,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fdef ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #g1 #bjbj,mr4 ,wittman 7for himself and ,mr4 ,johnson of ,ohio7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to establish a grant program that provides grants to expand broadband service4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,serving ,rural ,america ,act4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,broadband service ,the term broadband service has the same meaning as ,broadband internet access service in section #h4a7;b7 of the rules of the ,federal ,communications ,commission 7#dg ,c4,f4,r4 #h4a7;b774 7#b7 ,commission ,the term ,commission means the ,federal ,communications ,commission4 7#c7 ,eligible broadband project ,the term eligible broadband project means a project proposed by an eligible partnership to provide1 to a proposed service area1 that is identified as unserved pursuant to section #c1 subsection 7c77#d71 a retail fixed terrestrial broadband service of a capability determined by the ,commission and that meets at least the minimum acceptable level for such service as established by the ,secretary of ,agriculture pursuant to section #fja7;e7 of the ,rural ,electrification ,act of #aicf4 7#d7 ,eligible partnership ,the term eligible partnership means a partnership-- 7,a7 that includes-- 7i7 at least #a political subdivision of a ,state or a federally recognized ,indian ,tribe 7such as a city1 county1 wireless authority1 or planning district commission72 and 7ii7 at least #a internet service provider who provides retail fixed terrestrial broadband service and is unaffiliated with the political subdivision of a ,state2 and 7,b7 where the political subdivision or federally recognized ,indian ,tribe uses an open and transparent process and applies criteria that does not discriminate against any entity to select the internet service provider as a partner or impose any requirement on such entity other than an agreement to meet the project requirements as described in section #c7;j74 #c4 ,broadband grant program 7a7 ,program established ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,federal ,communications ,commission shall establish a program that provides grants1 from amounts made available to carry out this ,act1 to eligible partnerships for eligible broadband projects4 7b7 ,applications ,to be eligible to receive a grant under subsection 7a71 an eligible partnership shall submit an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,commission may require1 including-- 7#a7 a description of the eligible broadband project 7including the proposed broadband speed7s7 and proposed cost7 that such eligible partnership intends to undertake if awarded a grant under this ,act 7in this ,act referred to as the proposed broadband project72 and 7#b7 a description of the proposed service area to be served by the proposed broadband project 7in this ,act referred to as the proposed service area74 7c7 ,selection 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall award grants to eligible partnerships for eligible broadband projects on a competitively and technologically neutral basis4 7#b7 ,priority ,in awarding grants under subsection 7a71 the ,commission shall give priority to applications for proposed broadband projects designed to provide the maximum level of broadband service in terms of peak speed1 consistent speed1 latency1 reliability1 and upgradability to the greatest proportion of households in a proposed service area4 7#c7 ,nondiscrimination ,in awarding grants under subsection 7a71 the ,commission-- 7,a7 shall not discriminate against eligible partnerships that have not previously received a grant under this section2 and 7,b7 shall not require grant recipients to be designated as eligible telecommunications carriers pursuant to section #bad of the ,communications ,act of #aicd4 7#d7 ,identification of unserved communities 7,a7 ,in general ,for the purpose of awarding grants under subsection 7a71 the ,commission shall find a proposed service area to be unserved and eligible to receive a grant if-- 7i7 fixed terrestrial broadband service capacity1 including any planned capacity or any capacity under construction in accordance with applicable deadlines imposed by a ,state or political subdivision1 is not available within the proposed service area at #be megabits per second downstream transmission capacity and #c megabits per second upstream transmission capacity or greater2 and 7ii7 any ,federal1 ,state1 or local government agency is not already providing financial support in that area to a broadband service provider 7including the internet service provider applicant or any affiliate thereof7 to deploy and offer broadband service capacity to locations in such area4 7,b7 ,finding ,in making a finding under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,commission shall-- 7i7 use available data on broadband coverage 7including the universal service funding7 authorizations overseen by the ,commission and confer with and obtain data from the ,rural ,utilities ,service with respect to existing service capacity in the proposed service area2 7ii7 review any other mapping data that is relevant to service capacity validation1 as determined by the ,commission2 7iii7 provide reasonable opportunities1 as described in subsection 7d77#b7 for input and presentation of data with respect to existing or already-planned service availability by providers and other stakeholders including-- 7,i7 analysis of third-party datasets2 7,,ii7 data collected through crowd sourcing of public input regarding mapping accuracy of proposed service area2 and 7,,iii7 site specific testing where mapping data is contested as incorrect2 and 7iv7 post on the ,commission's website and publish in the ,federal ,register the proposed service area and provide the public a period of at least #de days after ,federal ,register publication to submit comments1 including with information that the ,commission shall keep confidential upon request of the commenting party1 to the ,commission on the proposed service area4 7d7 ,ineligible uses of grant funds ,the ,commission shall not award a grant1 or other assistance for the deployment of broadband-capable infrastructure by a service provider that would be used to provide retail fixed terrestrial broadband service and that would overbuild or otherwise duplicate broadband-capable infrastructure that another service provider is using to provide retail