[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5294 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5294

  To require the Federal Communications Commission to completely and 
 accurately fulfill the support requirements for universal service for 
                high cost areas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 26, 2000

 Mr. Deal of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                      to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Federal Communications Commission to completely and 
 accurately fulfill the support requirements for universal service for 
                high cost areas, 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 ``Universal Service Sufficiency Act of 
2000''.

SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF IMPEDIMENTS TO SUFFICIENT SUPPORT MECHANISMS.

    Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(l) Removal of Impediments to Sufficient Support Mechanisms.--
            ``(1) Removal of interim cap on high cost support 
        mechanisms..--The interim cap on total nationwide loop cost 
        expense adjustments contained in section 36.601(c) of the 
        Federal Communications Commission's regulations (47 CFR 36.601) 
        shall cease to be effective on the date of enactment of the 
        Universal Service Sufficiency Act of 2000. The Federal 
        Communications Commission shall not, on or after such date of 
        enactment, enforce or reimpose such cap.
            ``(2) Removal of interim caps on individual carriers.--The 
        Federal Communications Commission shall not--
                    ``(A) enforce individual caps imposed on carriers 
                by orders of the Commission entered in connection with 
                requests prior to the date of enactment of the 
                Universal Service Sufficiency Act of 2000 for study 
                area waivers; or
                    ``(B) impose any new cap that would limit the per 
                loop support calculated under section 36.631 of the 
                Commission's regulations (47 CFR 36.631), as in effect 
                on the date of enactment of such Act.
            ``(3) High cost loop support and nationwide average 
        calculations.--The Federal Communications Commission shall--
                    ``(A) calculate that portion of the high cost 
                support mechanism attributable to loops that have costs 
                that are in excess of 115 percent of the nationwide 
                average under section 36.631 of the Commission's 
                regulations (47 CFR 36.631), as in effect on the date 
                of enactment of the Universal Service Sufficiency Act 
                of 2000; and
                    ``(B) calculate the nationwide average unseparated 
                loop cost for purposes of sections 36.621(a)(1)-(3) and 
                36.622 of those regulations (47 CFR 36.621(a)(1)-(3) 
                and 36.622), as in effect on such date of enactment of 
                such Act, taking into account the elimination of the 
                interim cap on total nationwide loop cost expense 
                adjustments pursuant to paragraph (1) of this 
                subsection.''.
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