[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2348 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2348

  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to reduce telephone rates, 
provide advanced telecommunications services to schools, libraries, and 
        certain health care facilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 1998

   Mr. Burns introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to reduce telephone rates, 
provide advanced telecommunications services to schools, libraries, and 
        certain health care facilities, 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 ``Schools and Libraries Internet 
Access Act''.

SEC. 2. REPEAL OF FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION AUTHORITY.

    Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (6); and
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph 
                (6);
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``education, 
                public health, or''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (3); and
            (3) by striking subsection (h).

SEC. 3. REDUCTION OF EXCISE TAX ON TELEPHONE AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS 
              SERVICES.

    (a) Phase-Out of Tax.--Section 4251(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Applicable percentage.--The term `applicable 
        percentage' means--
                    ``(A) 3.0 percent with respect to amounts paid 
                pursuant to bills first rendered before January 1, 
                1999; and
                    ``(B) 1.0 percent with respect to amounts paid 
                pursuant to bills first rendered on or after January 1, 
                1999, and before October 1, 2003.''
    (b) Repeal of Tax.--Subchapter B of chapter 33 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is repealed effective with respect to bills first 
rendered on or after October 1, 2003.

SEC. 4. TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY TRUST FUND.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by inserting after section 9410 the following:

``SEC. 9511. TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY TRUST FUND.

    ``(a) Creation of Trust Fund.--There is established in the Treasury 
of the United States a trust found to be known as the 
`Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund', consisting of such amounts 
as may be appropriated or credited pursuant to this section or section 
9602(b).
    ``(b) Transfer to Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund Amounts 
Equivalent of Certain Taxes.--There are hereby appropriated to the 
Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund amounts equivalent to 100 
percent of the taxes received in Treasury after December 31, 1998, 
under section 4251 (relating to tax on communications).
    ``(c) Expenditures From Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund.--
Amounts in the Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund shall be 
available for making expenditures to carry out the provisions of 
section 106 of the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration Organization Act.
    ``(d) Sunset.--The provisions of this section shall cease to be 
effective on October 1, 2003.''.

SEC. 5. PROVISION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES TO SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES, 
              AND RURAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.

    Part A of the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 106. PROVISION OF ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.

