,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fdia  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #ad1 #bjbj,mr4
 ,graves of ,missouri 7for himself and  
,mr4 ,katko7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,transportation and       
,infrastructure1 and in addition to the 
,committee on ,financial ,services1 for 
a period to be subsequently determined  
by the ,speaker1 in each case for       
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
amend the ,public ,works and ,economic  
,development ,act of #aife to provide   
for a high-speed broadband deployment   
initiative4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act
 may be cited as the ,eliminating       
,barriers to ,rural ,internet           
,development ,grant ,eligibility ,act or
 the ,e-,,bridge ,act4  #b4 ,high-speed 
broadband deployment initiative  7a7 ,in
 general ,title ,,ii of the ,public     
,works and ,economic ,development ,act  

of #aife 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cada et seq47  
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  #bai4 ,high-speed broadband 
deployment initiative  7a7 ,definitions 
7#a7 ,broadband project ,the term       
broadband project means-- 7,a7 planning1
 technical assistance1 or training2     
7,b7 the acquisition or development of  
land2 or  7,c7 the acquisition1 design  
and engineering1 construction1          
rehabilitation1 alteration1 expansion1  
or improvement of facilities1 including 
related machinery1 equipment1           
contractual rights1 and intangible      
property1 for the purpose of providing1 
extending1 expanding1 or improving      
high-speed broadband service to further 
the goals of this ,act4  7#b7           
,high-speed broadband ,the term         
high-speed broadband means the provision
 of two-way data transmission with      
sufficient downstream and upstream      
speeds to end users to permit effective 
participation in the economy and to     
support economic growth1 as determined  

by the ,secretary4  7b7 ,broadband      
projects  7#a7 ,in general ,on the      
application of an eligible recipient1   
the ,secretary may make grants under    
this title for broadband projects4 ,any 
such grant shall be subject to the      
provisions of this section4  7#b7       
,eligible recipients for broadband      
projects  7,a7 ,definition ,in the case 
of grants for broadband projects1 the   
term eligible recipient includes1 in    
addition to the eligible recipients     
identified in section #c-- 7i7 a        
public-private partnership2 and  7ii7 a 
consortium formed for the purpose of    
providing1 extending1 expanding1 or     
improving high-speed broadband service  
between one or more eligible recipients1
 as defined in section #c1 and one or   
more for-profit organizations4  7,b7    
,interest in real or personal property  
,for any broadband project of a         
public-private partnership or           
consortium1 the ,secretary shall require
 that title to any real or personal     

property acquired or improved with grant
 funds1 or if the recipient will not    
acquire title another possessory        
interest acceptable to the ,secretary1  
be vested in a public partner or        
eligible nonprofit organization or      
association for the useful life of the  
project1 after which title may be       
transferred to any member of the        
public-private partnership or consortium
 in accordance with regulations         
promulgated by the ,secretary4  7#c7    
,procurement ,notwithstanding any other 
provision of law1 no person or entity   
shall be disqualified from competing to 
provide goods or services related to a  
broadband project on the basis that the 
person or entity participated in the    
development of the broadband project or 
in the drafting of specifications1      
requirements1 statements of work1 or    
similar documents related to the goods  
or services to be provided4  7#d7       
,broadband project property ,the        
,secretary may permit a recipient of a  

grant for a broadband project to grant  
an option to acquire real or personal   
property 7including contractual rights  
and intangible property7 related to that
 project to a third party on such terms 
as the ,secretary determines to be      
appropriate1 provided that such option  
may only be exercised after the         
,secretary releases the ,federal        
interest in the property4 ,the grant or 
exercise of any such option shall not   
constitute a redistribution of grant    
funds within the meaning of section #bag
 of this title4  7c7 ,sources of        
assistance ,a grant provided under this 
section may be provided from amounts    
made available to carry out this title  
in combination with amounts made        
available under any other ,federal      
program4  7d7 ,non-,federal share ,in   
determining the amount of the           
non-,federal share of the cost of a     
broadband project1 the ,secretary may   
provide credit toward the non-,federal  
share for the present value of allowable

 contributions over the useful life of  
the broadband project1 provided that the
 ,secretary may require such assurances 
of the value of the rights and of the   
commitment of the rights as the         
,secretary determines to be appropriate4
  4  7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table 
of contents in section #a7;b7 of such   
,act is amended by inserting after the  
item relating to section #bah the       
following new item3  ,sec4 #bai4        
,high-speed broadband deployment        
initiative4  4