119-hr3212

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3212 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3212

To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish a last acre 
 program, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 6, 2025

Mr. Finstad (for himself and Mr. Costa) 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 establish a last acre 
 program, 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 ``Linking Access to Spur Technology 
for Agriculture Connectivity in Rural Environments Act of 2025'' or the 
``LAST ACRE Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. LAST ACRE PROGRAM.

    (a) Amendment.--Title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 
(7 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``

SEC. 607. LAST ACRE PROGRAM.

 ``

    (a) 

=== Purposes ===
-The purposes of this section are--
 ``

    (1) to advance precision agriculture connectivity 
 nationwide; and
 ``

    (2) to augment last mile broadband deployment for 
 agricultural producers by expanding high-speed internet access 
 across the last acre.
 ``

    (b) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:
 ``

    (1) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
 `broadband internet access service' has the meaning given the 
 term in 

section 8.1

    (b) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations 
 (or any successor regulation).
 ``

    (2) Broadband maps.--The term `broadband maps' means any 
 map created under--
 ``
        (A) section 802
            (c) (1) of the Communications Act 
 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642
            (c) (1) ); or
 ``
        (B) section 60105 of the Infrastructure 
 Investment and Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 1704).
 ``

    (3) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Federal 
 Communications Commission.
 ``

    (4) Configuration management plan.--The term 
 `configuration management plan', with respect to a covered 
 provider, means a comprehensive description of the roles, 
 responsibilities, policies, and procedures intended to improve 
 the integrity of the systems and networks of the covered 
 provider.
 ``

    (5) Covered producer.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--The term `covered producer' 
 means a person or entity that is directly engaged in 
 the production of agricultural products, including 
 crops or livestock, on eligible land that is unserved 
 or underserved, such that a majority of the gross 
 income of the person or entity is derived from those 
 products.
 ``
        (B) Inclusion.--The term `covered producer' 
 includes agricultural research centers of the 
 Agricultural Research Service.
 ``

    (6) Covered provider.--The term `covered provider' 
 means--
 ``
        (A) with respect to the provision of qualified 
 connectivity to eligible land, a provider of broadband 
 internet access service; or
 ``
        (B) with respect to the provision of wireless 
 solutions using or extending the range of network 
 connectivity, a provider of wireless equipment or 
 communications services, in association with an entity 
 described in subparagraph
        (A) .
 ``

    (7) Eligible land.--The term `eligible land' means 
 cropland, grassland, rangeland, pastureland, farm sites, and 
 other agricultural land used for the active production of 
 agricultural commodities or livestock.
 ``

    (8) Farm site.--The term `farm site' means a portion of 
 land contiguous to land actively devoted to agricultural 
 production and that includes improvements that are agricultural 
 or horticultural in nature.
 ``

    (9) Limited resource farmer or rancher.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraphs
        (B) and
            (C) , the term `limited resource farmer or rancher' 
 means a covered producer--
 ``
            (i) with direct or indirect gross farm 
 sales in each of the previous 2 years of not 
 more than $100,000, as adjusted for changes in 
 inflation since 2002 using the Prices Paid by 
 Farmer Index compiled by the National 
 Agricultural Statistics Service; and
 ``
            (ii) that has a total household income 
 that is--
 ``
            (I) at or below the national 
 poverty level for a family of 4; or
 ``
            (II) less than 50 percent of the 
 county median household income in each 
 of the previous 2 years.
 ``
        (B) Documentation.--For purposes of determining 
 if a covered producer is a limited resource farmer or 
 rancher, the Secretary may require the submission of 
 sufficient documentation to verify the status of the 
 covered producer.
 ``
            (C) Exclusion.--For purposes of this paragraph, 
 the term `covered producer' does not include the 
 agricultural research centers described in paragraph

    (5)
        (B) .
 ``

    (10) Precision agriculture.--The term `precision 
 agriculture' means managing, tracking, or reducing crop or 
 livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer, 
 chemicals, water, and time, at a heightened level of spatial 
 and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, 
 and maintain or improve environmental quality.
 ``

