[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 436 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 436
To provide Federal matching funding for State-level broadband programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 24, 2021
Ms. Collins (for herself and Ms. Rosen) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide Federal matching funding for State-level broadband programs.
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 ``American Broadband Buildout Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary''
means the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications
and Information.
(2) Broadband availability maps.--The term ``broadband
availability maps'' means the maps created by the Federal
Communications Commission under section 802(c)(1) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)).
(3) Broadband internet access service.--The term
``broadband internet access service''--
(A) means mass-market retail service by wire or
radio that provides the capability to transmit data to
and receive data from all or substantially all internet
endpoints, including any capabilities that are
incidental to and enable the operation of the
communications service, but excluding dial-up internet
access service; and
(B) includes any service that the Commission finds
to be providing a functional equivalent of the service
described in subparagraph (A) or that is used to evade
the protections set forth in part 8 of title 47, Code
of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto.
(4) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Communications Commission.
(5) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a State; or
(B) an entity authorized by a State to spend funds
for a purpose described in section 3 or 4.
(6) Last-mile infrastructure.--The term ``last-mile
infrastructure'' means infrastructure the predominant purpose
of which is to provide broadband internet access service to end
users or end user devices, including households, businesses,
community anchor institutions, public safety entities, and
critical community facilities.
(7) Overbuilding.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), the term ``overbuilding'' means deploying
broadband infrastructure in an area--
(i) that already has--
(I) facilities capable of providing
standard broadband service; or
(II) broadband infrastructure that
was built using funds from a Federal or
State program that were provided for
the express purpose of deploying
broadband infrastructure;
(ii) where Federal or State funding has
already been committed for the deployment of
facilities capable of providing standard
broadband service, even if such service is not
yet available, provided that the funding
recipient is meeting any applicable buildout
deadlines; or
(iii) with respect to which a broadband
internet access service provider has already
made enforceable commitments to a Federal
agency or State to deploy facilities capable of
providing standard broadband service, even if
such service is not yet available, provided
that the broadband internet access service
provider is meeting any applicable buildout
deadlines.
(B) Interconnect points.--The term ``overbuilding''
does not include deploying broadband infrastructure in
an area described in subparagraph (A) if the
infrastructure is deployed for the purpose of reaching
interconnect points of standard broadband service to
meet the needs of broadband users in another area that
is an unserved area.
(8) Qualifying project.--The term ``qualifying project''
means a project--
(A) to construct last-mile infrastructure that will
provide broadband internet access service at a speed of
not less than 100 megabits per second for downloads and
10 megabits per second for uploads in an unserved area,
without engaging in overbuilding; and
(B) that is funded by a public-private partnership
in which--
(i)(I) the State in which the project is
located provides a portion of the funds; or
(II) the State in which the project is
located and another entity, which may be a
political subdivision of the State in which the
project is located, together provide not less
than 25 percent of the funds; and
(ii) the private company or electric
cooperative that will provide broadband
internet access service to customers connected
to the last-mile infrastructure provides not
less than 25 percent of the funds.
(9) Standard broadband service.--The term ``standard
broadband service'' means broadband internet access service
with a speed of not less than--
(A) 25 megabits per second for downloads; and
(B) 3 megabits per second for uploads.
(10) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the
term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
153).
(11) Unserved area.--The term ``unserved area'' means a
census block in which standard broadband service is not
available to all households according to--
(A) the broadband availability maps; or
(B) if the maps described in subparagraph (A) have
not been completed at the time when the relevant grant
is being awarded, any existing broadband availability
data of the Commission, as well as any relevant data
from the National Broadband Availability Map produced
by the Assistant Secretary.
SEC. 3. LAST-MILE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.
(a) Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall award grants to
eligible entities for qualifying projects.
(2) Advisory role of ntia.--The Commission shall carry out
paragraph (1) in consultation with the Assistant Secretary,
including by soliciting and taking into account the advice of
the Assistant Secretary.
(b) Prioritization.--The Commission shall give priority to
qualifying projects in States in which, according to the broadband
availability maps--
(1) less than 68 percent of households subscribe to fixed
terrestrial broadband internet access service with a speed of
not less than--
(A) 10 megabits per second for downloads; and
(B) 1 megabit per second for uploads; and
(2) less than 40.5 percent of households subscribe to fixed
terrestrial standard broadband service.
(c) High-Cost, Geographically Challenged Areas.--The Commission
shall ensure that not less than 15 percent of the amounts awarded under
this section are used in unserved areas that are high-cost and
geographically challenged, as determined by the Commission.
(d) Population-Based Allocation.--
(1) In general.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Commission shall allocate not less than $5,000,000,000 among
the States based on the proportion that the population of each
State bears to the population of all States.
(2) Excess funds.--If the amount allocated for a State
under paragraph (1) exceeds the allowable Federal share of the
costs of projects of the State (or other eligible entity acting
on behalf of the State) that are eligible for funding under
this section, the Commission shall withhold the excess amount,
which shall revert to the general fund of the Treasury.
(3) Failure to apply.--If an eligible entity does not apply
for a grant under this section by the last day of fiscal year
2022, the amount that would have been awarded to the eligible
entity under paragraph (1) shall revert to the general fund of
the Treasury.