    ``(a) Provision of Certain Telecommunications and Related 
Services.--
            ``(1) Grants authorized.--The Secretary (or the Secretary's 
        designee) shall award a grant for a fiscal year to each State 
        having an approved plan under paragraph (3) for the following 
        purposes:
                    ``(A) To assist in acquiring telecommunications and 
                related services which are necessary for the provision 
                of health care services, including instruction relating 
                to such telecommunications and related services, by any 
                public or nonprofit health care provider that serves 
                persons who reside in a rural area, as defined in 
                section 1886(d)(2)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 
                U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(2)(D)).
                    ``(B) To assist in acquiring telecommunications and 
                related services for elementary schools, secondary 
                schools, and libraries for educational purposes.
            ``(2) Allocation of funds.--From amounts appropriated 
        pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary shall allocate to 
        each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as follows, except that no State 
        shall receive less than \1/2\ of 1 percent of such amount:
                    ``(A) Fifty percent shall be allocated among such 
                jurisdictions on the basis of their relative 
                populations of individuals aged five through 17, as 
                determined by the Secretary on the basis of the most 
                recent satisfactory data.
                    ``(B) Fifty percent shall be allocated among such 
                jurisdictions in accordance with the relative amounts 
                such jurisdictions received under part A of title I of 
                the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 for 
                the preceding fiscal year.
            ``(3) State plans.--In order for a State to receive a grant 
        or an allocation of funds under this part for any fiscal year, 
        such State shall have in effect for such fiscal year a State 
        plan. Such plan shall--
                    ``(A) designate the State educational agency (as 
                such term is defined in section 14101 of the Elementary 
                and Secondary Education Act of 1965) as the State 
                agency responsible for the administration of the 
                program assisted under this part;
                    ``(B) set forth a program under which funds paid to 
                the State in accordance with this section will be 
                expended solely for--
                            ``(i) acquiring certain telecommunications 
                        and related services under subsection (a); and
                            ``(ii) administration of the State plan, 
                        except that the amount used for administration 
                        of the State plan in any fiscal year shall not 
                        exceed 2 percent of the amount available to 
such State under this section for such fiscal year;
                    ``(C) set forth criteria to be used in allotting 
                funds among the eligible entities in the State, taking 
                into consideration the relative economic need of the 
                eligible entities, including the number of students or 
                other persons who are--
                            ``(i) living in areas with high 
                        concentrations of low-income families;
                            ``(ii) from or part of a low-income family; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) living in sparsely populated areas; 
                        and
                    ``(D) contain assurance that funds paid to the 
                State in accordance with this section will be expended 
                in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the 
                Secretary under paragraph (5).
            ``(4) Terms and conditions.--Telecommunications and related 
        services and network capacity provided to a school, library, or 
        health care provider under this section may not be sold, 
        resold, or otherwise transferred by such user in consideration 
        for money or any other thing of value.
            ``(5) Rulemaking authority.--The Secretary (or the 
        Secretary's designee) shall prescribe such regulations as may 
        be necessary to establish qualifications and conditions to 
        carry out the provisions of this section. Such regulations 
        shall include criteria by which States shall determine, in the 
        case of any acquisition of telecommunications and related 
        services for elementary schools, secondary schools, and 
        libraries for educational purposes that includes the 
        installation of equipment within any such school or library, 
        whether the installation is essential to permit such school or 
        library to have access to advanced technologies.
            ``(6) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
                    ``(A) Elementary and secondary schools.--The terms 
                `elementary schools' and `secondary schools' have the 
                same meanings given those terms in paragraphs (14) and 
                (25), respectively, of section 14101 of the Elementary 
                and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
                    ``(B) Health care provider.--The term `health care 
                provider' includes--
                            ``(i) post-secondary educational 
                        institutions offering health care instructions, 
                        teaching hospitals, and medical schools;
                            ``(ii) community health centers or health 
                        centers providing health care to migrants;
                            ``(iii) local health departments or 
                        agencies;
                            ``(iv) community mental health centers;
                            ``(v) not-for-profit hospitals;
                            ``(vi) rural health clinics; and
                            ``(vii) consortia of health care providers 
                        consisting of 1 or more of the above described 
                        entities.
                    ``(C) Eligible entities.--Notwithstanding 
                subparagraph (A) or (B), no entity shall be entitled to 
                receive grants authorized under this section if such 
                entity operates as other than a not-for-profit 
                business, is a school described in subparagraph (A) 
                with an endowment of more than $50,000,000, or is a 
                library or library consortium not eligible for 
                assistance from a State library administrative agency 
                under the Library Services and Technology Act.
    ``(b) Expenditure Authority.--
            ``(1) Appropriations from trust fund.--
                    ``(A) Authorization.--Subject to subparagraphs (B) 
                and (C), there are authorized to be appropriated from 
                the Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund, 
                established pursuant to section 9511 of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986, such funds as may be necessary 
                for each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to 
                fund--
                            ``(i) the grants authorized by section 
                        (a)(1); and
                            ``(ii) such expenditures as may be 
                        necessary to administer the programs 
                        established by this section.
                    ``(B) Limitation based on collections.--No amount 
                may be appropriated pursuant to subparagraph (A) for a 
                fiscal year for grants pursuant to section (a)(1) that 
                in the aggregate exceed 100 percent of the trust fund 
                receipts credited to the Telecommunications Technology 
                Trust Fund with respect to the preceding fiscal year.
                    ``(C) Fiscal year 1999 limitation.--The amount 
                appropriated under subparagraph (A) for fiscal year 
                1999 shall not exceed $1,700,000,000.
                    ``(D) Unexpended balances.--Any balances in the 
                Telecommunications Technology Trust Fund after 
                deduction of the amount appropriated under subparagraph 
                (A) for any fiscal year are authorized to be 
                transferred to and deposited in the general fund of the 
                Treasury, to the extent so provided in an 
                appropriations Act.
            ``(2) Appropriations after expiration of tax receipts.--For 
        fiscal year 2004 and each of the succeeding fiscal years, there 
        are authorized to be appropriated, from funds in the Treasury 
        not otherwise appropriated, not to exceed $500,000,000 to 
        fund--
                    ``(A) the grants authorized by section (a)(1); and
                    ``(B) such expenditures as may be necessary to 
                administer the programs established by this section.''.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATES.

    (a) Delayed Date.--The amendments made by sections 2 and 5 of this 
Act shall be effective 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (b) Immediate Effect.--The amendments made by sections 3 and 4 of 
this Act shall be effective on the date of enactment of this Act.
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