No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1838 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1838
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve access to
broadband telecommunications services in rural areas, including by
encouraging the provision of broadband loans and grants to increase
broadband service in rural ports, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 4, 2025
Ms. Plaskett (for herself and Mr. Moore of Alabama) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and
in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve access to
broadband telecommunications services in rural areas, including by
encouraging the provision of broadband loans and grants to increase
broadband service in rural ports, 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 ``Broadband Internet for Small Ports
Act''.
SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS.
Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C.
950bb) is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) in clause (i)--
(aa) by striking ``of at
least--'' and inserting a
semicolon; and
(bb) by striking subclauses
(I) and (II);
(II) in clause (iii), by striking
``and'' at the end;
(III) in clause (iv), by striking
the period at the end and inserting ``;
and''; and
(IV) by adding at the end the
following:
``(v) give priority to applications for
projects to provide rapid and expanded
deployment of fixed and mobile broadband on
cropland and ranchland within a service
territory for use in various applications of
precision agriculture.'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) in clause (i)--
(aa) in subclause (III), by
inserting ``or'' after the
semicolon;
(bb) in subclause (IV), by
striking ``or'' and inserting
``and''; and
(cc) by striking subclause
(V); and
(II) in clause (ii)--
(aa) in the matter
preceding subclause (I), by
striking ``2'' and inserting
``1'';
(bb) in subclause (IV), by
inserting ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(cc) in subclause (V), by
striking ``; and'' and
inserting a period at the end;
and
(dd) by striking subclause
(VI); and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Ports in rural areas priority.--
``(i) Definition of port.--In this
subparagraph, the term `port' means--
``(I) any port on the navigable
waters of the United States, including
territories;
``(II) any harbor, marine terminal,
or other shore side facility used
principally for the movement of goods
on inland waters; and
``(III) any port formed in
accordance with applicable State or
territory law.
``(ii) Priority.--In addition to the
priority given under subparagraph (B), the
Secretary shall give equal priority to an
application for a project that would increase
the availability of broadband service in a port
in a rural area.
``(D) Identification of unserved communities.--
``(i) In general.--In the case of an
application given the highest priority under
subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary shall
confirm that each unserved rural community
identified in the application is eligible for
funding by--
``(I) conferring with and obtaining
data from the Chair of the Federal
Communications Commission and the
Administrator of the National
Telecommunications and Information
Administration with respect to the
service area proposed in the
application;
``(II) reviewing any other source
that is relevant to service data
validation, as determined by the
Secretary; and
``(III) performing site-specific
testing to verify the unavailability of
any residential broadband service in
the unserved rural community.
``(ii) Adjustments.--Not less often than
once every 2 years, the Secretary shall review,
and may adjust through notice published in the
Federal Register, the unserved communities
identified under clause (i).''; and
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraphs (C)
and (D) and inserting the following:
``(C) Maximum.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(D), the amount of any grant made under this section
shall not exceed 50 percent of the development costs of
the project for which the grant is provided.
``(D) Secretarial authority to adjust.--The
Secretary may make grants of up to 75 percent of the
development costs of the project for which the grant is
provided to an eligible entity if the Secretary
determines that the project serves--
``(i) an area of rural households described
in paragraph (2)(A)(ii); and
``(ii) a rural community described in any
of subclauses (I) through (IV) of paragraph
(2)(B)(i).'';
(2) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``subsection (j)'' and inserting ``subsection
(l)''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Relation to universal service high-cost
support.--The Secretary shall communicate with the
Federal Communications Commission to ensure that any
grants, loans, or loan guarantees made under this
section provide a level of service that is not less
than the level of service provided through universal
service high-cost support (as defined in section 54.5
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any
successor regulation) provided by the Commission.'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) in clause (i), by striking
``50'' and inserting ``90''; and
(II) in clause (ii), by striking
``3'' and inserting ``2''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Application process.--The Secretary shall provide to
an applicant of a grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this
section feedback and decisions on funding in a timely
manner.'';
(3) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as subsections
(l) and (m), respectively;
(4) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
``(j) Broadband Buildout Data.--As a condition of receiving a
grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this section, a recipient of
assistance shall provide to the Secretary complete, reliable, and
precise geolocation information that indicates the location of new
broadband service that is being provided or upgraded within the service
territory supported by the grant, loan, or loan guarantee not later
than 30 days after the earlier of--
``(1) the date of completion of any project milestone
established by the Secretary; or
``(2) the date of completion of the project.
``(k) Environmental Reviews.--The Secretary may obligate, but not
disperse, funds under this Act before the completion of otherwise
required environmental, historical, or other types of reviews if the
Secretary determines that a subsequent site-specific review shall be
adequate and easily accomplished for the location of towers, poles, or
other broadband facilities in the service area of the borrower without
compromising the project or the required reviews.''; and
(5) in subsection (l)(2)(A) (as so redesignated)--
(A) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) set aside at least 1 percent to be
used for--
``(I) conducting oversight under
this section; and
``(II) implementing accountability
measures and related activities
authorized under this section.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line