119-hr1838

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1838 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1838

 To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve access to 
 broadband telecommunications services in rural areas, including by 
 encouraging the provision of broadband loans and grants to increase 
 broadband service in rural ports, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 4, 2025

 Ms. Plaskett (for herself and Mr. Moore of Alabama) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and 
in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
 of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
 concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve access to 
 broadband telecommunications services in rural areas, including by 
 encouraging the provision of broadband loans and grants to increase 
 broadband service in rural ports, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Broadband Internet for Small Ports 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS.

 

Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 
950bb) is amended--

    (1) in subsection
            (c) --
        (A) in paragraph

    (2) --
            (i) in subparagraph
        (A) --
            (I) in clause
            (i) --

    (aa) by striking ``of at 
 least--'' and inserting a 
 semicolon; and

    (bb) by striking subclauses
            (I) and
            (II) ;
            (II) in clause
            (iii) , by striking 
 ``and'' at the end;
            (III) in clause
            (iv) , by striking 
 the period at the end and inserting ``; 
 and''; and
            (IV) by adding at the end the 
 following:
 ``
            (v) give priority to applications for 
 projects to provide rapid and expanded 
 deployment of fixed and mobile broadband on 
 cropland and ranchland within a service 
 territory for use in various applications of 
 precision agriculture.'';
            (ii) in subparagraph
        (B) --
            (I) in clause
            (i) --

    (aa) in subclause
            (III) , by 
 inserting ``or'' after the 
 semicolon;

    (bb) in subclause
            (IV) , by 
 striking ``or'' and inserting 
 ``and''; and
            (cc) by striking subclause
            (V) ; and
            (II) in clause
            (ii) --

    (aa) in the matter 
 preceding subclause
            (I) , by 
 striking ``2'' and inserting 
 ``1'';

    (bb) in subclause
            (IV) , by 
 inserting ``and'' after the 
 semicolon;
            (cc) in subclause
            (V) , by 
 striking ``; and'' and 
 inserting a period at the end; 
 and
            (dd) by striking subclause
            (VI) ; and
            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (C) Ports in rural areas priority.--
 ``
            (i) Definition of port.--In this 
 subparagraph, the term `port' means--
 ``
            (I) any port on the navigable 
 waters of the United States, including 
 territories;
 ``
            (II) any harbor, marine terminal, 
 or other shore side facility used 
 principally for the movement of goods 
 on inland waters; and
 ``
            (III) any port formed in 
 accordance with applicable State or 
 territory law.
 ``
            (ii) Priority.--In addition to the 
 priority given under subparagraph
        (B) , the 
 Secretary shall give equal priority to an 
 application for a project that would increase 
 the availability of broadband service in a port 
 in a rural area.
 ``
            (D) Identification of unserved communities.--
 ``
            (i) In general.--In the case of an 
 application given the highest priority under 
 subparagraph
        (A)
            (i) , the Secretary shall 
 confirm that each unserved rural community 
 identified in the application is eligible for 
 funding by--
 ``
            (I) conferring with and obtaining 
 data from the Chair of the Federal 
 Communications Commission and the 
 Administrator of the National 
 Telecommunications and Information 
 Administration with respect to the 
 service area proposed in the 
 application;
 ``
            (II) reviewing any other source 
 that is relevant to service data 
 validation, as determined by the 
 Secretary; and
 ``
            (III) performing site-specific 
 testing to verify the unavailability of 
 any residential broadband service in 
 the unserved rural community.
 ``
            (ii) Adjustments.--Not less often than 
 once every 2 years, the Secretary shall review, 
 and may adjust through notice published in the 
 Federal Register, the unserved communities 
 identified under clause
            (i) .''; and
        (B) in paragraph

    (3) , by striking subparagraphs
            (C) and
            (D) and inserting the following:
 ``
            (C) Maximum.--Except as provided in subparagraph
            (D) , the amount of any grant made under this section 
 shall not exceed 50 percent of the development costs of 
 the project for which the grant is provided.
 ``
            (D) Secretarial authority to adjust.--The 
 Secretary may make grants of up to 75 percent of the 
 development costs of the project for which the grant is 
 provided to an eligible entity if the Secretary 
 determines that the project serves--
 ``
            (i) an area of rural households described 
 in paragraph

    (2)
        (A)
            (ii) ; and
 ``
            (ii) a rural community described in any 
 of subclauses
            (I) through
            (IV) of paragraph

    (2)
        (B)
            (i) .'';

    (2) in subsection
            (d) --
        (A) in paragraph

    (1) --
            (i) in subparagraph
        (B) , by striking 
 ``subsection

    (j) '' and inserting ``subsection
            (l) ''; and
            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (C) Relation to universal service high-cost 
 support.--The Secretary shall communicate with the 
 Federal Communications Commission to ensure that any 
 grants, loans, or loan guarantees made under this 
 section provide a level of service that is not less 
 than the level of service provided through universal 
 service high-cost support (as defined in 

section 54.5 
 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 
 successor regulation) provided by the Commission.'';
        (B) in paragraph

    (2) --
            (i) in subparagraph
        (A) --
            (I) in clause
            (i) , by striking 
 ``50'' and inserting ``90''; and
            (II) in clause
            (ii) , by striking 
 ``3'' and inserting ``2''; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (6) Application process.--The Secretary shall provide to 
 an applicant of a grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this 
 section feedback and decisions on funding in a timely 
 manner.'';

    (3) by redesignating subsections

    (j) and

    (k) as subsections
            (l) and
            (m) , respectively;

    (4) by inserting after subsection
            (i) the following:
 ``

    (j) Broadband Buildout Data.--As a condition of receiving a 
grant, loan, or loan guarantee under this section, a recipient of 
assistance shall provide to the Secretary complete, reliable, and 
precise geolocation information that indicates the location of new 
broadband service that is being provided or upgraded within the service 
territory supported by the grant, loan, or loan guarantee not later 
than 30 days after the earlier of--
 ``

    (1) the date of completion of any project milestone 
 established by the Secretary; or
 ``

    (2) the date of completion of the project.
 ``

    (k) Environmental Reviews.--The Secretary may obligate, but not 
disperse, funds under this Act before the completion of otherwise 
required environmental, historical, or other types of reviews if the 
Secretary determines that a subsequent site-specific review shall be 
adequate and easily accomplished for the location of towers, poles, or 
other broadband facilities in the service area of the borrower without 
compromising the project or the required reviews.''; and

    (5) in subsection
            (l) (2)
        (A) (as so redesignated)--
        (A) in clause
            (i) , by striking ``and'' at the end;
        (B) in clause
            (ii) , by striking the period at the 
 end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (iii) set aside at least 1 percent to be 
 used for--
 ``
            (I) conducting oversight under 
 this section; and
 ``
            (II) implementing accountability 
 measures and related activities 
 authorized under this section.''.
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