,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dbjh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #cj1 #bjbd,mr4 ,fetterman introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to authorize annual appropriations for the ,affordable ,connectivity ,program1 to expand the ,universal ,service ,fund to support the ,affordable ,connectivity ,program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,promoting ,affordable ,connectivity ,act of #bjbd4 #b4 ,clarification of relationship to universal service contributions2 ,,fcc borrowing authority for ,affordable ,connectivity ,program ,section #ijd7;i7 of division ,n of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjba 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #ageb7;i77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking paragraph 7#d72 7#b7 by redesignating paragraph 7#e7 as paragraph 7#d72 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7#e7 ,borrowing authority 7,a7 ,in general ,during the #b-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the ,promoting ,affordable ,connectivity ,act of #bjbd1 the ,commission may borrow from the ,treasury of the ,united ,states an amount not to exceed #be1jjj1jjj1jjj1 to be used in the same manner as amounts in the ,affordable ,connectivity ,fund4 7,b7 ,reimbursement ,not later than #h years after the date as of which the amendments made by subsections 7a7 and 7b77#a7 of section #c of the ,promoting ,affordable ,connectivity ,act of #bjbd have been implemented1 as determined by the ,commission1 the ,commission shall1 using amounts from the ,federal universal service support mechanisms1 reimburse the general fund of the ,treasury for any amounts borrowed under subparagraph 7,a7 of this paragraph4 4 #c4 ,expansion of ,universal ,service ,fund to support ,affordable ,connectivity ,program 7a7 ,expansion of ,universal ,service ,fund contribution base ,to include edge providers and broadband providers ,section #bed of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7b7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#b71 by inserting in a manner that promotes digital equity 7as defined in section #fjcjb of the ,digital ,equity ,act of #bjba 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #agba77 after all regions of the ,nation2 and 7,b7 in paragraph 7#d71 by inserting 1 all providers of edge services1 all broadband providers1 and all enterprise broadband service providers after providers of telecommunications services2 7#b7 in subsection 7d7-- 7,a7 in the subsection heading1 by inserting 1 edge provider1 and broadband provider after ,telecommunications carrier2 7,b7 by striking ,every and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,in general ,every 2 7,c7 in the first sentence of paragraph 7#a71 as so designated1 by inserting 1 every edge provider1 every broadband provider1 and every enterprise broadband service provider after ,every telecommunications carrier that provides interstate telecommunications services2 and 7,d7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,assessments ,in determining contribution assessments from all applicable carriers and providers for the preservation and advancement of universal service under paragraph 7#a71 the ,commission shall prioritize assessing greater contributions-- 7,a7 for edge services with respect to which the assessment is least likely to be directly passed on as increased costs to consumers through an explicit fee on invoices2 and 7,b7 from edge providers whose annual revenue 7including revenue from any subsidiary edge provider7 is greater than #e1jjj1jjj1jjj4 2 7#c7 in subsection 7f71 by adding at the end the following3 ,for the purposes of this subsection1 broadband internet access service1 enterprise broadband service1 and edge services shall be considered to be inherently interstate services42 and 7#d7 by adding at the end the following3 7m7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,broadband internet access service ,the term broadband internet access service-- 7,a7 has the meaning given the term in section #h4a7;b7 of title #dg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or any successor regulation2 and 7,b7 does not include enterprise broadband service4 7#b7 ,broadband provider ,the term broadband provider means a provider of broadband internet access service4 7#c7 ,edge provider ,the term edge provider-- 7,a7 means an entity whose primary or only business revenue is derived from providing an edge service2 and 7,b7 does not include-- 7i7 the ,federal ,government1 a ,state1 a political subdivision of a ,state1 an ,indian ,tribe 7as defined in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd771 or any agency thereof2 7ii7 any organization that is described in subsection 7c7 of section #eja of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf and exempt from tax under subsection 7a7 of that section2 7iii7 any dual or concurrent enrollment program1 early childhood education program1 early college high school1 educational service agency1 elementary school1 or secondary school1 as those terms are defined in section #haja of the ,elementary and ,secondary ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja72 7iv7 any area career and technical education school1 as defined in section #c of the ,carl ,d4 ,perkins ,career and ,technical ,education ,act of #bjjf 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #bcjb72 or 7v7 any institution of higher education1 as defined in section #ajb of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb74 7#d7 ,edge service ,the term edge service-- 7,a7 means a service that-- 7i7 requires the user to subscribe or establish an account in order to-- 7,i7 access or publish content that is available publicly2 or 7,,ii7 access1 post1 or publish content for individuals approved by the user2 7ii7 allows the user to purchase1 download1 or access content1 applications1 or services from the edge provider without a subscription or account2 7iii7 enables the user to initiate a search query for particular information using the internet and is capable of returning at least #a search result unaffiliated with the provider of the service2 7iv7 is a cloud computing or digital advertising service2 or 7v7 requires or allows the user to divulge personally identifiable information of the user2 7,b7 includes a service described in subparagraph 7,a7 that is provided through a software program1 including a mobile application2 and 7,c7 does not include an online patient portal operated by a hospital or other health care provider4 7#e7 ,enterprise broadband service ,the term enterprise broadband service means any communications