,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cfij ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #ab1 #bjbj,mr4 ,bennet 7for ,mr4 ,markey 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,ms4 ,harris1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,ms4 ,rosen1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,udall1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,carper1 ,ms4 ,sinema1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 ,mr4 ,warner1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 and ,mr4 ,tester77 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to provide for ,e-,rate support for ,wi-,fi hotspots1 modems1 routers1 and connected devices during emergency periods relating to ,,covid-#ai1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,emergency ,educational ,connections ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,e-,rate support for ,wi-,fi hotspots1 other equipment1 and connected devices during emergency periods relating to ,,covid-#ai 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,advanced telecommunications and information services ,the term advanced telecommunications and information services means advanced telecommunications and information services1 as that term is used in section #bed7;h7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7;h774 7#b7 ,commission ,the term ,commission means the ,federal ,communications ,commission4 7#c7 ,connected device ,the term connected device means a laptop computer1 tablet computer1 or similar device that is capable of connecting to advanced telecommunications and information services4 7#d7 ,covered regulations ,the term covered regulations means the regulations promulgated under subsection 7b74 7#e7 ,,covid-#ai emergency period ,the term ,,covid-#ai emergency period means the period during which a public health emergency declared pursuant to section #cai of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d7 with respect to ,,covid-#ai1 including under any renewal of such declaration1 is in effect4 7#f7 ,emergency ,connectivity ,fund ,the term ,emergency ,connectivity ,fund means the fund established under subsection 7h77#a74 7#g7 ,eligible equipment ,the term eligible equipment means the following3 7,a7 ,wi-,fi hotspots4 7,b7 ,modems4 7,c7 ,routers4 7,d7 ,devices that combine a modem and router4 7,e7 ,connected devices4 7#h7 ,library ,the term library includes a library consortium4 7#i7 ,wi-,fi ,the term ,wi-,fi means a wireless networking protocol based on ,institute of ,electrical and ,electronics ,engineers standard #hjb4aa 7or any successor standard74 7#aj7 ,wi-,fi hotspot ,the term ,wi-,fi hotspot means a device that is capable of-- 7,a7 receiving mobile advanced telecommunications and information services2 and 7,b7 sharing such services with another device through the use of ,wi-,fi4 7b7 ,regulations required ,not later than #g days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall promulgate regulations providing for the provision1 from amounts made available from the ,emergency ,connectivity ,fund1 of support under section #bed7;h77#a77;,b7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7;h77#a77;,b77 to an elementary school1 secondary school1 or library 7including a ,tribal elementary school1 ,tribal secondary school1 or ,tribal library7 eligible for support under that section1 during a ,,covid-#ai emergency period 7including any portion of the period occurring before the date of enactment of this ,act7 of eligible equipment or advanced telecommunications and information services1 for use by-- 7#a7 in the case of a school1 students and staff of the school at locations that include locations other than the school2 and 7#b7 in the case of a library1 patrons of the library at locations that include locations other than the library4 7c7 ,eligibility of ,tribal libraries ,for purposes of determining the eligibility of a ,tribal library for support under the covered regulations1 the portion of paragraph 7#d7 of section #bed7;h7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7;h77 relating to eligibility for assistance from a ,state library administrative agency under the ,library ,services and ,technology ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #iaba et seq47 shall not apply4 7d7 ,prioritization of support ,the ,commission shall provide in the covered regulations for a mechanism to require a school or library to prioritize the provision of eligible equipment or advanced telecommunications and information services 7or both71 for which support is received under those regulations1 to students and staff or patrons 7as the case may be7 that the school or library believes do not have access to eligible equipment or advanced telecommunications and information services 7or do not have access to either71 respectively1 at the residences of the students and staff or patrons4 7e7 ,treatment of equipment after emergency period ,the ,commission shall provide in the covered regulations that1 in the case of a school or library that purchases eligible equipment using support received under the covered regulations1 the school or library-- 7#a7 may1 after the ,,covid-#ai emergency period with respect to which the support is received1 use the equipment for any purposes that the school or library considers appropriate1 subject to any restrictions provided in the covered regulations 7or any successor regulation72 and 7#b7 may not sell or otherwise transfer the equipment in exchange for any thing 7including a service7 of value1 except that the school or library may exchange the equipment for upgraded equipment of the same type4 7f7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any authority of the ,commission under section #bed7;h77#a77;,b7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7;h77#a77;,b77 to allow support under that section to be used for the purposes described in subsection 7b7 of this section other than as required by that subsection4 7g7 ,procedural matters 7#a7 ,part #ed regulations ,nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the ,commission from providing that the regulations in part #ed of title #dg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations-- 7,a7 shall apply in whole or in part to support provided under the covered regulations2 7,b7 shall not apply in whole or in part to support provided under the covered regulations2 or 7,c7 shall be modified in whole or in part for purposes of application to support provided under the covered regulations4 7#b7 ,exemption from certain rulemaking requirements ,subsections 7b71 7c71 and 7d7 of section #eec of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 shall not apply to the covered regulations or a rulemaking to promulgate the covered regulations4 7#c7 ,paperwork ,reduction ,act exemption ,a collection of information conducted or sponsored under the covered regulations1 or under section #bed of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7 in connection with support provided under the covered regulations1 shall not constitute a collection of information for the purposes of subchapter ,i of chapter #ce of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly referred to as the ,paperwork ,reduction ,act74 7h7 ,emergency ,connectivity ,fund 7#a7 ,establishment ,there is established in the ,treasury of the ,united ,states a fund to be known as the ,emergency ,connectivity ,fund4 7#b7 ,appropriation ,there is appropriated to the ,emergency ,connectivity ,fund1 out of any money in the ,treasury not otherwise appropriated1 #d1jjj1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbj1 to remain available through fiscal year #bjba4 7#c7 ,use of funds ,amounts in the ,emergency ,connectivity ,fund shall be available to the ,commission to provide support under the covered regulations4 7#d7 ,relationship to universal service contributions ,support provided under the covered regulations shall be provided from amounts made available under paragraph 7#c7 and not from contributions under section #bed7;d7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7;d774