fixed terrestrial broadband service in that same area as identified consistent with subsection 7c77#d71 except that any other proposed area covered by the same application as the ineligible area and that is identified as unserved consistent with subsection 7c77#d7 shall remain eligible for a grant or other such assistance4 7e7 ,public notice ,the ,commission shall establish a process through which1 before the ,commission awards a grant to such eligible partnership1 members of the public and or any service provider-- 7#a7 are notified that the ,commission is considering awarding a grant to an eligible partnership for a proposed broadband project2 7#b7 are notified they may participate in a challenge process to address claims about the eligibility of the area for a grant based upon existing or already-planned provision of retail fixed terrestrial broadband services2 and 7#c7 have an opportunity to inform the ,commission that such proposed broadband project would duplicate existing broadband service in the proposed project area4 7f7 ,broadband build-,out data and reporting 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall establish broadband build-out1 reporting1 and accountability requirements4 7#b7 ,build-out data ,any eligible partnership that receives a grant under this ,act shall provide to the ,commission complete1 reliable1 and precise information in a format specified by the ,commission that indicates the location of new broadband service the eligible partnership is providing through the eligible broadband project4 7#c7 ,date ,the information described in subsection 7f77#b7 shall be provided to the ,commission not later than #ij days after the earlier of-- 7,a7 the date of completion of any eligible broadband project milestones established by the ,commission2 or 7,b7 the date of completion of the eligible broadband project4 7g7 ,federal contribution ,the amount of any grant provided to an eligible partnership under this ,act may not exceed #ge percent of the total proposed cost of the eligible broadband project4 7h7 ,technical assistance 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,commission may provide technical assistance and training to any eligible partnership applying for a grant under this ,act4 7#b7 ,funding ,not more than #e percent of amounts appropriated to carry out this ,act for a fiscal year may be used for technical assistance and training4 7#c7 ,coordination ,when providing technical assistance and training to an eligible partnership1 the ,commission shall coordinate with any ,state official responsible for broadband expansion in the ,state containing the proposed service area4 7i7 ,relation to other federal broadband programs 7#a7 ,universal service fund ,the ,commission shall coordinate to ensure that any grants made under this ,act complement and do not conflict with the high-cost universal service support provided under section #bed of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed74 7#b7 ,rural utilities service ,the ,commission shall coordinate with the ,secretary of ,agriculture to ensure that any grants made under this ,act complement and do not conflict with loans and grants provided by the ,department of ,agriculture under title ,,vi of the ,rural ,electrification ,act of #aicf 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #iej;bb et seq471 including the ,broadband ,grants1 ,loans1 and ,loan ,guarantees program and the ,community ,connect ,programs1 and the ,re,connect ,program4 7j7 ,project requirements ,any project funded through the program shall meet the following requirements3 7#a7 ,the project shall offer broadband service with a download speed of at least #ajj megabits per second1 an upload speed of at least #bj megabits per second1 and a latency sufficient to real time applications4 7#b7 ,for any project that involves underground fiber-optic cable along a roadway1 the project shall include consistent conduit access points1 as defined by the ,commission4 7#c7 ,the project shall incorporate best management practices1 as defined by the ,commission1 for buildout and maintenance4 7#d7 ,the network shall be capable of1 and the provider shall offer to any broadband customer in the proposed service area1 fixed terrestrial voice service that includes the ability to dial #iaa without a mandate for the user to subscribe to broadband as well4 7k7 ,exceptions ,the ,commission shall grant an exception to project broadband speed requirements in section #c7;j7 as deemed necessary to allow participation by eligible partnerships in ,alaska4 7l7 ,dates and rulemaking 7#a7 ,rulemaking ,not later than #abj days after the enactment of the ,serving ,rural ,america ,act1 the ,commission shall announce a ,notice of ,proposed ,rulemaking in the ,federal ,register1 that establishes-- 7,a7 requirements of this section1 in addition to requirements of subsections 7a71 7b71 7c71 7d71 7e71 7f71 7g71 7h71 7i7 and 7j72 7,b7 notice requirements for which entities have applied to bid for funding2 7,c7 the results of the grant program1 including identifying funding recipients1 the service area the project will service1 the type of service the recipient will provide1 and the amount of funding the recipient will receive2 7,d7 broadband buildout milestones2 and 7,e7 annual certification from award recipients that identifies speed of service provided in each service area of a project to ensure compliance with the broadband buildout milestones established under subparagraph 7,d74 7#b7 ,funding opportunity announcement ,not later than #a year after the enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall announce a ,funding ,opportunity ,announcement in the ,federal ,register4 #d4 ,information sharing 7a7 ,information ,sharing with ,federal ,communications ,commission and ,rural ,utilities ,service ,the ,commission shall share with the ,rural ,utilities ,service information received pursuant to subsections 7f77#b7 and 7k77#a77;,e74 7b7 ,national ,broadband ,map ,the ,commission shall incorporate build-out data received pursuant to subsections 7f77#b7 and 7k77#a77;,e7 into the ,national ,broadband ,map4 #e4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act #ajj1jjj1jjj for each of the first #e fiscal years after the date of enactment of this ,act4 #f4 ,,fcc report to ,congress ,,fcc shall report to ,congress annually on the progress of the program based on broadband build-out data provided by grant participants and data as reflected by the ,national ,broadband ,map4