[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4820 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4820
To auction spectrum and to authorize the Federal Communications
Commission to borrow funds from the Treasury, to be repaid out of
auction proceeds, to ensure rural communications providers have the
resources to replace communications equipment and services to protect
their networks from Chinese Communist Party espionage.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 12, 2022
Mr. Lee (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To auction spectrum and to authorize the Federal Communications
Commission to borrow funds from the Treasury, to be repaid out of
auction proceeds, to ensure rural communications providers have the
resources to replace communications equipment and services to protect
their networks from Chinese Communist Party espionage.
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 ``Protecting Communications Networks
from Chinese Communist Party Espionage Act''.
SEC. 2. SPECTRUM AUCTION.
(a) Identification.--Not later than 21 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with
the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, and the Federal Communications Commission (referred
to in this section as the ``Commission'') shall submit to the
President, the Commission, and the relevant congressional committees
(as defined in section 90008(a) of the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 921 note; Public Law 117-58)) a report that
identifies 350 megahertz of electromagnetic spectrum between the
frequencies of 3100 megahertz and 3450 megahertz, inclusive, to be
reallocated by the Commission through a system of competitive bidding
under subsection (b) for non-Federal use or shared Federal and non-
Federal use, or a combination thereof.
(b) Reallocation of Spectrum Through Auction.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 7 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall--
(A) notwithstanding paragraph (11) or (15)(A) of
section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 309(j)), in coordination with the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Communications and
Information, conduct a system of competitive bidding
under that section to award licenses for non-Federal
use or shared Federal and non-Federal use, or a
combination thereof, of the band or bands of
electromagnetic spectrum identified under subsection
(a); and
(B) promulgate rules for the use of spectrum
reallocated under subparagraph (A).
(2) Auction proceeds to cover 110 percent of federal
relocation or sharing costs.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to relieve the Commission from the requirements
under section 309(j)(16)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 309(j)(16)(B)).
(3) Extension of auction authority.--Section 309(j)(11) of
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(11)) is
amended by striking ``section 90008(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act'' and inserting
``section 2(a) of the Protecting Communications Networks from
Chinese Communist Party Espionage Act''.
(c) Use of Auction Proceeds.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A),
(C)(i), and (D) of section 309(j)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)), and except as provided in subparagraph (B) of
that paragraph, the proceeds (including deposits and upfront payments
from successful bidders) of competitive bidding under subsection (b) of
this section (in this subsection referred to as ``covered proceeds'')
shall be deposited or available as follows:
(1) Such amount of the covered proceeds as is necessary to
cover 110 percent of the relocation or sharing costs of Federal
entities relocated from or sharing the frequencies identified
under subsection (a) shall be deposited in the Spectrum
Relocation Fund established under section 118 of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization
Act (47 U.S.C. 928).
(2) After the amount required to be deposited by paragraph
(1) of this subsection is so deposited, the Commission shall
use such amounts as are necessary to reimburse the general fund
of the Treasury for any amounts borrowed under section (d) of
this section.
(3) After compliance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
subsection, the Commission shall deposit all remaining amounts
in the general fund of the Treasury for the sole purpose of
deficit reduction.
(d) FCC Borrowing Authority.--The Commission may borrow from the
Treasury of the United States an amount not to exceed $3,700,000,000 to
carry out the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019
(47 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), notwithstanding the limitation on
expenditures under section 4(k) of that Act (47 U.S.C. 1603(k)) and
provided that the Commission shall not use any funds borrowed under
this subsection in a manner that may result in outlays on or after
September 30, 2031.
(e) Relation to Spectrum Auction Under Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act.--Paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 90008(b) of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 921 note; Public Law
117-58) are repealed.
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