Connect America Now Act - Provides for grants to develop, implement, and support statewide initiatives to identify and track the availability and adoption of broadband services within each state.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3893 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3893
To promote the deployment and adoption of telecommunications services
and information technologies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 18, 2007
Mr. Allen (for himself and Mr. Michaud) 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 America Now Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The deployment and adoption of broadband services 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 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 data about broadband service and its
deployment and should encourage and support the partnership of
the public and private sectors in the continued growth of
broadband services and information technology for the residents
and businesses of the Nation.
SEC. 3. ENCOURAGING STATE INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE BROADBAND.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of any grant under subsection (b) are--
(1) to ensure that all citizens and businesses in a State
have access to affordable, 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 services and information technology investment.
(b) Establishment of State Broadband Data and Development Grant
Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall award
grants, taking into account the results of the peer review
process under subsection (d), to entities for the development,
implementation and support of statewide initiatives to identify
and track the availability and adoption of broadband services
within each State.
(2) Competitive basis.--Any grant under this subsection
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 of Commerce, at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as
the Secretary may require; and
(2) 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 of Commerce; 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 to the maximum extent possible--
(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
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, elementary and
secondary education, health care, libraries, higher
education, community-based organizations, local
government, tourism, parks and recreation, and
agriculture; and
(B) which shall--
(i) measure, against relevant benchmarks,
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 its 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 services 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 (d) 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 of Commerce.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
nonprofit organization or public sector entity 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 services within each
State.
(2) 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;
(B) no part of the net earnings of which inures to
the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or
individual;
(C) that has an established competency and proven
record of working with public and private sectors to
accomplish widescale deployment and adoption of
broadband services and information technology; and
(D) 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) Broadband service.--The term ``broadband service''
means any service that connects to the public Internet and 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.
(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 additional regulatory jurisdiction or
oversight authority over providers of broadband services 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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