    (11) Qualifying connectivity.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--The term `qualifying 
 connectivity' means the service offered by a covered 
 provider as a result of assistance under subsection
            (c) that--
 ``
            (i) is capable of a speed of not less 
 than--
 ``
            (I) a 100-Mbps downstream 
 transmission capacity; and
 ``
            (II) a 20-Mbps upstream 
 transmission capacity; and
 ``
            (ii) carries out not less than 1 of the 
 activities described in subparagraph
        (B) .
 ``
        (B) Activities described.--The activities 
 referred to in subparagraph
        (A)
            (ii) are--
 ``
            (i) providing broadband internet access 
 service by any technology to structures and 
 devices on eligible land, including tractors, 
 combines, irrigation systems, drones, under-
 soil sensors, livestock facilities, and farm 
 offices;
 ``
            (ii) providing multipoint wireless 
 network connectivity that facilitates data 
 transmission between structures and devices on 
 eligible land, including structures and devices 
 described in clause
            (i) ; and
 ``
            (iii) supporting--
 ``
            (I) the construction of wireless 
 infrastructure, including poles, 
 towers, base stations, or other 
 structures, regardless of whether the 
 structure has an existing antenna 
 facility, that is used or will be used 
 for the provision of wireless service; 
 or
 ``
            (II) the retrofitting of existing 
 towers or vertical structures, such as 
 water towers, grain elevators, or 
 center pivots, to accommodate wireless 
 infrastructure.
 ``

    (12) Remote area.--The term `remote area' means the 
 frontier and remote ZIP Code areas published by the Economic 
 Research Service.
 ``

    (13) Underserved.--The term `underserved' means, with 
 respect to eligible land, that the eligible land lacks access 
 to broadband internet access service that is capable of a speed 
 of not less than--
 ``
        (A) a 100-Mbps downstream transmission capacity; 
 and
 ``
        (B) a 20-Mbps upstream transmission capacity.
 ``

    (14) Unserved.--The term `unserved' means, with respect 
 to eligible land, eligible land that lacks access to broadband 
 internet access service that is capable of a speed of not less 
 than--
 ``
        (A) a 25-Mbps downstream transmission capacity; 
 and
 ``
        (B) a 3-Mbps upstream transmission capacity.
 ``
            (c) Establishment.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
 enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a 
 program, to be known as the `Last Acre Program', to make grants 
 and loans to covered providers on a competitive basis to 
 provide qualifying connectivity to unserved and underserved 
 eligible land.
 ``

    (2) Limitation.--Of the amounts made available under 
 subsection

    (k) for a fiscal year for assistance under paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary may award not more than 10 percent to 
 agricultural research centers described in subsection

    (b)

    (5)
        (B) .
 ``
            (d) Use of Funds.--
 ``

    (1) Cybersecurity.--The Secretary may allow a covered 
 provider to use a portion of the assistance provided to the 
 covered provider under subsection
            (c) , as necessary, to address 
 the cybersecurity requirements under subsection

    (g) .
 ``

    (2) Prohibition.--The Secretary shall not award any 
 assistance under subsection
            (c) for broadband internet access 
 service--
 ``
        (A) to an inhabitable residence that is 
 identified as serviceable or as to be served due to an 
 enforceable commitment to deploy on the broadband maps; 
 or
 ``
        (B) on a commercial basis to surrounding areas 
 outside the eligible land.
 ``

    (3) Federal share.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--Except as provided in 
 subparagraph
        (B) , the Federal share of a project 
 carried out using assistance under subsection
            (c) shall 
 be not more than 80 percent of the total cost of the 
 project.
 ``
        (B) Limited resource farmers or ranchers.--The 
 Secretary may increase the Federal share of the costs 
 described in subparagraph
        (A) to 90 percent if the 
 covered producer of the applicable eligible land is a 
 limited resource farmer or rancher.
 ``