product or service1 regardless of regulatory classification1 that-- 7,a7 is primarily offered to business entities to support or manage business operations2 7,b7 is not ordinarily offered to mass market customers2 and 7,c7 includes transmission or a combination of transmission and information processing1 whether facilities-based or resold1 including dedicated internet access1 virtual private networks 7commonly known as ,v,p,ns71 wide area networks 7commonly known as ,w,a,ns71 multi-protocol label switching-enabled services1 and ethernet services4 7#f7 ,enterprise broadband service provider ,the term enterprise broadband service provider means a provider of enterprise broadband service4 7#g7 ,personally identifiable information ,the term personally identifiable information means information described in clauses 7i7 through 7vi7 of subparagraph 7,a71 or subparagraph 7,b71 of section #aja7da;,a7 of title #aa1 ,united ,states ,code4 4 7b7 ,funding for ,affordable ,connectivity ,program from ,universal ,service ,fund 7#a7 ,modification of ,universal ,service ,fund ,section #bed7;c7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7;c77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#d7 ,affordable ,connectivity ,program ,the ,affordable ,connectivity ,program established under section #ijd7;b77#a7 of division ,n of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjba 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #ageb7;b77#a77 shall be supported by the ,federal universal service support mechanisms4 4 7#b7 ,inapplicability of certain requirements ,section #bed7;e7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7;e77 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking ,after the date and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,in general ,after the date 2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7#b7 ,inapplicability to certain providers 7,a7 ,in general ,the requirements under paragraph 7#a7 shall not apply with respect to the participation of a provider in the ,affordable ,connectivity ,program established under section #ijd7;b77#a7 of division ,n of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjba 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #ageb7;b77#a774 7,b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be construed to apply with respect to the receipt of ,federal universal service support for any purpose other than participation in the ,affordable ,connectivity ,program4 4 7#c7 ,conforming amendments ,section #ijd7;b7 of division ,n of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjba 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #ageb7;b77 is amended-- 7,a7 in paragraphs 7#a71 7#d71 and 7#e71 by inserting or the ,universal ,service ,fund under section #bed of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7 after the ,affordable ,connectivity ,fund established in subsection 7i7 each place that term appears2 and 7,b7 in paragraph 7#ab71 by inserting or the ,universal ,service ,fund under section #bed of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bed7 after the ,affordable ,connectivity ,fund each place that term appears4 7c7 ,regulations2 effective date 7#a7 ,regulations 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,federal ,communications ,commission shall promulgate regulations to implement the amendments made by subsections 7a7 and 7b77#a74 7,b7 ,staggered implementation ,in promulgating regulations under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,federal ,communications ,commission shall ensure that the amendments made by subsection 7a7 are implemented not later than #bgj days before the amendment made by subsection 7b77#a7 is implemented4 7,c7 ,paperwork ,reduction ,act requirements ,a collection of information conducted or sponsored under any regulation promulgated under subparagraph 7,a7 shall not constitute a collection of information for the purposes of subchapter #a of chapter #ce of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly referred to as the ,paperwork ,reduction ,act74 7#b7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by subsections 7a7 and 7b7 shall take effect on the date of enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,ensuring quick application of affordable connectivity benefit to user account 7a7 ,in general ,section #ijd7;b7 of division ,n of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjba 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #ageb7;b77 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#h7 through 7#ae7 as paragraphs 7#i7 through 7#af71 respectively2 and 7#b7 by inserting after paragraph 7#g7 the following3 7#h7 ,timing of application of affordable connectivity benefit to account of eligible household 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than the next billing cycle after the billing cycle in which a participating provider verifies that a household is an eligible household under paragraph 7#b71 the participating provider shall apply the affordable connectivity benefit to the internet service offering specified by the eligible household4 7,b7 ,guidance ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of the ,promoting ,affordable ,connectivity ,act of #bjbd1 the ,commission shall issue guidance for participating providers to comply with subparagraph 7,a74 4 7b7 ,conforming amendment ,paragraph 7#ae7 of section #ijd7;b7 of division ,n of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjba 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #ageb7;b771 as so redesignated by subsection 7a71 is amended by striking paragraph 7#ab7 and inserting paragraph 7#ac74 #e4 ,flexibility to modify ,affordable ,connectivity ,program requirements ,section #ijd of division ,n of the ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjba 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #ageb7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7k7 ,authority ,to revise program requirements 7#a7 ,in general ,as may be appropriate to improve the functionality1 administrability1 or sustainability of the ,affordable ,connectivity ,program1 the ,commission may promulgate regulations to alter or eliminate any requirement for the program under this section1 including a requirement related to eligibility or benefit reimbursements4 7#b7 ,paperwork ,reduction ,act requirements ,a collection of information conducted or sponsored under any regulation promulgated under paragraph 7#a7 shall not constitute a collection of information for the purposes of subchapter #a of chapter #ce of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly referred to as the ,paperwork ,reduction ,act74 4