[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 966 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 966

To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
Organization Act to encourage deployment of broadband service to rural 
                                America.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 25, 2001

Mr. Dorgan (for himself, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. 
  Wellstone) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
Organization Act to encourage deployment of broadband service to rural 
                                America.

    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 ``Rural Broadband Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. LOAN PROGRAM FOR DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND SERVICE IN RURAL 
              AREAS.

    (a) In General.--Part C of title I 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. 156. BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to make loans and 
other extensions of credit to provide funds for the costs of the 
construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment 
for the provision of broadband service in eligible rural communities.
    ``(b) Requirement To Make Loans and Other Extensions of Credit.--
The Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture shall, in 
consultation with the NTIA, make loans or other extensions of credit to 
eligible entities to provide funds for the construction, improvement, 
or acquisition of facilities and equipment (including consumer 
equipment) for the provision of broadband service in eligible rural 
communities.
    ``(c) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible for a loan or other 
extension of credit under this section is any non-Federal public or 
private entity, including an incorporated or limited liability entity, 
cooperative, non-profit organization, or limited dividend or mutual 
association, that submits a plan for a project meeting the requirements 
of subsection (e).
    ``(d) Broadband Service.--
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, broadband 
        service is any technology identified by the Rural Utilities 
        Service, in consultation with the NTIA, as having the capacity 
        to transmit data so as to enable a subscriber to such service 
        to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, or 
        video.
            ``(2) Modification.--The NTIA shall, from time to time as 
        advances in technology so warrant, review and recommend 
        modifications of rate-of-data transmission criteria for 
        purposes of the identification of technologies under paragraph 
        (1).
    ``(e) Project Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--A project meeting the requirements of 
        this subsection is any project determined to have the 
        capability--
                    ``(A) to deliver broadband service; and
                    ``(B) to make access to broadband service generally 
                available throughout an eligible rural community.
            ``(2) Additional considerations.--For purposes of 
        determining whether or not to make a loan or other extension of 
        credit for a project under this section, the following matters 
        shall also be taken into consideration:
                    ``(A) The extent to which the area to be served by 
                the project is unserved or underserved by broadband 
                service.
                    ``(B) The size of the area to be served by the 
                project.
                    ``(C) The potential number of subscribers to the 
                broadband service available through the project.
            ``(3) Technological neutrality.--For purposes of 
        determining whether or not to make a loan or other extension of 
        credit for a project under this section, the type of technology 
        proposed to be employed under the project may not be taken into 
        consideration.
    ``(f) Terms and Conditions.--A loan or other extension of credit 
under this section shall--
            ``(1) be made available in accordance with the requirements 
        of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et 
        seq.);
            ``(2) bear interest at an annual rate of not more than 2 
        percent per annum; and
            ``(3) have a term not to exceed the useful life of the 
        assets constructed, improved, or acquired with the proceeds of 
        the loan or extension of credit.
    ``(g) Limitation on Value of Loans and Credit.--The aggregate value 
of all loans and other extensions of credit made under this section 
shall not exceed $3,000,000,000.
    ``(h) Eligible Rural Community Defined.--In this section, the term 
`eligible rural community' means any incorporated or unincorporated 
place that--
            ``(1) has not more than 20,000 inhabitants, based on the 
        most recent available population statistics of the Bureau of 
        the Census; and
            ``(2) is not located in an area designated as a 
        Metropolitan Area by the Office of Management and Budget.
    ``(i) Sunset.--
            ``(1) In general.--No loan or other extension of credit may 
        be made under this section after September 30, 2006.
            ``(2) Construction.--Paragraph (1) shall not affect the 
        validity of any loan or extension of credit made under this 
        section before the date specified in that paragraph.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is hereby authorized to 
be appropriated for the Department of Commerce such sums as may be 
necessary to cover the cost, as defined in section 502 of the Federal 
Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a), of loans and other 
extensions of credit made under section 156 of the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act, as 
added by subsection (a).
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