,,ii  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dabf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #c1       
#bjbb,mrs4 ,capito 7for herself and ,ms4
 ,klobuchar7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,commerce1         
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to require the ,federal              
,communications ,commission to establish
 a vetting process for prospective      
applicants for high-cost universal      
service program funding4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,rural ,broadband ,protection ,act of   
#bjbb4  #b4 ,vetting process for        
prospective high-cost universal service 
fund applicants  7a7 ,definitions ,in   
this section-- 7#a7 the term ,commission
 means the ,federal ,communications     
,commission2  7#b7 the term covered     
funding means high-cost universal       
service program funding provided through
 a competitive award process for the    
deployment of a broadband-capable       

network and the provision of supported  
services over the network2 and  7#c7 the
 term new covered funding award means an
 award of covered funding that is made  
based on an application submitted to the
 ,commission on or after the date on    
which rules are promulgated under       
subsection 7b74  7b7 ,,fcc rulemaking   
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of enactment of this ,act1 the         
,commission shall initiate a rulemaking 
proceeding to establish a vetting       
process for applicants for1 and other   
recipients of1 a new covered funding    
award4  7c7 ,contents ,in promulgating  
rules under subsection 7b71 the         
,commission shall provide that-- 7#a7 an
 applicant for a new covered funding    
award shall include in the initial      
application a proposal containing       
sufficient detail and documentation for 
the ,commission to ascertain that the   
applicant possesses the technical       
capability1 and has a reasonable plan1  
to deploy the proposed network and      

deliver services with the relevant      
performance characteristics defined by  
the ,commission and as pledged by the   
applicant2  7#b7 the proposal described 
in paragraph 7#a7 shall include         
sufficient detail and supporting        
documentation for the ,commission to    
reasonably ascertain whether the        
applicant and the technology that the   
applicant plans to use would have the   
ability to perform as required given the
 characteristics of the locations to be 
served2 and  7#c7 the ,commission shall 
evaluate a proposal described in        
paragraph 7#a7 against reasonable and   
well-established technical standards1   
including the technical standards       
adopted by the ,commission in orders of 
the ,commission relating to modernizing 
the ,,fcc ,form #dgg ,data ,program     
7,,wc ,docket ,no4 #aa-aj7 7or orders of
 the ,commission relating to modernizing
 any successor collection7 for purposes 
of entities that must report broadband  
availability coverage4