    (e) Bid Applications.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--To apply for assistance under subsection
            (c) , a covered provider shall submit to the Secretary an 
 application in such manner and containing such information as 
 the Secretary may require, including--
 ``
        (A) the measures by which the covered producer 
 has engaged with the covered provider to identify the 
 appropriate qualifying connectivity plan to serve the 
 eligible land of the covered producer;
 ``
        (B) a description of how the assistance provided 
 under subsection
            (c) would be used to establish 
 qualifying connectivity on the unserved or underserved 
 eligible land of a covered producer, including the 
 entire acreage in need of qualifying connectivity;
 ``
            (C) the amount of the Federal share for the 
 project and the amount of the non-Federal share for the 
 project;
 ``
            (D) whether the covered provider is capable of 
 carrying out the specific funded activities in 
 compliance with all Federal, State, and local laws;
 ``
        (E) whether the covered provider has the 
 financial and managerial capacity to meet the specific 
 commitments contained in the application, including 
 buildout obligations;
 ``
        (F) whether the covered provider has the 
 technical and operational capability to construct and 
 operate broadband networks;
 ``
        (G) whether the eligible land of the covered 
 producer--
 ``
            (i) is unserved or underserved; and
 ``
            (ii) is not subject to an enforceable 
 commitment to deploy broadband by the applicant 
 or another covered provider, as determined 
 according to the broadband maps; and
 ``
        (H) any additional information that the Secretary 
 determines necessary to ensure the effective function 
 of the program under this section.
 ``

    (2) Registration of covered providers.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--Not later than the date on which 
 the Secretary establishes the program under this 
 section pursuant to subsection
            (c) , the Secretary shall 
 create an online portal within which covered providers 
 may register voluntarily with the Secretary for 
 purposes of the program under this section.
 ``
        (B) Registration requirements.--To register with 
 the Secretary under subparagraph
        (A) , the Secretary 
 shall require a covered provider to submit the minimum 
 amount of information necessary for the covered 
 provider to demonstrate to the Secretary that the 
 covered provider--
 ``
            (i) is capable of carrying out activities 
 for which assistance is provided under 
 subsection
            (c) in compliance with all 
 applicable Federal, State, and local laws;
 ``
            (ii) has the financial and managerial 
 capacity to meet commitments necessary to carry 
 out the projects for which assistance is 
 received under subsection
            (c) ; and
 ``
            (iii) has the technical and operational 
 capability--
 ``
            (I) to construct and operate 
 broadband networks; and
 ``
            (II) to meet the requirement 
 described in paragraph

    (1) of 
 subsection

    (g) and provide the 
 cybersecurity certification required 
 under paragraph

    (2) of that subsection.
 ``
            (C) Prohibitions.--In registering covered 
 providers under subparagraph
        (A) , the Secretary shall 
 not--
 ``
            (i) require a covered provider to provide 
 any proprietary business information for 
 purposes of registering under that 
 subparagraph; or
 ``
            (ii) require a covered provider to 
 participate in the program under this section.
 ``
            (D) Public availability.--The Secretary may make 
 a list of covered providers registered under 
 subparagraph
        (A) publicly available.
 ``

    (3) Bidding.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--After the Secretary receives a 
 complete initial bid application under paragraph

    (1) , 
 the Secretary shall allow covered providers registered 
 under paragraph

    (2)
        (A) that operate contiguous to, 
 near, or partially on the eligible land that is the 
 subject of the initial bid application to submit 
 competing bid applications for the proposed service 
 area.
 ``
        (B) Notification to covered providers.--Not less 
 frequently than once every 30 days, the Secretary 
 shall--
 ``
            (i) post on an internet website of the 
 Secretary that is accessible to covered 
 providers the necessary identifying information 
 of eligible land contained in a complete 
 initial bid application; and
 ``
            (ii) not later than 24 hours after the 
 time at which the information described in 
 clause
            (i) is posted, send notice of that post 
 to covered providers registered under paragraph

