[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2879 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2879

  To direct the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a pilot 
 program expanding the Lifeline Program to include broadband service, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 11, 2009

Mr. Rockefeller (for himself, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Snowe, Mr. 
 Pryor, and Mr. Warner) introduced the following bill; which was read 
     twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                             Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a pilot 
 program expanding the Lifeline Program to include broadband service, 
                        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 Opportunity and 
Affordability Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The adoption of broadband service results in enhanced 
        economic development and public safety for communities across 
        the Nation, improved health care and educational opportunities, 
        and a better quality of life for all Americans.
            (2) Continued progress in the adoption of broadband service 
        is vital to ensuring that the United States remains competitive 
        and continues to create business opportunities and job growth.
            (3) The price of broadband service is a barrier to adoption 
        for low-income households and can be an impediment to full 
        participation in the emerging broadband economy.

SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM TO EXPAND LIFELINE PROGRAM TO INCLUDE BROADBAND 
              SERVICE.

    Section 254(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(j)) 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(j) Lifeline Assistance.--
            ``(1) Impact of section on lifeline assistance program.--
        Except as provided in paragraph (2), nothing in this section 
        shall affect the collection, distribution, or administration of 
        the Lifeline program.
            ``(2) Pilot program to expand lifeline program to include 
        broadband service.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
        enactment of the Broadband Opportunity and Affordability Act, 
        the Commission shall implement a 2-year pilot program to expand 
        the Lifeline program to reduce the cost of broadband service 
        for low-income consumers that will--
                    ``(A) apply to such broadband service as the 
                Commission may determine to be appropriate for purposes 
                of the pilot program;
                    ``(B) provide such levels of support as the 
                Commission may determine to be appropriate for such 
                purposes;
                    ``(C) be available to such consumers as the 
                Commission may determine to be appropriate for such 
                purposes under such eligibility criteria as the 
                Commission may determine to be appropriate for such 
                purposes; and
                    ``(D) reimburse broadband service providers for 
                each customer served, subject to prior authorization 
                from the Commission to participate in the pilot 
                program.
            ``(3) Criteria for pilot program.--In developing the pilot 
        program required by paragraph (2), the Commission shall 
        consider--
                    ``(A) whether State matching funds must be provided 
                as a condition of eligibility for low-income households 
                within a State;
                    ``(B) the prevailing market rate for broadband 
                service and the prevailing speed of broadband service 
                adopted by households, using information that the 
                Commission routinely collects or that is publicly 
                available; and
                    ``(C) how to ensure that the program is neutral as 
                to the types of technology used to provide broadband 
                service in order to promote competition from broadband 
                service providers to qualify for participation in the 
                pilot program.
            ``(4) Status report.--After the pilot program has been 
        operational for 18 months, the Commission shall submit a report 
        to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on 
        Energy and Commerce on the status of the pilot program.
            ``(5) Lifeline program defined.--In this subsection, the 
        term `Lifeline program' means the service described in section 
        54.401(a) of the Commission's regulations (47 C.F.R. 
        54.401(a)).''.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF LINK UP PROGRAM REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Within 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall initiate a notice 
of inquiry with public notice and opportunity for comment, to 
determine--
            (1) whether the Link Up program could be expanded to reduce 
        the cost of initiating broadband service through providing 
        support for computer ownership;
            (2) what equipment would be supported by such an expansion;
            (3) how much support would be available with such an 
        expansion; and
            (4) the eligibility criteria for consumers to qualify for 
        such an expansion.
    (b) Report.--The Commission shall submit a report to the Senate 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 
Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce containing the 
Commission's findings, conclusions, and recommendations from the 
inquiry.
    (c) Link Up Program Defined.--In this section, the term ``Link Up 
program'' means the service described in section 54.411(a) of the 
Commission's regulations (47 U.S.C. 54.411(a)).
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