SEC. 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS; DIGITAL LITERACY PROGRAMS.
The Commission shall award grants to eligible entities--
(1) to carry out public awareness campaigns designed to
highlight the value and benefits of broadband internet access
service, in order to increase the adoption of broadband
internet access service; and
(2) to support digital literacy programs in areas in which
a qualifying project that receives funding under section 3 is
located.
SEC. 5. FEDERAL SHARE.
(a) In General.--The Federal share of the cost of a project,
campaign, or program that receives funding under this Act shall be not
more than 50 percent.
(b) Use of Certain Federal Funds for Non-Federal Share.--
(1) In general.--A State may use any amounts described in
paragraph (2) for the non-Federal share of the cost of a
project, campaign, or program that receives funding under this
Act.
(2) Eligible amounts.--The amounts referred to in paragraph
(1) are amounts received from--
(A) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
under the community development block grant program
under title I of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.);
(B) the Appalachian Regional Commission established
under section 14301(a) of title 40, United States Code;
(C) the Economic Development Administration of the
Department of Commerce;
(D) any rural telehealth program of the Commission;
or
(E) the Northern Border Regional Commission
established under section 15301(a)(3) of title 40,
United States Code.
SEC. 6. TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY REQUIRED.
The Commission shall award grants to eligible entities under this
Act in a manner that does not favor the use of any particular
technology.
SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Last-Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grants.--For grants awarded
under section 3, the Commission shall establish transparency and
accountability rules under which--
(1) after receiving an application for a grant to carry out
a qualifying project in an area, the Commission shall determine
whether the area is served or unserved using accurate and
granular information regarding the availability of broadband
internet access service at the sub-census block level;
(2) the Commission shall--
(A) permit a person or entity to challenge an
initial determination of the Commission under paragraph
(1); and
(B) provide a period of not less than 45 days,
after the Commission makes an initial determination
under paragraph (1) with respect to an area, during
which a provider of broadband internet access service
may voluntarily submit information concerning the
broadband internet access service that the provider
offers in the area;
(3) the Commission shall provide the public with notice
of--
(A) an initial determination with respect to an
area under paragraph (1);
(B) the final determination of whether an area is
served or unserved after the process for challenging
the initial determination, as described in paragraph
(2), has concluded;
(C) the entities that have applied for a grant; and
(D) the results of any decision regarding a grant
application, including by identifying--
(i) each eligible entity that was awarded a
grant;
(ii) the areas that each grantee will serve
using the grant funds;
(iii) the nature of the service that each
grantee will provide in each area described in
clause (ii); and
(iv) the amount that the Commission has
authorized each grantee to use to carry out a
qualifying project in each unserved area; and
(4) the Commission shall establish--
(A) broadband buildout milestones and periodic
certifications that a grantee must submit to
demonstrate compliance with the broadband buildout
milestones;
(B) a maximum buildout timeframe of 5 years from
the date on which the Commission first awards a grant
to an eligible entity;
(C) requirements for grantees to submit to the
Commission and to the broadband office or other
applicable authority of the State in which the grantee
is carrying out the project periodic reports that
identify--
(i) the nature of the service provided in
each unserved area; and
(ii) the latitude and longitude coordinates
of each location to which the grantee has
provided broadband internet access service in
each census block;
(D) penalties for noncompliance with--
(i) the broadband buildout milestones under
subparagraph (A);
(ii) the certification requirements under
subparagraph (A); and
(iii) the reporting requirements under
subparagraph (C);
(E) procedures through which the Commission may
recover grant funds, in whole or in part, from a
grantee if the grantee defaults or does not comply with
the requirements under this Act; and
(F) any additional methods or reporting necessary
to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within the grant
program.
(b) Public Awareness and Digital Literacy Grants.--For grants
awarded under section 4, the Commission shall establish transparency
and accountability rules that--
(1) require the Commission to provide the public with
notice of--
(A) the entities that have applied for a grant; and
(B) the results of any decision regarding a grant
application, including by--
(i) identifying each eligible entity that
was awarded a grant;
(ii) identifying the areas that each
grantee will serve using the grant funds;
(iii) providing a summary of the projects
that each grantee will carry out in each area
described in clause (ii); and
(iv) the amount that the Commission has
authorized a grantee to use to carry out a
public awareness campaign or support digital
literacy programs in each area described in
clause (ii); and
(2) establish--
(A) project milestones and periodic certifications
that a grantee must submit to demonstrate compliance
with the project milestones;
(B) a maximum project completion timeframe of 5
years from the date on which the Commission first
awards a grant to an eligible entity;
(C) periodic reporting requirements for grantees to
demonstrate progress in meeting the project milestones
under subparagraph (A);
(D) penalties for noncompliance with--
(i) the project milestones under
subparagraph (A);
(ii) the certification requirements under
subparagraph (A); and
(iii) the reporting requirements under
subparagraph (C);
(E) procedures through which the Commission may
recover grant funds, in whole or in part, from a
grantee if the grantee defaults or does not comply with
the requirements under this Act; and
(F) any additional methods or reporting necessary
to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within the grant
program.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission to carry
out this Act for fiscal year 2021, $15,000,000,000, to remain available
until expended.
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