    (2)
        (A) by electronic mail.
 ``
            (C) Challenges.--
 ``
            (i) In general.--Not later than 45 
 business days after the date on which the 
 Secretary posts the information described in 
 subparagraph
        (B)
            (i) , a covered provider may 
 submit to the Secretary notice of a challenge 
 of any posted eligible land at which--
 ``
            (I) the qualifying connectivity 
 of the covered provider is available to 
 the entire portion of land in the 
 initial bid application without 
 assistance under subsection
            (c) ;
 ``
            (II) the covered provider could 
 initiate qualifying connectivity 
 through a routine installation within 
 10 business days of a request with no 
 extraordinary monetary charges or 
 delays attributable to the extension of 
 the network of the covered provider; or
 ``
            (III) the covered provider has an 
 enforceable commitment to deploy 
 broadband to the eligible land.
 ``
            (ii) Adjudication of challenges.--
 ``
            (I) Process.--The Secretary shall 
 establish a transparent, evidence-
 based, and expeditious process for 
 adjudicating a challenge submitted 
 under clause
            (i) with respect to a 
 location within 90 business days of the 
 date on which the Secretary posts the 
 information described in subparagraph
        (B)
            (i) .
 ``
            (II) Requirement.--The process 
 established by the Secretary under 
 subclause
            (I) shall include making 
 publicly available on the website of 
 the Secretary a written notice 
 describing the outcome and reason for 
 the decision of the Secretary with 
 respect to each challenge submitted 
 under clause
            (i) .
 ``
            (III) Limitation.--The Secretary 
 may not award any assistance under 
 subsection
            (c) for a particular 
 application until all challenges with 
 respect to the eligible land described 
 in that application have been fully 
 adjudicated.
 ``
            (iii) New solicitation.--If, after 
 adjudicating a challenge under clause
            (i) , the 
 Secretary determines that the land subject to 
 the challenge is eligible land that is unserved 
 or underserved, the Secretary shall transmit to 
 each covered provider registered under 
 paragraph

    (2)
        (A) a bid notification for the 
 provision of qualifying connectivity to the 
 eligible land.
 ``
            (D) Competing bid applications.--A covered 
 provider registered under paragraph

    (2)
        (A) that 
 receives a notification under subparagraph
        (B)
            (ii) or a 
 notification under subparagraph
            (C) 
            (iii) and wishes to 
 submit a competing bid application for provision of 
 qualifying connectivity to the eligible land described 
 in that notification shall, not later than 120 days 
 after the date on which the covered provider registered 
 under paragraph

    (2)
        (A) receives the notification, 
 submit to the Secretary a competing bid application to 
 provide that qualifying connectivity in accordance with 
 paragraph

    (1) .
 ``
        (E) Evaluation.--Not later than 30 business days 
 after the date on which the 120-day period described in 
 subparagraph
            (D) ends, the Secretary shall evaluate the 
 bid applications received and select the applicant 
 that--
 ``
            (i) presents the lowest cost to the 
 Secretary for the provision of qualifying 
 connectivity to the eligible land that is 
 unserved or underserved; and
 ``
            (ii) best demonstrates to the covered 
 producer the ability to provide downstream and 
 upstream transmission capacity that can 
 reliably support the specific connectivity 
 needs of all on-farm applications described in 
 the bid application, including mobility, if 
 mobility was included in the bid application.
 ``
        (F) Enhanced speeds.--
 ``
            (i) === Finding ===
-Congress finds that there 
 are unique connectivity needs to support the 
 adoption of precision agriculture.
 ``
            (ii) Prioritization.--In selecting bid 
 applicants under subparagraph
        (E) , the 
 Secretary may give priority to a covered 
 provider that offers enhanced service speeds 
 that are greater than those described in 
 subsection

    (b)

    (11)
        (A)
            (i) , if the applicant 
 demonstrates that the proposal to serve the 
 eligible land of a covered producer that is 
 unserved or underserved requires such enhanced 
 service speeds.
 ``
        (G) Treatment of proprietary information.--
 ``
            (i) In general.--The prohibition under 
 paragraph

    (2)
            (C) 
            (i) shall not apply to a 
 covered provider in the submission of a bid 
 application under this subsection, including a 
 competing bid application under subparagraph
            (D) or a challenge under subparagraph
            (C) , if 
 the proprietary information is necessary for 
 the Secretary--
 ``
            (I) to determine the eligibility 
 of a covered provider; or
 ``
            (II) to evaluate an initial bid 
 application, competing bid application, 
 or challenge.
 ``
            (ii) Disclosure in notification.--
 ``
            (I) In general.--In the 
 notification required under 
 subparagraph
        (B) , the Secretary--
 ``

    (aa) shall only disclose 
 the necessary and appropriate 
 information contained within an 
 initial bid application for the 
 purposes of facilitating 
 competing bid applications; and
 ``

