[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2578 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2578

 To provide grants and other incentives to promote new communications 
                 technologies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2004

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide grants and other incentives to promote new communications 
                 technologies, 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 Expansion Grant Initiative 
of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Investing in a telecommunications infrastructure for 
        underserved rural communities will increase the potential for 
        long-term economic growth in those areas.
            (2) Currently, too many families have to make long distance 
        calls to connect to the Internet, and the deployment of 
        broadband networks would make sure that connection to the 
        Internet is more cost-effective and only a local call away.
            (3) Small businesses would benefit from access to high-
        speed Internet links that would allow them to compete on 
        national and international levels.
            (4) Broadband deployment grants and loan guarantees would 
        encourage private-sector investment in infrastructure advances.

SEC. 3. FACILITATION OF DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
              CAPABILITIES TO UNDERSERVED RURAL AREAS.

    (a) In General.--In order to facilitate the deployment by the 
private sector of broadband telecommunications networks and 
capabilities (including wireless and satellite networks and 
capabilities) to underserved rural areas, the Secretary of Commerce (in 
this section, referred to as the ``Secretary'') may--
            (1) make grants to eligible recipients for that purpose;
            (2) guarantee loans, either whole or in part, of eligible 
        recipients the proceeds of which are to be used for that 
        purpose; or
            (3) carry out activities under both paragraphs (1) and (2).
    (b) Eligible Recipients.--For purposes of this section, an eligible 
recipient of a grant or loan guarantee under subsection (a) is any 
person or entity selected by the Secretary in accordance with such 
procedures as the Secretary shall establish.
    (c) Underserved Rural Areas.--The Secretary shall identify the 
areas that constitute underserved rural areas for purposes of this 
section.
    (d) Emphasis on Particular Capabilities.--In selecting a person or 
entity as an eligible recipient of a grant or loan guarantee under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall give particular emphasis to persons 
or entities that propose to use the grant or the proceeds of the loan 
guaranteed, as the case may be, to leverage non-Federal resources to do 
one or more of the following:
            (1) Provide underserved rural areas with access to Internet 
        service by local telephone.
            (2) Demonstrate new models or emerging technologies to 
        bring broadband telecommunications services to underserved 
        rural areas on a cost-effective basis.
            (3) Use broadband telecommunications services to stimulate 
        economic development, such as providing connections between and 
        among industrial parks located in such areas and providing 
        high-speed telecommunications service links to small business 
        incubators.
    (e) Consultation.--The Secretary may consult with the Federal 
Communications Commission in carrying out activities under this 
section.
    (f) Limitation on Amount.--The amount of any grants made under this 
section, and the cost (as defined in section 502(5) of the Federal 
Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5)) of any loans guaranteed 
under this section, may not, in the aggregate, exceed $100,000,000.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for the Department of Commerce for purposes of grants and 
loan guarantees under this section $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, 
and such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year thereafter.
                                 <all>