[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 698 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 698
To establish a pilot program through which the Institute of Museum and
Library Services shall allocate funds to States for the provision of
internet-connected devices to libraries.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 11, 2021
Mr. Manchin (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Tester, Mr. Crapo, Mr. King,
Mr. Boozman, Mr. Warner, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a pilot program through which the Institute of Museum and
Library Services shall allocate funds to States for the provision of
internet-connected devices to libraries.
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 ``Hotspots and Online Technology and
Services Procurement for Our Tribes and States Act'' or the ``HOTSPOTS
Act''.
SEC. 2. INTERNET HOTSPOT PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``library'',
``State'', and ``State library administrative agency'' have the
meanings given those terms in section 213 of the Museum and Library
Services Act (20 U.S.C. 9122).
(b) Pilot Program.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 21 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (referred to in this section as the
``Director'') shall establish a 2-year pilot program, through
which the Director shall--
(A) reserve 2.5 percent of the amounts appropriated
to carry out this section to make grants to Indian
Tribes and to organizations that primarily serve and
represent Native Hawaiians (as the term is defined in
section 6207 of the Native Hawaiian Education Act (20
U.S.C. 7517)) to enable such Tribes and organizations
to carry out the activities described in subsection
(e); and
(B) allocate grant funds to States in accordance
with paragraph (2) to enable States, through the State
library administrative agency, as appropriate, to carry
out the activities described in subsection (e).
(2) Allotments to states.--
(A) Minimum allotments.--
(i) In general.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the minimum allotment for each State
shall be $2,000,000, except that the minimum
allotment shall be $200,000 in the case of the
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
the Federated States of Micronesia, and the
Republic of Palau.
(ii) Ratable reduction.--Notwithstanding
clause (i), if the sum appropriated to carry
out this section is insufficient to fully
satisfy the requirement of clause (i), each of
the minimum allotments under such clause shall
be reduced ratably.
(B) Remainder.--
(i) In general.--From the remainder of any
sums made available to carry out this section
and not reserved or allotted under subparagraph
(A), the Director shall award grants to each
State in an amount that bears the same relation
to such remainder as the population of the
State bears to the population of all States.
(ii) Data.--The population of each State
and of all the States shall be determined by
the Director on the basis of the most recent
data available from the Bureau of the Census.
(c) Grants, Contracts, or Cooperative Agreements.--From amounts
appropriated under subsection (f), $2,000,000 shall be made available
for the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services for
grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with Federal agencies,
public and private organizations, and other entities determined to be
eligible by the Director to enable those agencies, organizations, and
entities to carry out the activities described in subsection (e).
(d) Grants for Indian Tribes.--An Indian Tribe or organization
described in subsection (b)(1)(A) that is eligible for support under
section 261 of the Library Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 9161)
may designate a Tribal library or Tribal library consortium as a
library or consortium that is eligible for grant funds under this
section, without regard to whether the library or library consortium is
eligible for assistance from a State Library Administrative Agency
under the Library Services and Technology Act (20 U.S.C. 9121 et seq.),
if the library or library consortium is eligible for support from an
Indian Tribe or organization described in subsection (b)(1)(A) under
such section 261.
(e) Use of Grant Funds.--Each State, Indian Tribe, or other entity
receiving a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this
section shall use funding under this section to--
(1) expand digital network access by purchasing and
distributing internet-connected devices, such as hotspots, to
libraries in low-income and rural areas so that those libraries
can--
(A) allow individuals to borrow internet-connected
devices for home use; and
(B) install or upgrade public Wi-Fi access points
for use on or near library grounds, including modems,
routers, items that combine a modem and a router, and
other equipment that might be needed to support
increased broadband capacity;
(2) provide libraries with funds to pay the other expenses
associated with such devices and related services, such as
processing, training, associated connectivity, hardware and
support, and other necessary expenses related to the retention
of these devices and provision of these services; or
(3) encourage existing and new partnerships between State
and local governments, libraries, nonprofit entities, agencies
including the Federal Communications Commission, and
telecommunication, broadband, and internet service providers to
coordinate the distribution of hotspots and other internet-
connected devices and services.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000.
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