    (bb) shall not divulge 
 proprietary information of the 
 applicable covered provider and 
 covered producer in the 
 application.
 ``
            (II) Requirement.--In a bid 
 application under this subsection, 
 including a competing bid application 
 under subparagraph
            (D) or a challenge 
 under subparagraph
            (C) , an applicant 
 shall clearly mark any proprietary 
 information with the term `confidential 
 proprietary information'.
 ``
            (iii) Treatment.--If a covered provider 
 provides in a bid application under this 
 subsection, including a competing bid 
 application under subparagraph
            (D) or a 
 challenge under subparagraph
            (C) , proprietary 
 information that constitutes a trade secret, 
 proprietary commercial or financial 
 information, confidential business information, 
 or data affecting national security, the 
 Secretary shall treat the information in 
 confidence to the greatest extent permitted by 
 law.
 ``
            (iv) Privacy.--Nothing in this section 
 affects the applicability to this section of 
 

section 1619 of the Food, Conservation, and 
 Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8791).
 ``

    (4) Timeline.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--For each project for which 
 assistance under subsection
            (c) is provided, the 
 Secretary shall establish service buildout milestones 
 and periodic certifications by recipients of the 
 assistance for purposes of project compliance and 
 implementation.
 ``
        (B) Requirement.--The milestones required under 
 subparagraph
        (A) shall establish a maximum buildout 
 timeframe of not more than 4 years from the date on 
 which the assistance is provided.
 ``
            (C) Penalties.--The Secretary shall establish and 
 enforce standardized penalties, fines, and sanctions 
 for noncompliance with a milestone or certification 
 established under subparagraph
        (A) .
 ``

    (f) Priority.--In providing assistance under subsection
            (c) , the 
Secretary shall give priority to applications to carry out projects in 
the following order:
 ``

    (1) Unserved eligible land in remote areas.
 ``

    (2) Other unserved eligible land.
 ``

    (3) Underserved eligible land in remote areas.
 ``

    (4) Other underserved eligible land.
 ``

    (g) Cybersecurity.--As a condition on receipt of assistance under 
subsection
            (c) , a covered provider shall--
 ``

    (1) ensure that any structure, device, or system provided 
 or constructed using the assistance incorporates a layered 
 defense strategy as a means of defensible security 
 architecture; and
 ``

    (2) certify to the Secretary that the covered provider 
 maintains a regularly updated configuration management plan.
 ``

    (h) Prohibition.--In selecting recipients of assistance under 
subsection
            (c) , the Secretary shall not advantage or disadvantage the 
selection of a recipient under this section based on consideration of 
the existence, or lack thereof, of any State law.
 ``
            (i) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall, on an annual 
basis--
 ``

    (1) submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
 and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of 
 the House of Representatives a report that describes the 
 outcome of the bids that occurred during the previous fiscal 
 year, including the number of parcels of eligible land for 
 which initial bid applications were submitted during the 
 previous fiscal year, the number of challenges filed under 
 subsection

    (e)

    (3)
            (C) during the previous fiscal year, the 
 outcomes of those challenges, the number of competing bid 
 applications received under this section, and the respective 
 amounts awarded for eligible land; and
 ``

    (2) make the report required under paragraph

    (1) publicly 
 available on the website of the Secretary.
 ``

    (j) Provision of Data to FCC.--The Secretary shall, on an annual 
basis, make the necessary data available to the Commission for 
inclusion on the broadband maps.
 ``

    (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.''.

    (b) Repeals.--Sections 602 and 603 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 950bb-1 
and 950bb-2) are repealed.
            (c) Conforming Amendments.--

Section 701
            (c) (2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
950cc
            (c) (2) ) is amended by striking subparagraph
        (B) and redesignating 
subparagraph
            (C) as subparagraph
        (B) .

SEC. 3. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE DATA COLLECTION ON 
 BROADBAND ADOPTION.

 To provide for the collection and analysis by the National 
Agricultural Statistics Service of more comprehensive broadband usage 
data, the Secretary of Agriculture shall update the computer usage and 
ownership survey and the census of agriculture conducted under 

section 2 of the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997 (7 U.S.C. 2204g) to contain 
questions relating to--

    (1) whether the respondent subscribes to a broadband 
 internet access service for a farm site (as defined in 

section 607

    (b) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936); and

    (2) if the respondent subscribes to the broadband internet 
 access service described in paragraph

    (1) --
        (A) the download and upload speeds of the broadband 
 internet access service to which the respondent is 
 subscribed; and
        (B) the purposes for which the internet access is 
 used, including the use of precision agriculture (as 
 defined in 

section 607

    (b) of the Rural Electrification 
 Act of 1936).
 <all>