to be students from low-income families,
students of color, or students who live in households with
lower levels of parental education.
(8) More than 50 percent of teachers in low-income school
districts report that limited access to technology outside of
school for students limits the ability of teachers to--
(A) advance and implement digital learning
initiatives; and
(B) promote digital literacy.
(9) According to the Commission, approximately 70 percent
of teachers in the United States assign homework that requires
access to broadband internet access service.
(10) Research has shown that teenagers who have access to
home computers are 6 to 8 percent more likely to graduate from
high school than teenagers who do not have access to home
computers.
(11) The homework gap affects students in both rural and
urban communities.
(12) Ensuring that students have access to broadband
internet access service will reduce the digital divide and can
help reduce economic, educational, and social inequalities.
SEC. 3. HOMEWORK GAP TRUST FUND.
(a) Establishment; Purpose.--There is established in the Treasury
of the United States a fund to be known as the ``Homework Gap Trust
Fund''--
(1) which shall be administered by the Commission; and
(2) the purpose of which is to provide funding for measures
that help to--
(A) close the digital divide; and
(B) promote digital equality with respect to
school-aged children.
(b) Deposit of Proceeds.--Notwithstanding any provision of section
309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), not less
than $2,000,000,000 and not more than $4,000,000,000 of the proceeds
received from systems of competitive bidding conducted with respect to
the use of the C-band shall be deposited in the Homework Gap Trust
Fund.
(c) Use of Homework Gap Trust Fund Amounts.--The Commission shall
use the amounts in the Homework Gap Trust Fund to fund measures that
seek to ensure that all students in the United States have access to
broadband internet access service at home, including by--
(1) purchasing any necessary equipment for that purpose;
and
(2) providing those students with hotspot devices.
(d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to
Congress a report regarding, for the year covered by the report--
(1) the number of recipients of funding provided under
subsection (c);
(2) the number of students who obtained access to broadband
internet access service as a result of funding provided under
subsection (c);
(3) the number of students in the United States who
continue to face unequal access to digital devices and
broadband internet access service, which prevents those
students from completing homework assignments;
(4) the use of hotspot devices provided with funding
provided under subsection (c); and
(5) the amount of data used per hotspot device described in
paragraph (4).
(e) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue final rules to carry
out this section.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) C-band.--The term ``C-band'' means the band of
electromagnetic spectrum between 3.7 gigahertz and 4.2
gigahertz, inclusive.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(3) Digital divide.--The term ``digital divide'' means the
economic, educational, and social inequalities that exist
between individuals, households, businesses, and geographic
areas at different socioeconomic levels due to their differing
abilities to access information and communications technology.
(4) Digital equality.--The term ``digital equality'' means
the activities that are necessary to ensure that, as a means to
enhance and promote education, employment, and civic and
cultural participation, all individuals in the United States
have access to, and the use of, affordable information and
communication technologies, including--
(A) reliable fixed and wireless broadband internet
access service;
(B) internet-enabled devices that meet the needs of
the user; and
(C) applications and online content designed to
enable and encourage self-sufficiency, participation,
and collaboration, including--
(i) obtaining access to digital literacy
training;
(ii) the provision of quality technical
support; and
(iii) obtaining basic awareness of measures
to ensure online privacy and cybersecurity.
(5) Digital literacy.--The term ``digital literacy'' means
the ability of an individual to use cognitive and technical
skills and technology to effectively find, analyze, organize,
share, create, and communicate information using digital
platforms.
(6) Hotspot device.--The term ``hotspot device'' means a
portable device--
(A) that connects to broadband internet access
service using a cellular data connection;
(B) to which other devices wirelessly connect by
means of Wi-Fi; and
(C) that enables the devices described in
subparagraph (B) to connect to the broadband internet
access service described in subparagraph (A).
<all>