[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5213 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5213

 To prohibit the Rural Utilities Service from providing assistance for 
 the provision of broadband service with a download speed of less than 
 25 megabits per second or an upload speed of less than 3 megabits per 
  second, and clarify the broadband loan and loan guarantee authority 
 provided in section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 8, 2018

Mrs. Hartzler introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 
    and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit the Rural Utilities Service from providing assistance for 
 the provision of broadband service with a download speed of less than 
 25 megabits per second or an upload speed of less than 3 megabits per 
  second, and clarify the broadband loan and loan guarantee authority 
 provided in section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, 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 ``Expanding Rural Access to Broadband 
Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRED MINIMUM SPEED OF BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE FOR 
              RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS SERVICE 
              DEPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Prohibition.--The Rural Utilities Service may not, under 
section 601 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, the Community 
Connect Broadband Grant Program, the Telecommunications Infrastructure 
Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, or the Distance Learning and 
Telemedicine Program, provide assistance for the provision of broadband 
service (as defined in section 601(b)(1) of the Rural Electrification 
Act of 1936) with a download speed of less than 25 megabits per second 
or an upload speed of less than 3 megabits per second.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 601(e)(1) of the Rural 
Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(e)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``4'' and inserting 
        ``25''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``1'' and inserting 
        ``3''.

SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF BROADBAND LOAN AND LOAN GUARANTEE AUTHORITY.

    Section 601(c)(1) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 
U.S.C. 950bb(c)(1)) is amended by striking ``make or guarantee loans'' 
and inserting ``shall make loans and shall guarantee loans''.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    Within 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (in this section referred 
to as the ``RUS'') shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry of the Senate a written report on the effectiveness of RUS 
loan and loan guarantee programs for the purpose of expanding broadband 
to rural areas (as defined in RUS regulations), which shall--
            (1) identify administrative and legislative options for 
        incentivizing private investment by utilizing RUS loan 
        guarantee programs for the purpose of expanding broadband to 
        rural areas;
            (2) evaluate the existing borrower and lending guidelines 
        for RUS loan and loan guarantee applicants to incentivize 
        participation in both programs; and
            (3) evaluate the loan and loan guarantee application 
        processes for lenders and borrowers by eliminating burdensome 
        and unnecessary steps in the application process and providing 
        a more streamlined process to decrease the complexity of the 
        application and the timeline from application to approval or 
        denial.
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