[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1904 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1904
To include broadband as a utility that tenants residing in federally
assisted housing can have subsidized by the Federal Government, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2021
Mr. Bowman (for himself and Mr. Cleaver) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in
addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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
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A BILL
To include broadband as a utility that tenants residing in federally
assisted housing can have subsidized by the Federal Government, 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 Justice Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) the digital divide falls along racial and economic
lines;
(2) during the COVID-19 pandemic, research determined that
African American and Hispanic households were 1.3 to 1.4 times
as likely as White households to experience limited
accessibility to the internet;
(3) 44 percent of low-income Americans who make less than
$30,000 did not have home broadband services in 2019; and
(4) low-income families and individuals living in federally
assisted housing often lack access to high-quality broadband,
and monthly broadband costs can be prohibitively expensive,
which limits their ability to undertake essential activities,
including remote healthcare visits, school assignments, job
searches, and obtaining information about supportive resources.
SEC. 3. UTILITY ALLOWANCES FOR FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING.
(a) HUD-Assisted Housing.--
(1) Public housing and section 8 assistance.--Section 3 of
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a) is
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Utility Allowance.--A monthly utility allowance under this
Act with respect to any dwelling unit in public housing or assisted
under section 8 shall include reasonable costs for broadband high-speed
internet service.''.
(2) Public housing operating costs.--Paragraph (1) of
section 9(e) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437g(e)(1)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (J), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (K), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(L) the costs attributable to inclusion in the
utility allowance for residents of public housing of an
allowance for broadband high speed internet service.''.
(3) Section 202 supportive housing for the elderly.--
Subsection (c) of section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12
U.S.C. 1701q(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Utility allowance.--A monthly utility allowance with
respect to any dwelling unit assisted under this section shall
include reasonable costs for broadband high-speed internet
service.''.
(4) Section 811 supportive housing for persons with
disabilities.--Subsection (d) of section 811 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(d)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Utility allowance.--A monthly utility allowance with
respect to any dwelling unit assisted under this section shall
include reasonable costs for broadband high-speed internet
service.''.
(5) Regulations.--Not later than the expiration of the 6-
month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall
revise the regulations of the Secretary, including sections
982.517 and 5.603 and part 990 of title 24, Code of Federal
Regulations, to comply with and carry out the amendments made
by subsections (a) and (b) of this section, and shall develop a
schedule of regional rates for broadband costs for use by
public housing agencies in setting reasonable costs of
broadband high speed internet service.
(b) Rural Assisted Housing.--
(1) In general.--Section 501 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42
U.S.C. 1471) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(k) Utility Allowance.--In the case of a dwelling unit in any
housing project assisted with a loan or grant under section 514, 515,
or 516 or rental assistance under section 521, the monthly utility
allowance under this title shall include reasonable costs for broadband
high-speed internet service.''.
(2) Regulations.--Not later than the expiration of the 6-
month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall revise the regulations
of the Secretary, including section 3560.202 of title 7, Code
of Federal Regulations, to comply with and carry out the
amendment made by subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties.--
(1) In general.--Section 42(g)(2)(B)(ii) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ``(including any
determination pursuant to section 3(e) of such Act)'' before
the comma at the end.
(2) Regulations.--Not later than the expiration of the 6-
month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall revise the regulations
of the Secretary, including section 1.42-10 of title 26, Code
of Federal Regulations, to comply with and carry out the
amendment made by subsection (a) of this section.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated for fiscal year 2022 and each fiscal year thereafter
$5,000,000,000 for costs of carrying out the provisions added by the
amendments made by this section.
SEC. 4. CONNECTED COMMUNITIES GRANTS AND LOANS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,
the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall
jointly carry out a grant and loan program under this section to
provide access to broadband high-speed internet service to residents of
federally assisted housing.
(b) Eligible Activities.--Amounts made available for the program
under this section may be used only for grants and loans made to
further the goal of providing universal access to broadband high-speed
internet service to all residents of federally assisted housing, as
follows:
(1) Grants, including to providers of federally assisted
housing and public entities, to support projects to provide all
residents of affordable housing projects, including public
housing (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))) and other
federally and State-assisted affordable housing projects, with
access to such internet service; grantees are encouraged to
partner with municipal and other public or non-profit entities
to support internet access and may partner with a private
broadband service provider if the wiring costs charged by the
private partner to the grantee and the monthly broadband costs
charged to tenants do not exceed the lower comparable cost for
such access within the same region.
(2) Grants to public housing agencies and owners of housing
assisted with rental assistance under section 8 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) for installation
of such internet service, including routers, modems, and other
related devices, and to provide training and support regarding
internet access and operating equipment.
(3) Direct loans to owners of housing assisted under title
V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.) or under
the low-income housing tax credit program under section 42 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for costs of installation of
such internet access in such housing.
(4) Grants to assist in rehabilitation activities necessary
to provide wiring, other infrastructure, and other broadband
assistance needs identified by housing providers and their
tenants in housing described in this subsection as necessary to
provide such internet service, including tenant support
services relating to internet access, including educating
tenants on how to use the internet and facilitating contact
with internet service providers, except that any infrastructure
or wiring upgrades performed by for-profit service providers
shall include open access infrastructure.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025 such sums as
may be necessary for grants and costs (as such term is defined in
section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) of
loans under this section.
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