[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3491 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  2d Session
                                S. 3491

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to improve the effectiveness of 
      rural health care support under section 254(h) of that Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 16, 2008

  Mr. Stevens (for himself, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Smith) 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 improve the effectiveness of 
      rural health care support under section 254(h) of that Act.

    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 ``Telehealth for America Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES TO RURAL HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.

    Section 254(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A)--
                    (A) by striking ``telecommunications services'' and 
                inserting ``telecommunications services, advanced 
                telecommunications services and information services, 
                and network management services''; and
                    (B) by striking ``reasonably comparable to rates 
                charged'' and inserting ``up to 60 percent less than 
                rates charged''; and
            (2) in paragraph (7)(B)(vi), by striking ``clinics; and'' 
        and inserting ``clinics and any rural health care provider, 
        including any--
                                    ``(I) private physician office or 
                                clinic;
                                    ``(II) nursing home or other long-
                                term care facility;
                                    ``(III) emergency medical service 
                                facility or location;
                                    ``(IV) residential substance abuse 
                                treatment facility;
                                    ``(V) hospice service facility;
                                    ``(VI) home health agency;
                                    ``(VII) blood bank;
                                    ``(VIII) social service agency;
                                    ``(IX) Alaska Native, tribal, or 
                                Native Hawaiian regional or local non-
                                profit organization providing health-
                                related services or training;
                                    ``(X) pharmacy;
                                    ``(XI) dental clinic;
                                    ``(XII) behavioral health facility;
                                    ``(XIII) facility deemed eligible 
                                by the Department of Veterans Affairs 
                                to provide health care services to 
                                veterans; or
                                    ``(XIV) community center, 
                                vocational rehabilitation center, or 
                                youth center offering health-related 
                                services or training; and''.

SEC. 3. INTEGRITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

    (a) In General.--To ensure the integrity and accountability of all 
programs established under section 254 of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 254), the Federal Communications Commission, in 
consultation with the Administrator of the Universal Service 
Administrative Company, shall, not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, report to Congress on--
            (1) the nature and effectiveness of the fiscal controls and 
        accountability standards that are applied to programs under 
        section 254 as of the date of enactment of this Act;
            (2) the performance goals for programs under section 254 
        that are used by the Commission as of the date of enactment of 
        this Act to determine how efficiently and cost-effectively the 
        Universal Service Administrative Company spends funds pursuant 
        to its operation of all universal service programs; and
            (3) what steps, if any, should be taken to strengthen the 
        fiscal controls, accountability standards, and performance 
        goals for programs under section 254 and whether the Federal 
        Communications Commission requires additional statutory 
        authority to implement such steps.
    (b) No Effect on Schools and Libraries.--Except as provided in 
subsection (a), nothing in this Act (or the amendments made by this 
Act) shall be construed as limiting, changing, modifying, or altering 
the amount of support or means of distribution of support under section 
254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) for schools and 
libraries.
                                 <all>