II 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2298 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 18, 2012 Mr. Brown of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to improve the program of access to broadband telecommunications services in rural areas.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Connecting Rural America Act.

2.

Access to broadband telecommunications services in rural areas

Section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— (1)in subsection (a), by striking loans and and inserting grants, loans, and; (2)in subsection (b)(2), by striking 5 percent and inserting 15 percent; (3)in subsection (c)— (A)in the subsection heading, by striking Loans and and inserting Grants, loans, and; (B)in paragraph (1), by inserting make grants and after Secretary shall; (C)in paragraph (2)— (i)by inserting making grants and after In; and (ii)by inserting poor and remote after priority to; and (D)by adding at the end the following: (3)

Grant amounts

(A)

Maximum

Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (C), the amount of any grant made under this section shall not exceed 50 percent of the development costs of the project for which the grant is provided. (B)

Grant rate

The Secretary shall establish the grant rate for each project in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary that shall provide for a graduated scale of grant rates that establish higher rates for projects in communities that have— (i)remote locations; (ii)low community populations; (iii)low income levels; and (iv)developed the applications of the communities with the participation of combinations of stakeholders including— (I)State, local, and tribal governments; (II)nonprofit institutions; (III)institutions of higher education; (IV)private entities; and (V)philanthropic organizations. (C)

Waiver authority

The Secretary may make grants of up to 75 percent of the development costs of the project for which the grant is provided to an eligible entity if the Secretary determines that a waiver of subparagraph (A) would best serve the purpose of the program under this section. ; (4)in subsection (d)— (A)in paragraph (1)(A)— (i)in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking loan or and inserting grant, loan, or; (ii)by striking a loan application each place it appears in clauses (ii) and (iii) and inserting an application; and (iii)in clause (iii), by striking proceeds from the loan made or guaranteed under this section are and inserting assistance under this section is; (B)in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter preceding clause (i)— (i)by striking the proceeds of a loan made or guaranteed and inserting assistance; and (ii)by striking for the loan or loan guarantee and inserting of the eligible entity; (C)by striking loan or each place it appears in paragraphs (2)(B), (3)(A), (4), (5), and (6) and inserting grant, loan, or; (D)in paragraph (7), by striking a loan application and inserting an application; and (E)by adding at the end the following: (8)

Transparency and reporting

The Secretary— (A)shall require any entity receiving assistance under this section to submit quarterly, in a format specified by the Secretary, a report that describes— (i)the use by the entity of the assistance; and (ii)the progress towards fulfilling the objectives for which the assistance was granted; (B)shall maintain a fully searchable database, accessible on the Internet at no cost to the public, that contains, at a minimum— (i)a list of each entity that has applied for assistance under this section; (ii)a description of each application, including the status of each application; (iii)for each entity receiving assistance under this section— (I)the name of the entity; (II)the type of assistance being received; (III)the purpose for which the entity is receiving the assistance; and (IV)each quarterly report submitted in accordance with subparagraph (A); and (iv)such other information as is sufficient to allow the public to understand and monitor assistance provided under this section; (C)may, in addition to other authority under applicable law, deobligate awards to grantees that demonstrate an insufficient level of performance, or wasteful or fraudulent spending, as defined in advance by the Secretary, and award those funds competitively to new or existing applicants consistent with this section; and (D)may establish additional reporting and information requirements for any recipient of any assistance under this section so as to ensure compliance with this section. ; (5)in subsection (f), by striking make a loan or loan guarantee and inserting provide assistance; (6)in subsection (i)— (A)by inserting grant or after proceeds of any; and (B)by inserting grant or after recipient of the; (7)in subsection (j)— (A)in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking loan and loan guarantee; (B)in paragraph (1), by inserting grants and after number of; (C)in paragraph (2)— (i)in subparagraph (A), by striking loan; and (ii)in subparagraph (B), by striking loans and and inserting grants, loans, and; and (D)in paragraph (3), by striking loan; (8)in subsection (k)— (A)by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; (B)by inserting before paragraph (1) the following: (1)

Mandatory funding

Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use for the cost of grants, loans, and loan guarantees to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017, to remain available until expended. ; and (C)in paragraph (2) (as redesignated by subparagraph (A))— (i)by striking There is and inserting In addition to funds otherwise made available under this subsection, there is; and (ii)by striking 2012 and inserting 2017; and (9)in subsection (l), by striking 2012 and inserting 2017.