#aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  ,s4   
#ih  ,,an ,,act  ,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 #bjbe4  #b4 ,vetting process for     
prospective high-cost universal service 
fund applicants ,section #bed of the    
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #bed7 is amended by adding at 
the end the following3  7m7 ,vetting of 
high-,cost fund recipients  7#a7        
,definitions ,in this subsection-- 7,a7 
the term covered funding means any new  
offer of high-cost universal service    
program funding1 including funding      
provided through a reverse competitive  
bidding mechanism provided under this   
section1 for the deployment of a        
broadband-capable network and the       
provision of supported services over the
 network2 and  7,b7 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 paragraph 7#b74  7#b7
 ,commission rulemaking ,not later than 
#ahj days after the date of enactment of
 this subsection1 the ,commission shall 
initiate a rulemaking proceeding to     
establish a vetting process for         
applicants for1 and other recipients of1
 a new covered funding award4  7#c7     
,contents  7,a7 ,in general ,in         
promulgating rules under paragraph 7#b71
 the ,commission shall provide that1    
consistent with principles of technology
 neutrality1 the ,commission will only  
award covered funding to applicants that
 can demonstrate that they meet the     
qualifications in subparagraph 7,b74    
7,b7 ,qualifications described ,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 technical1      
financial1 and operational capabilities1
 and has a reasonable business plan1 to 
deploy the proposed network and deliver 
services with the relevant performance  
characteristics and requirements defined
 by the ,commission and as pledged by   
the applicant4  7,c7 ,evaluation of     
proposal ,the ,commission shall evaluate
 a proposal described in subparagraph   
7,b7 against-- 7i7 reasonable and       
well-established technical1 financial1  
and operational standards1 including the
 technical standards adopted by the     
,commission in orders of the ,commission
 relating to ,establishing the ,digital 
,opportunity ,data ,collection 7,,wc    
,docket ,no4 #ai-aie7 7or orders of the 
,commission relating to modernizing any 
successor collection7 for purposes of   
entities that must report broadband     
availability coverage2 and  7ii7 the    
applicant's history of complying with   
requirements in ,commission and other   

government broadband deployment funding 
programs4  7,d7 ,penalties for          
pre-authorization defaults ,in adopting 
rules for any new covered funding award1
 the ,commission shall set a penalty for
 pre-authorization defaults of at least 
#i1jjj per violation and may not limit  
the base forfeiture to an amount less   
than #cj percent of the applicant's     
total support1 unless the ,commission   
demonstrates the need for lower         
penalties in a particular instance4  4  
,passed the ,senate ,june #bf           
7legislative day1 ,june #bd71           
#bjbe4,secretary