Connect The Nation Act - Provides for grants to develop and implement statewide initiatives to identify and track the availability and adoption of broadband service within each state.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3627 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3627
To promote the deployment and adoption of telecommunications services
and information technologies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 20, 2007
Mr. Space (for himself, Mrs. Boyda of Kansas, and Mr. Arcuri)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote the deployment and adoption of telecommunications services
and information technologies, 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 ``Connect The Nation Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The deployment and adoption of broadband service and
information technology has resulted in enhanced economic
development and public safety for communities across the
Nation, improved health care and educational opportunities, and
a better quality of life for all Americans.
(2) Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of
broadband and other advanced information services is vital to
ensuring that our Nation remains competitive and continues to
create business and job growth.
(3) The Federal Government should also recognize and
encourage complementary state efforts to improve the quality
and usefulness of broadband data and should encourage and
support the partnership of the public and private sectors in
the continued growth of broadband service and information
technology for the residents and businesses of the Nation.
SEC. 3. ENCOURAGING STATE INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE BROADBAND.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
(1) to ensure that all citizens and businesses in a State
have access to affordable and reliable broadband service;
(2) to achieve improved technology literacy, increased
computer ownership, and home broadband use among such citizens
and businesses;
(3) to establish and empower local grassroots technology
teams in each State to plan for improved technology use across
multiple community sectors; and
(4) to establish and sustain an environment ripe for
broadband service and information technology investment.
(b) Establishment of State Broadband Data and Development Grant
Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall award grants, taking
into account the results of the peer review process under
subsection (d), to eligible entities for the development and
implementation of statewide initiatives to identify and track
the availability and adoption of broadband service within each
State.
(2) Competitive basis.--Any grant under this section shall
be awarded on a competitive basis.
(c) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
subsection (b), an eligible entity shall--
(1) submit an application to the Secretary, at such time,
in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require; and
(2) agree to contribute matching non-Federal funds in an
amount equal to not less than 20 percent of the total amount of
the grant.
(d) Peer Review.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall by regulation require
appropriate technical and scientific peer review of
applications made for grants under this section.
(2) Review procedures.--The regulations required under
paragraph (1) shall require that any technical and scientific
peer review group--
(A) be provided a written description of the grant
to be reviewed;
(B) provide the results of any review by such group
to the Secretary; and
(C) certify that such group will enter into
voluntary nondisclosure agreements as necessary to
prevent the unauthorized disclosure of confidential and
propriety information provided by broadband service
providers in connection with projects funded by any
such grant.
(e) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded to an eligible entity under
subsection (b) shall be used--
(1) to provide a baseline assessment of broadband service
deployment in each State;
(2) to identify and track--
(A) areas in each State that have low levels of
broadband service deployment;
(B) the rate at which residential and business
customers adopt broadband service and other related
information technology services; and
(C) possible suppliers of such services;
(3) to identify barriers to the adoption by individuals and
businesses of broadband service and related information
technology services, including whether or not--
(A) the demand for such services is absent; and
(B) the supply for such services is capable of
meeting the demand for such services;
(4) to create and facilitate in each county or designated
region in a State a local technology planning team--
(A) with members representing a cross section of
the community, including representatives of business,
telecommunications labor organizations, K-12 education,
health care, libraries, higher education, community-
based organizations, local government, tourism, parks
and recreation, and agriculture; and
(B) which shall--
(i) measure technology use across relevant
community sectors;
(ii) set goals for improved technology use
within each sector; and
(iii) develop a tactical business plan for
achieving the local technology planning team's
goals, with specific recommendations for online
application development and demand creation;
(5) to work collaboratively with broadband service
providers and information technology companies to encourage
deployment and use, especially in unserved and underserved
areas, through the use of local demand aggregation, mapping
analysis, and the creation of market intelligence to improve
the business case for providers to deploy;
(6) to establish programs to improve computer ownership and
Internet access for unserved and underserved populations;
(7) to collect and analyze detailed market data concerning
the use and demand for broadband service and related
information technology services;
(8) to facilitate information exchange regarding the use
and demand for broadband service between public and private
sectors; and
(9) to create within each State a geographic inventory map
of broadband service, which shall--
(A) identify gaps in such service through a method
of geographic information system mapping of service
availability at the census block level; and
(B) provide a baseline assessment of statewide
broadband deployment in terms of households with high-
speed availability.
(f) Participation Limit.--For each State, an eligible entity may
not receive a new grant under this section to fund the activities
described in subsection (e) within such State if such organization
obtained prior grant awards under this section to fund the same
activities in that State in each of the previous 4 consecutive years.
(g) Report.--Each recipient of a grant under subsection (b) shall
submit a report on the use of the funds provided by the grant to the
Secretary not later than 1 year after the funds were received.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Broadband service.--The term ``broadband service''
means any service that connects to the public Internet that
provides a data transmission-rate equivalent to at least 200
kilobits per second or any successor transmission-rate
established by the Federal Communications Commission, in at
least 1 direction.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
nonprofit organization--
(A) that is selected by a State to work in
partnership with State agencies and private sector
partners in identifying and tracking the availability
and adoption of broadband service within each State;
(B) that has an established competency and proven
record of working with public and private sectors to
accomplish widescale deployment and adoption of
broadband service and information technology; and
(C) the board of directors of which is not composed
of a majority of individuals who are also employed by,
or otherwise associated with, any Federal, State, or
local government or any Federal, State, or local
agency.
(3) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit
organization'' means an organization--
(A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section
501(a) of such Code; and
(B) no part of the net earnings of which inures to
the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or
individual.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Commerce.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' means each State, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American
Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and federally
recognized Indian tribes.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $40,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2008 through 2012.
(j) No Regulatory Authority.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed as giving any public or private entity established or
affected by this Act any regulatory jurisdiction or oversight authority
over providers of broadband service or information technology.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.
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