[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2427 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 594
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2427
To require the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a study and
submit to Congress a report examining the feasibility of funding the
Universal Service Fund through contributions supplied by edge
providers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 21, 2021
Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mr. Young, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Barrasso, Mr.
Crapo, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
December 7, 2022
Reported by Ms. Cantwell, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a study and
submit to Congress a report examining the feasibility of funding the
Universal Service Fund through contributions supplied by edge
providers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Funding Affordable Internet
with Reliable Contributions Act'' or the ``FAIR Contributions
Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND
CONTRIBUTIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the
Federal Communications Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Contribution.--The term ``contribution'' means
funds provided to the Universal Service Fund under section
254(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
254(d)).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Edge provider.--The term ``edge provider''
means a provider of online content or services, such as a
search engine, a social media platform, a streaming service, an
app store, a cloud computing service, or an e-commerce
platform.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) Universal service fund.--The term ``Universal
Service Fund'' means the fund established pursuant to section
254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) and
administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company to
support service to high-cost areas, schools and libraries,
rural health care facilities, and the Lifeline program of the
Commission.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Study and Report.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, and after issuing a notice of inquiry
seeking public comment on the issues described in this subsection, the
Commission shall conduct a study and submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report examining the feasibility of funding
the Universal Service Fund through contributions supplied by edge
providers, which shall include the consideration of comments on, and
the findings of the Commission with respect to--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) the class of firms and services on which
contributions could be assessed, including an inquiry into the
specific sources of revenue potentially subject to
contributions, such as digital advertising revenue and user
fees;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) the equity issues of the current contributions
system, including the cost burden on consumers who
traditionally purchase legacy telecommunications
services;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) equity issues of alternative contributions
systems that would create new funding sources for the Universal
Service Fund such as Federal appropriations or assessments on
edge providers;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) whether a particular contributions system
results in progressive or regressive fees;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) the size of firms subject to contributions
requirements;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) the broadband requirements, such as bandwidth
and latency, of a particular online service;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) other Federal, State, and local taxes and fees
that edge providers may already pay;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) practical issues concerning the calculation of
contributions, including which revenues should be subject to
contributions, whether a flat or progressive rate is most
appropriate, and the logistics of collection;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (9) the effect such a change would have on
telecommunications bills of consumers, including low-income,
elderly, and Tribal consumers;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (10) the effect such a change would have on the
sustainability of the Universal Service Fund, and how to ensure
that Universal Service Fund disbursements are consistent and
predictable over time;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (11) the statutory authority the Commission would
require to enact such a change and how such a change would
interact with existing Federal and State law; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (12) the continued necessity of the Universal
Service Fund once advanced telecommunications capability is
available to all people in the United States.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Funding Affordable Internet with
Reliable Contributions Act'' or the ``FAIR Contributions Act''.
SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND CONTRIBUTIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives.
(2) Broadband provider.--The term ``broadband provider''
means a provider of broadband internet access service, as
defined in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(4) Contribution.--The term ``contribution'' means funds
contributed to the Universal Service Fund under section 254(d)
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(d)).
(5) Edge provider.--The term ``edge provider'' means a
provider of online content or services, including, but not
limited to, a search engine, a social media platform, a
streaming service, an app store, a cloud computing service, an
over-the-top messaging service, a video conferencing service,
or an e-commerce platform.
(6) Universal service fund.--The term ``Universal Service
Fund'' means the fund--
(A) established pursuant to section 254 of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254); and
(B) administered by the Universal Service
Administrative Company or any other administrator
designated by the Commission.
(b) Study and Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and after issuing a notice of inquiry seeking
public comment on the issues described in this subsection, the
Commission shall conduct a study and submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report examining the feasibility and effects
of expanding the base of contributors to the Universal Service Fund to
include contributions supplied by edge providers and broadband
providers, which shall include the consideration of comments on, and
the findings of the Commission with respect to--
(1) the class of firms and services that benefit directly
and financially from the programs funded by the Universal
Service Fund;
(2) the size and class of firms and services on which
contributions could be assessed, including an inquiry into the
specific sources of revenue of edge providers and broadband
providers potentially subject to contributions, such as digital
advertising revenue and user fees;
(3) the broadband requirements, such as bandwidth and
latency, of particular online services that would be subject to
contribution requirements if contributions were assessed on
edge providers and broadband providers;
(4) other Federal, State, and local taxes and fees that
edge providers and broadband providers may already pay;
(5) practical issues concerning the calculation of
contributions assessed on edge providers and broadband
providers, including which revenues should be subject to
contributions, whether a flat or progressive rate or other fee
is most appropriate, whether characteristics of service such as
bandwidth or latency should affect the calculation of
contributions, the logistics of collection, whether a
calculation would result in the same revenue source being
assessed twice, and the ability to assess contributions on
foreign edge providers that provide content and services to
consumers in the United States;
(6) the effect the assessment of contributions on edge
providers and broadband providers would have on
telecommunications and edge provider costs for consumers,
including low-income, elderly, and Tribal consumers;
(7) the effect the assessment of contributions on edge
providers and broadband providers would have on the
sustainability of the Universal Service Fund, and whether the
assessment would ensure that Universal Service Fund
disbursements are consistent and predictable over time;
(8) the existing statutory authority the Commission has to
assess contributions on edge providers and broadband providers,
and how any change to such authority would interact with
existing Federal and State law;
(9) the impact of assessing contributions on any other
services, including enterprise services, that are subject to
the authority of the Commission; and
(10) the costs to the Commission of implementing and
administering a contribution assessment mechanism on broadband
providers and edge providers, and the ability of the Commission
to enforce such a mechanism.
Calendar No. 594
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2427
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a study and
submit to Congress a report examining the feasibility of funding the
Universal Service Fund through contributions supplied by edge
providers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 7, 2022
Reported with an amendment